PEOPLE AND EVENTS

After Hurricane Georges hit Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in September, thousands have been left homeless, as many as 300 people are dead and many more are missing. The Mennonite Church in the Dominican Republic asked Mennonite Central Committee for food and water supplies. MCC shipped 4,500 pounds of canned meat to Barahona, Dominican Republic, and is committed to sending $40,000 in aid, with additional funds being considered. The meat, which arrived Oct. 9, was distributed by Habitat for Humanity. An MCC delegation travelled to the Dominican Republic Oct. 5 to assess the situation. The Haitian government reported that 150 people were killed and 60 were missing as a result of the hurricane. Much of the damage was caused by flooding and heavy rains; some areas received 66 cm of rain in 10 hours. Areas hit hard include the Artibonite Valley in central Haiti, where towns were washed into the ocean and much of the rice crop is gone, and Citi Soleil, a slum in Port au Prince. MCC has committed $60,000 for these areas, and is working with Christian Center for Integrated Development in Port au Prince to administer the relief funds.--

Four Mennonite Central Committee workers in Lesotho evacuated to South Africa after violence broke out in Lesotho in mid-September. After government opponents refused to accept defeat in recent elections, people in the capital, Maseru, began looting and burning properties. Rioters torched the deputy prime minister's residence. South Africa and Botswana sent in troops to try to restore order. The four workers are Lora Braun of Winkler, Man., Ryan Hoover of Willow Street, Pa., Shawn Neil of Spring Run, Pa. and Jud Shearer of Lebanon, Pa.--

MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE

An MCC report on the bombing of US embassy in Kenya (People & Events, Sept. 25) said that Eunice, a Massai woman who works in an MCC bead project, was killed in the Aug. 7 bombing. In fact, it was Eunice's mother, Maria Lipeny Olotuno, who died. Maria had gone to Nairobi to buy beads, which she used to buy and sell to earn a living.--

Mennonite Central Committee workers returned to Kinshasa, Congo in October. Bruce and Ann Campbell-Janz of Newmarket, Ont., Duane Falk of Winkler, Man., Stephani Bar of Christina Lake, B.C. and Andrea (Heather) Ranck of Paradise, Pa. had evacuated to South Africa in early August when Congolese rebels trying to overthrow the government were advancing toward the capital. The rebels were driven back, but at the end of August some fighting took place in the city, including areas where Congolese Mennonites live. MBMS International and Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission are contributing $38,000 to a Mennonite effort to provide food to 10,000 Kinshasa residents, and MCC is contributing an additional $38,000 to the relief project. Food prices have risen dramatically over the past several months, beyond what many people can afford. Representatives from the three Congolese Mennonite conferences will distribute the locally purchased food, which will go primarily to needy Mennonites. While Kinshasa residents have gone through several difficult periods sine 1991, including riots and a change in government, this time things seemed to be worse because Kinshasa was cut off from the Bas-Congo and Bandundu provinces for several weeks, completely rupturing the supply of food and fuel. Since August, rebels have controlled eastern Congo, including Bukavu where there is a small Mennonite church.--

Church Partnership Evangelism, a ministry affiliated with MBMS International, sends North Americans to tell their testimonies door-to-door in partnership with national Christians in other parts of the world. Each campaign team consists of about 25 persons who pay an average of $1,400 toward the costs of their participation (a total of about $35,000). The additional average cost per campaign, including New Testaments, hotel, food and transportation, is $23,250. The results of CPE campaigns since 1993:

--PETER LOEWEN, CPE

Nearly three tons of humanitarian aid for Zaporozhye, Ukraine were raised through passengers and supporters of the Fifth Mennonite Heritage Cruise. The aid included sewing materials for Zaporozhye Mennonite Church, children's clothes for Ukrainian institutions, seeds, solar ovens and medical supplies. The medical supplies, organized by John and Lottie Epp Kelsall of Montreal and Art and Marlyce Friesen of New Westminster, B.C., were given on Sept. 27, the 78th anniversary of the founding of Mennonite Central Committee. MCC was founded to help Russian Mennonites after World War I and the Russian Revolution. The first MCC kitchens opened in early spring 1922 in the Dorfschule (village school) in Rosenthal, Ukraine.--

At 12:30 p.m. on the 19th of every month, Christians from a variety of denominational backgrounds gather for a peace vigil in Simon Bolivar Plaza in Bogotá, Colombia. The peace vigils were begun in August 1997 by the Interconfessional Commission for the Construction of Unity and Peace. Through prayer, song and drama, the group seeks to raise awareness about the injustices and violence in Colombia and to strive for peace. The vigils commemorate the assassinations of human rights workers Elsa and Carlos Alvarado and Mario Calderon, who were killed by a death squad May 19, 1997. The vigils also build bridges between Catholics and Protestants, who fought fiercely with each other between 1948 and 1958, resulting in long-term barriers. The vigils have included members from Mennonite, Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian and other churches.--

Anglican bishops at the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England voted 526-70 on Aug. 5, against the ordination of homosexuals, saying homosexual activity is incompatible with Scripture. The Lambeth Conference is held every 10 years and includes bishops representing 73 million Anglicans and Episcopalians around the world.--

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