Casa Materna Pitches In After Hurricane Mitch -- You can help
This letter was sent to us via email from the Casa Materna, a facility in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, that serves high-risk pregnant women before and after the births of their babies. The P.S. is from Kitty Madden, who interrupted her sabbatical to fly back to Nicaragua when she heard about the hurricane. Kitty is a long-time friend of the Neahtawanta Center and works at the Casa Materna. The Neahtawanta Center has helped with a Collection Day for the Casa for the past 8 years. The Casa Materna was not damaged in the hurricane, but there is extensive destruction and suffering near-by. The staff is working hard to help the people rebuild their lives. We are encouraging any of you who would like to help, to make a monetary donation to the Interfaith Council on Peace and Justice. The ICPJ has an account and transfers the money to the Casa Materna. Send to:
Casa Materna
c/o ICPJ
730 Tappan St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
make checks to: ICPJ
Dearest Friends at Neahtawanta:P.S. From Kitty:As we begin this time of Advent we send warm loving greetings from the mothers and staff of the Casa Materna. As you know, Nicaragua was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch, with over 5,000 dead or missing and billions of dollars in damage to the infrastructure and loss of crops.
In addition, we as a people face serious hunger and danger of such diseases as cholera, typhoid and leptospirosis as a result of contaminated water sources and lack of hygienic conditions.
One of the ironic twists of Mitch for us and for other non-governmental organizations was the government's temporary halting of it's new policy to tax all incoming donations. Thus, the boxes of donations you sent down with the student caravan this past summer were released and were able to be used to help those in greatest need from the devastation of Mitch. We're deeply grateful for your gifts and for the material aid you sent down with Kitty Madden -- this aid will be used to help people who had lost their homes, being buried in the mud or swept away by swollen rivers.
Casa staff did double duty in serving mothers and babies here in the Casa and 250 refugees in a center just on the edge of Matagalpa City. Sometimes the Casa had as many as 13 mothers, 13 babies and 25 pregnant women as well as 5-6 more in the hospital as the aftermath of Mitch here in the Matagalpa region made travel back home impossible for the first two weeks after. Usually we've counted on the mothers to help bring food but now we are sending food home with each mother as most everyone has lost their bean and corn crops, both of which would have been ready to harvest just at the time that Mitch hit.
Again, we thank you for your generosity and for your prayerful support. As we come to the seasons of Christmas and Channukah and the time of the Winter Solstice we think of Mary and Joseph and so many refugees of the world seeking a place to lay their heads. We are grateful that we, through the help of international solidarity, are able to offer a "room in the inn" to all of the high-risk pregnant mothers who come to us. May you and your loved ones be abundantly blessed in this season of light!
Warm aebrazos (hugs) from all at the Casa Materna
In my travels throughout the countryside of Nicaragua these past two weeks, I have seen and heard so much pain, pain of the people and pain of our mother earth. I'm trying to document some of this through a brief video and will get a copy to the Center.
In the midst of it all, there have been two divergent chords of response to Mitch: there are still those among the people who exhibit a fair amount of resiliency, an ability to bounce back, to pick up and make the best of what has happened; however, there is a growing number of the poor who are just feeling totally devastated; their situation before was difficult and now it is pure misery. One campesino asked, "How could the Hurricane have known where the poor people lived and where the rich people lived?"
Many of you viewed on your televisions the horror of more than 2,000 people of Posoltega being buried in the mudslide from the collapsing Volcan Casita and this same horror was repeated hundreds of times all over rural areas of Nicaragua as the land gave way to the power of the water. Together with the threats of hunger and illnesses, people continue to suffer psychologically, so many having lost family and friends and others their homes and all their means of livelihood.
Please keep the people of Central America in your prayers and consider joining with others who are having "alternative Christmas" celebrations, forgoing traditional gift-giving in order to benefit those who have lost so much in the wake of Hurricane Mitch.
Whatever you are able to give will be deeply appreciated.
Sally, it's the night of the full moon and I'm here on duty at the Casa. Many women went to the hospital this afternoon and I just took another at 9 pm. I'm weary and sad, sad for the people, sad for the land; I feel like I don't even quite have words yet to describe the horror of what I have seen and felt these past two week but I wanted to get something off to you tonight.
Love and many thanks to all of you, Kitty de la luna tierna on this beautiful night of the full moon
Return to the Index of Synapse 46, Winter 1998/99