Thanksgiving is a Verb

As Americans sit down to Thanksgiving dinner this week, we should all be grateful for what we have, remember those in need around the planet, including our brothers and sisters in Nicaragua, and share from our abundance.

Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. ~Theodore Roosevelt

Vivian Stromberg of Global Giving discusses “Harvesting Hope: Overcoming Hurricane Felix” on Nov. 19.

• Beneficiaries of Harvesting Hope include over 2,000 Indigenous women and families in the village of Waspam and 104 surrounding communities, as techniques learned in Harvesting Hope trainings are shared with remote communities by project participants. Rose Cunningham, Wangki Tangni’s Director, reports that women from neighboring communities continue to attend Harvesting Hope trainings in record numbers, sometimes walking two or three days to get there, and participants say that the income-generating aspects of the project are helping them come closer to meeting their families’ immediate needs.
  

The Miami Herald issued an opinion on Nov. 16: The death and destruction left in Nicaragua by Hurricane Felix last September is now being compounded by a political disaster: the growing complaints that the Sandinista government is distributing relief aid based on party loyalty.

Laura Werner of Agros International blogs about a project they funded in the Matagalpa region.

MADRE is organizing a trip to the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua on January 5.

The Canadian International Development Agency (or CIDA) will donate $4 million Canadian dollars to the World Food program which in turn will feed school children in Nicaragua for a year.

NicaNet writes Give gifts that keep giving! Fight climate change! Help Nicaragua recover from floods!

The European Commission donated 5 million Euros to hurricane relief in Nicaragua on November 5.

France Donates for Hurricane Relief and Recovery

France is donating $425 million dollars (300 million Euros) for recovery efforts in Nicaragua’s North Atlantic Region, according to La Prensa on Nov. 2. The contribution is for the purchase of 356 tons of rice in the local market. A French official noted "making purchases local of foods (rice in this case) can help stimulate" Nicaragua’s local economy. The rations will be administered by the World Food Programme along with Nicaraguan partner organizations.

Also, a Nicaraguan business, Almacenes Alejandría, donated 5,500 articles of clothing and shoes according to this press release, to help people in the region affected by Hurricane Felix.

Report from Dákura

Word and Deed has a Nov. 1 blog posting which chronicles the damage in Dakura (on the coast about 1 ½ hours north of Puerto Cabezas):

• Dákura had 400 houses, literally all of which were completely destroyed. The residents have used fallen trees and limbs to make makeshift shelters and have been provided plastic by various government related agencies to cover the roofs. But the heavy November winds will undoubtedly blow those “tarps” away in several weeks.



• The school and three churches completely destroyed.



• Thirteen people were killed in this community alone, 8 of which were family members of one of the MINTS students who is a pastor. He was in Dákura at the time of the hurricane and buried his family members before returning to Puerto Cabezas.



• They are about 500 metres from the ocean. Waves and water came through the village as high as the neck, washing away everything in sight.



• Many Bibles, books were damaged and/or washed away as well as their clothes.



• Some have started rebuilding their homes with whatever materials they could find. It was encouraging to see the initiative some were taking. Others are very depressed and have no idea how to proceed from here.



• The soil has been contaminated by the salt water that came in from the ocean during the hurricane.