HOTLINE - week of November 20, 2006

As World AIDS Day, December 1, approaches, read this report from the field on the Giving Hope program with HIV/AIDS orphans in Rwanda and Kenya -- visit our World AIDS Day page next week.

The sound of wood-cutting machines echoes in the air of Hilina'a village, on the island of Nias.

Carpenter Hezisokhi Zebua is working on some orders from the community, making window frames in the workshop, which he built some eight years ago. Unlike his half-brick, half-wooden house that collapsed and can no longer be occupied, his workshop, which stood next to the house, survived the earthquake in Nias on March 28, 2005. The powerful quake struck just three months after the catastrophic tsunami had devastated many other parts of the main island, Sumatra.

After the earthquake, Zebua, his wife, and five children--who range in age from ten months to nine years--had to stay in a camp that the government had set up near Gunung Sitoli, the island's main city, for three months. Difficulty accessing clean water, poor sanitation facilities, and illnesses his children caught were only some of the challenges they faced in the camp.

The terrible living conditions compelled him to rebuild his house in the village using scraps and debris from his destroyed house. "Although the place will never look and feel the same again, we are happy to be back," says Zebua.

"For three months we didn't have electricity in the house, and I was out of a job for six months. Although the workshop was fine, all the machines were damaged, and we were dependent on aid provided by the government and non-governmental organizations, and my savings from before the earthquake," he adds.

"I was having trouble restarting my business because I had to use all my savings during the first six months, since I had no income. Then, CWS came to our village, sat down with different representatives of our community, and started a livelihood-recovery program. I was one of many others that participated in the program," says Zebua.

"CWS provided tools and materials and other small machinery, such as a wood-cutting machine, wood-smoothing machine, and parts of machines to restart my business," he adds.

Zebua says he can make two windows a day and three doors a week. He also makes furniture, such as tables and chairs, upon request.

Zebua is grateful that he can operate his business again. He is able to earn an income to meet his children's needs, while saving a little as well, reports Lesvi Roselim, CWS-Indonesia.

His wife and eldest son help him with simpler tasks, such as drilling holes for door locks or sanding wood. The carving on windows and doors that requires more skills, Zebua does himself.

"I want to be able to put my children through school as high as possible," he says, while putting his hand around his son’s shoulder.

This past week, devastating storms and tornados caused at least twelve deaths from Louisiana to North Carolina, and severe wind and flood damage along the East Coast. Eight people alone died in a tornado in Riegelwood, North Carolina.

CWS is assessing needs in the hardest-hit communities. CWS disaster liaisons are in contact with North Carolina Interfaith Disaster Network partners, as well as the North Carolina state emergency management officials and others, and has receive a request for long-term recovery assistance in North Carolina. CWS is also in contact with officials in Alabama and Mississippi about possible responses in those states.

In early November, flooding affected parts of Washington state, including Native American tribal lands. In October, rains damaged and destroyed homes in southeast Texas; a snowstorm in western New York affected thousands there; and an earthquake affected parts of Hawaii. CWS is seeking funds to help meet unmet needs and support long-term recovery organizing and grants in the affected states.

Make a donation to 2006 Fall U.S. Disaster Response.

Some 300 families (about 1,000 people) in Tansengo village, some 100 miles northeast of the capital, Ougadougou, are improving their access to clean drinking water, as well as water for their livestock and gardens, with the help of CWS and local partner, the Association for Peace and Solidarity.

The families live within the Sahel, an arid buffer zone between the Sahara Desert to the north and the more verdant region to the south.

When completed, the families will have both borehole wells for drinking water and more shallow cement-lined wells for their community's other needs. This model community-based water development program can be replicated and promoted by CWS and other organizations and government agencies.

Your prayers and support - and your participation in CROP WALKS and the TOOLS & BLANKETS Program - make possible these and other life sustaining programs. For information on how to get involved, please call your Church World Service/CROP Regional Office toll-free at 1-888-CWS-CROP, that's 1-888-297-2767.

For information about free loan videos, please call 1-800-297-1516, ext. 338, or e-mail us at: videos@churchworldservice.org.

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