Church Gives Donations To Fisherman In Japan

Eight months after the earthquake and tsunami hit in Japan, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church“) contributed donations to the fishermen of Kuji and the small village of Noda Mura in Japan.

The fisherman in those cities were devastated when the tsunami destroyed almost all of their equipment. The Church donated “three trucks, 4,500 nets, 3,000 octopus cages and various other fishing supplies to the local fishermen’s cooperative” to the city of Kuji, and “trucks with refrigeration equipment and fish tanks, a fork lift, a large-volume digital scale and 70 large containers for hauling the day’s catch” in Noda Mura. In Kuji, the head of the fisherman’s co-op, Kenichiro Saikachi, thanked the Church saying, “For us who received the shock of this great disaster, the donation today from your church is a reassuring act of kindness.” This is a part of the ongoing effort of the Church in contributing to the welfare of those affected by the disaster in Japan. “Both the mayor and the head of the co-op were visibly moved by the help they had received from people they were not aware of before the earthquake and tsunami.”

To read the full story, please visit the official Mormon news website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Learn more about the Church humanitarian aid program.

Mormons Aid with Drought Relief in Africa

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church“) is working together with other organizations, to assist in drought relief efforts in Africa. Millions are in need of assistance as the past several years have been harsh drought conditions. The Church partnering to provide water, hygiene kits, medical supplies, as well as medical training. the Church is also working on projects in the future that would help the people of Africa be more self-reliant. These projects include digging wells, installing pumps, and sanitizing water. This example of assistance given by the Church and other organizations, shows that there is a great need for additional Christ like assistance around the world.

 With an estimated 13 million people in Eastern Africa in need of assistance, the conditions there being the driest recorded in the past 50 years, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is working with various other organizations to coordinate the distribution of aid in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda.

In Dadaab, Kenya, the world’s largest complex of refugee camps is already full, with an estimated half million people living there. Tens of thousands of people are living outside of the complex due to lack of space and supplies. In September, an average of 1,000 people arrived each day.

For a full report, please visit the official Mormon news website for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormons”)

BYU Student Innovation Brings Water to Africa

Brigham Young University engineering students have created a well-drilling system that works on manpower.  The drill is inexpensive, easy to operate and easy to move.

Other water-drilling alternatives in the region either can’t dig deep enough or cost too much, sometimes upwards of $15,000. But the team’s device has the potential to drill a 150- to 250-foot-deep hole in a matter of days—all for about $2,000. [1]  The team created the drill for WHOLives.org, a nonprofit dedicated to providing clean water, better health and more opportunities to people living in impoverished communities. The organization is currently focusing its drilling efforts on Tanzania, but it has plans to expand its operations to other countries. The project is also co-sponsored by the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology.

The drill can be operated by four people.  The project has the potential to affect millions of lives.  For official LDS news and updates regarding humanitarian efforts in Africa and other parts of the world, as well as world reports on Church events, visit the LDS Newsroom.

Mormons Spearhead International Charities

An article on Mormons in Business dot org talks about Russell Ellwanger, who currently lives in Israel and is the CEO of TowerJazz, a publicly traded semiconductor company on NASDAQ.  TowerJazz is headquartered near Nazareth, Israel, with a U.S subsidiary located in Newport Beach, California and facilities in China and Japan.  Margret, his German wife (whom he met on a mission to Germany, where she was also serving) spends nearly all of her time and resources managing the various charitable projects of forPeace.  Those projects now serve hundreds of thousands in Israel, Cambodia, and now Kenya.  The programs are innovative and therefore amazingly successful.

Micro-Loans?  Try Micro-Savings?

The Tabitha Project in Cambodia

Margret believes that the micro-loan programs functioning in many third-world countries get families off on the wrong foot from day one of their involvement.  Her incredible projects in Cambodia begin with micro-savings, and have allowed  1.5 million Cambodians to lift themselves from poverty into the middle class.  Currently, nearly 300,000 Khmer Cambodians are participating.

One of the reasons for the success of Marget’s charities is that there is no “rich big-brother” looking down on the needy, and no do-gooders going in and doing a project, then departing.  The latter means that the project breaks down and becomes derelict, while the former ends up being no real help at all.  The forPEACE organization has locals and permanent residents on the ground where help is needed.  They are always there with consistent help.  Also, the programs are self-driven.

The initiative in Cambodia is called “Tabitha,” named after a biblical woman who went around doing good. Tabitha was founded in 1994 by Canadian Janne Ritskeswith a goal to restore Khmer people hope and confidence and enable the poorest of the poor in Cambodia to improve their health, living conditions, and lifestyle. Here is a brief explanation of how the micro-savings program works.

The program has four main phases: The micro-savings program to teach money management principles;  cottage industry to teach job skills and to  generate paid positions;  the building of wells to provide families with clean water to improve health and living conditions; and house building, to  improve family comfort and living conditions.  By the time a family works through the four phases, they have moved from abject poverty to the middle class.

In the beginning, the family sets a goal to save 25 cents each week.  Every member of the family works hard to reach this goal, with everyone, even the children, participating.  At the end of 10 weeks, the family has saved $2.50.  Tabitha employees visit enrolled families each week and collect their savings.  After 10 weeks, Tabitha pays the family 10% interest, $0.25,
bringing their total to $2.75.   Each family then decides what to do with their savings. Many buy 5 baby chicks at $0.50 each.

After 10 more weeks of saving, families have another $2.75 to decide how to spend.   They sell the chickens they raised free range for $10 each.   With $52.75 they often buy:  A sack of rice – 50 kilos  for $40.00;  20 more chicks – $10.00;   Second hand clothes for their children.  As situations improve, families begin to save 50 cents each week.  Now families are able to buy and sell more chickens at a profit.  Eventually, they have just over $200, enough to purchase 30 chickens, or two pigs, or seeds to grow produce (making the family healthier, and to sell for profit), or clothes for everyone, or for rice.  Some choose to save $15.00 toward the cost of a well.

Families increase their savings to $5.00 each week.  They continue to earn 10% interest from forPEACE, funded by donations.  At the next phase, they may purchase a water pump, buy more chickens, save more toward the cost of a well, or cultivate a garden.  Families are now selling chickens, pigs, and produce, clothing the entire family, and have a well for clean water.  They begin to consider building a real house, after living in a hovel or out in the open.

Silk products produced by the Tabitha project

Some families enter the cottage industries established by forPEACE, especially the silk-weaving industry, which creates and sells gorgeous, high-quality purses, scarves, and other precious items.  Now the children can go to schools (forPEACE is building schools, too), and the family can purchase pots and pans, cement posts for a house, and a bicycle for use in their businesses.  When families are self-sufficient,  after about five years of 10-week cycles, they graduate from the Tabitha Savings Program, and have built a house costing under $1,000.  Tabitha sponsors house-building trips for volunteers who want to come help build houses.  When volunteers arrive, the footings are already in place, and they are trained by the Khmer.

The family-run businesses include produce and livestock farms; transportation businesses; roadside stores and vendors; silversmith shops;
and the silk weaving, the largest cottage industry.  Each village weaving
leader negotiates and purchases silk from silkworm farmers.   Tabitha weavers dye, spin, and weave the silk.  Silk fabric is transported to seamstresses.   Some women sew in their villages. Others commute to Tabitha headquarters in Phnom Penh.

There are many benefits from these cottage industries:  Silk sales pay for 80% of Tabitha administrative costs;  Cambodians learn to take pride in Cambodian products; and women are given the opportunity to earn a
respectable living.  Tabitha has built over 7,000 wells and 200 ponds and
has completed 9 schools.  Over 10,000 volunteers from across the globe have helped build over 4,000 houses.

Other Projects

In Israel, Margret works with Israeli Arabs in Nazareth to lift their educational accomplishments, which lag behind their Jewish counterparts.  Some projects aim to bring together Arab and Israeli youth to increase understanding.  In the Negev desert in southern Israel, formerly nomadic Beduouin women engage in cottage industries such as weaving and creating herbal products to forward the literacy of Bedouin women.

In Kenya, forPEACE is partnering with Global Outreach and building an internet cafe and guesthouse in western Kenya, connecting rural villages with the world through cyberspace.

For official LDS news and updates regarding humanitarian efforts in Africa and other parts of the world, as well as world reports on Church events, visit the LDS Newsroom.

Latter-day Saints Help with Tornado Cleanup

In the spring of 2011, the southern and mid-western U.S. states suffered from a record-breaking rash of tornadoes.  On May 7, 2011, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsored a massive volunteer project to help the people of Birmingham, Alabama, and Tennessee who were hit by many tornadoes. More than1,500 volunteers came from the greater Atlanta, Birmingham and other surrounding areas.  This is in addition to the mobilization of local Latter-day Saints who offered help in their own neighborhoods.

Organization for the wide-spread cleanup operation was from a “command post” established at a Mormon meetinghouse in Birmingham.  People needing help were represented by green dots on a large map of the area.  Local congregations found those in need by canvassing their own neighborhoods and passing information along.  This system is helped along by the existence of “Home Teachers” and “Visiting Teachers” in local congregations, called “Wards.”  Home Teachers are two men assigned to certain families in the neighborhood, and Visiting Teachers are two women assigned families to watch over.  They can pass information about emergencies up the line to bishops (who lead congregations), and then up to central leadership in the Church, which can then send help downward, if necessary.

Paul Norton was one who received help.  Though fortunate that all family members and pets survived, his home was left almost uninhabitable.  A team of 25 Mormon Helping Hands showed up to help.  Paul said he has never seen such a wonderful group people who just wanted to help and get nothing in return.

For more information about the official humanitarian efforts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visit the LDS Newsroom.

Mormons in North Carolina Help With Storm Cleanup

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pitched in to help with recovery efforts after deadly tornadoes hit the South. Members of this church are often referred to as Mormons, but generally prefer the initials LDS as a shortened version of their name, which more accurately describes who they are.

Mormons in Fayetteville, North Raleigh, and Holly Springs  left church services early on Sunday, April 17^th. They raced home, changed out of their Sunday best into work clothes, and set out to find people in need of help. Many wore the yellow vests that identified them as Mormon Helping Hands, a program that began in South America and has caught on world-wide. Some of the work was practical: volunteers dragged trees from yards and cleaned up debris to make the homes navigable while others helped put tarps over damaged roofs to protect the insides of the homes. Some work was in more of a compassionate nature: volunteers helped people whose homes were destroyed to search for mementos and important items that had survived the storms. Missionaries discontinued their proselytizing work to assist in the recovery efforts. Some church members simply went door to door asking if anyone needed help. The services were given regardless of religious affiliation. They found one orchard with more than forty fallen trees , and Mormons worked to cut into smaller pieces and clear away.

There are currently almost 77,000 Mormons in North Carolina in 154 congregations. The first missionary in the state arrived in 1838. Jedediah Grant stayed until 1845 and in that time he organized seven congregations and left behind a membership of about 350 people. In the 1840s, many Mormons left the state due to intense persecution, but in 1875, work began again and new congregations were organized. In 1894, the leaders of the Church began asking members to stay in their home towns instead of moving to Utah and from that time on, church membership began to grow. Unfortunately, in 1906, mobs burnt a church building and forced missionaries out of the area, but they were able to return in the next century and the church has grown rapidly since that time.

Read more about tornado cleanup on LDS.org.

Mormons Sponsor Day of Service for Sacramento

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are often called Mormons, sponsored a Day of Service for Sacramento, California. It was part of a larger statewide-program the Mormons organized. Although sponsored by the Church, community members were invited to participate and many did. About 10,000 volunteers across California and Hawaii volunteered in their communities that day.

Mormons sponsored a Day of Service in Sacramento, California

In Sacramento, 1,200 volunteers showed up to work in three parks. About 1000 of them were Mormons and the others were volunteers who heard about the projects and wanted to help out. Over the course of the day, they planted flower beds, built paths, painted facilities, cleaned up trash, and painted the curbs on a roundabout to mark them non-parking zones. It is believed to be the largest volunteer event ever held in West Sacramento.

Even children helped with the activity. Parents commented that they wanted their children to know they had the power to make their world a better place and to learn to serve the communities where they lived. One teenager looked forward to returning to the park and knowing he had made a difference there.

This was the second year the Mormons had gathered to improve their community, but Days of Service have a long tradition in the Church, as Mormons are encouraged to be an active part of their communities.

Read the full story.

Mormons Help Raise Money for Mammograms

Almost 100 Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently served as volunteers at the 10th Annual Joy to Life Foundation’s “Walk of Life” in Alabama. The walkathon, sponsored by the Joy to Life Foundation, raises money to provide mammograms to women under fifty in portions of Alabama who can’t afford to get them. The volunteers, who are often called Mormons due to their belief in the Book of Mormon as a companion to the Bible, helped with registrations, assisted with set-up and clean-up, assisted with sponsor booths and helped to guide runners. John Enslen oversaw the Mormons who volunteered and said they felt it was a worthwhile project because it helped to prevent breast cancer in a time when government was less able to fund such programs.

Mormons assisted at fundraiser for mammogram care in Alabama.

The project was part of a Mormon tradition known as Day of Service and the Mormon Helping Hands program. Helping Hands began in South America as a way for Mormons to serve their communities and has since spread world-wide. In 2011, Mormons are being asked to provide a day of service in their communities around the world.

Days of Service are a familiar concept to Mormons in Alabama. In fact, the governor, Robert Bentley, declared April 2011 as “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Month of Service.” His goal was to honor Mormons for their local service, usually done in conjunction with local service organizations or government and their history of world-wide humanitarian work.

Last year, the volunteers who helped with Walk of Life participated in a food drive for the Montgomery Area Food Bank. Working with other local organizations, volunteers were able to collect 4,221 pounds of food and nearly 3,700 dollars in cash. Partnering with other organizations allows them to make much larger differences and also builds relationships in the community and with other churches.

For instance, the Montgomery area of Alabama recently faced a devastating tornado. The Mormons were able to organize 28 men to help with cleanup efforts. They joined with volunteers from other churches and together, the 50 volunteers were able to make a tremendous difference in their own neighborhoods. One story reported by media was of two sisters who were killed after their home was hit by the brunt of the storm, leaving only the foundation remaining. Devastated family members did not know how to begin working through the mess to find mementos they might be able to rescue. A team of volunteers removed trees to make a path for vehicles, including one donated by a Mormon Sunday School teacher. Once trucks could get to the home, volunteers removed the tree cover so the family could get to the foundation to search for photos and other sentimental items. While saving pictures might seem unimportant in the larger scheme of things, it was emotionally essential to the grieving family. Family members expressed their appreciation that complete strangers answered God’s call to come and help them. Many of the volunteers that day had worked in clean-up efforts for other storms in four states.

Birmingham held a day of service to assist with tornado issues as well. Local leaders arranged for clothing to be sent from Salt Lake City, Utah, where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is headquartered. Local Mormons and missionaries helped to distribute the clothing to people who had lost their clothing in the deadly tornadoes.

Mormons Blanket California and Hawaii with Service

On April 30, 2011, Mormons in California and Hawaii spread out across their states to provide service to the government and local charities. The second annual Day of Service involved 65,000 Mormons and many other volunteers from religious and community groups. In addition, many companies made donations of supplies. It is estimated that the California project saved the government 4.5 million dollars.

Volunteers told reporters they enjoyed opportunities to give to their communities, work with others, and to serve. Community leaders, service organizations, and political leaders expressed gratitude to the Mormons for their contributions to their cities or programs.

“All I can say is thank you to the Mormon Helping Hands project. Davis is a city of volunteerism … but to see one group in one day come in with such force and generosity is humbling. It inspires us all to do more,” said Davis Mayor Joe Krovoza in California. Volunteers there worked to improve gardens and painted bike tunnels and fence in gardens.

Tom Larson, who oversees a farm at Orange County Great Park said, ““We’re so grateful. These in the future will produce a lot of fruit. Every tree is going to provide something for someone who needs something.” At this farm, volunteers planted trees and coated some existing trees with a substance that protects them. The food grown is used to feed the hungry.

Mormons at a recent Day of Service in Hawaii and California

Joe R. Mendoza, deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation pointed out the financial benefits of the day of service. “This Mormon volunteer day enhances the park while instilling pride within the community. The project also saves Los Angeles County dollars in a tough economic time.”

The projects covered a wide range of services. In Redlands, California, two miles of meridian was renovated. Volunteers beautified the streets using 1,069 cubic yards of mulch, 72 trees, nearly 1,700 plants and tons of river rock, completing the project in half the anticipated time. Redlands High School sent its athletes out to spread the heavy rocks along the meridian as a way to give back to the town that is always giving to them.

Over at the Redlands Bowl, a performing arts center, volunteers repaired a roof with the help of contractors and a Rotary member. Other volunteers painted benches. Volunteers from Home Depot, which provided a 40,000 dollar grant for the day of service, worked to repair benches. Other businesses and organizations also sent donations and volunteers. The Kiwanas fed the volunteers, although they had about 300 more volunteers than the 2000 they planned for. All together, the Mormon-inspired program saved about 400,000 dollars in materials and labor. The mayor of Redlands said it would have taken years for the city or its Service Club Council to have completed the work that was done on that single Saturday.

One group of volunteers cut plastic into strips and then crocheted them into bedrolls for the homeless in a unique recycling/community service project. In Hawaii, thousands of volunteers collected trash, including bulky items, from city and state parks. Throughout California, schools, parks, and government buildings got repainted and cleaned. Volunteers cleaned and improved veterans’ cemeteries and weeded gardens. Graffiti was removed from neighborhoods. Flowers were planted at a psychiatric hospital.

Many of the volunteers were teenagers and children. Little children commented on how happy it made them feel to be helping others. Too often people forget that young children can make a difference, but these children were learning, in a very practical way, that they could. Many of the young people commented on how much they looked forward to returning to their work to see what they accomplished.

Mormons have a long tradition of serving others because it is what Jesus Christ taught them. They find the service performed during this event particularly meaningful because there may not have been government money available for the projects, but they were able to demonstrate that citizens can pool their time and resources and make a difference even in the most challenging of times.

Mormon Fights Poverty Worldwide

Dr. James B. Mayfield is the founder of Choice Humanitarian, fighting poverty worldwide.  Mayfield, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a professor emeritus of public administration and Middle East Studies at the University of Utah, was a young Fulbright scholar in Egypt in 1966.  It was there that he was exposed to abject poverty.  Since then he has worked in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America for the U.S. government as well as his own charitable foundation.  In working with the government, Mayfield has learned by observing what doesn’t work.

“…in reviewing a $27 million U.S. water pump project in Indonesia in 1982, he found that 83 percent of the pumps were not working three years after being installed: A village chief told him they were waiting for the Americans to come back and “fix their pumps. We have assumed we can give people free things,” he said, “and they will be better.” [1]

Mayfield helped form Choice Humanitarian in the early 1980′s.  In the beginning, the organization followed this same formula.  When they returned to the sites of their charitable installations years later, sure enough, things weren’t working.  By the 1990′s they had come up with plans to train local people how to manage their charitable works.

“We were still encouraging a dependency relationship — the villagers were waiting for an expert. We learned the projects needed to be villager-driven.”

Now it is not only poor villagers who benefit from the training and projects launched by Choice Humanitarian; it is also those who spend time serving with the organization, including retirees, youth and children.

Choice Humanitarian is currently working on a project with another organization that would utilize the approximately 1,500 “old, wobbling” satellites orbiting the earth in order to provide Internet access in at least 10,000 villages around the world for about a tenth of the cost of normal satellite access.  Other, ongoing projects include teaching Bolivian women sewing and weaving skills; offering scholarships in Nepal;  and teaching midwifery, basic medical techniques, small business planning and English skills for teachers in Guatemala.  In Mexico Choice Humanitarian creates micro-enterprises in livestock, cheese making, handicrafts, blacksmithing, corn mills,  and many other ventures. Electricity is now supplied in many villages. Women’s savings programs, health care training and classroom construction are underway throughout CHOICE Humanitarian service areas in Mexico.    In Kenya, along with numerous school and classroom construction projects, women’s micro credit programs, water and sanitation projects, basic health care training, and long-range sustainable economic strategies such as the Marikani Dairy Cooperative are all encompassed in CHOICE Humanitarian involvement.

To learn more about Choice Humanitarian, to contribute, or to serve, go to their official website: http://choicehumanitarian.org.

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