BYU Students Harness Sun Power for Peruvians

The Peruvians who live on the floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca want for basic amenities.  19 BYU engineering students recently returned from Peru, where they set up sustainable projects to meet basic human needs.  BYU Global Engineering Outreach class/club has visited the Uros people on the floating islands before. A windmill power generator was installed by a previous class.

However, the villagers weren’t using it, gravely concerned about the lightning risks of having a tall metal pole in the middle of a lake on an island made of reeds.  The windmill, therefore was left in the hands of the local government, while another project was planned.  The locals can study it and hopefully install it on the shore and in some of the mountain villages.

Next year’s students will work on a solar-heated water tank and possibly a bio-filter toilet — the simple wishes of one of the mothers on the island.

Currently, the Uros make small reed fires or spend nearly a third of their small incomes on fuel for propane stoves.  The engineering students designed sun cooker prototypes and spoke with members from the village to identify locally available resources.  The sun cooker can boil 12 eggs in 30 minutes.

Mormon Helping Hands in Slovenia

Members in all three branches in Ljubljana joined with a national effort to clean up Slovenia. Wearing their yellow Helping Hands vests, members from Ljubljana joined with members in the Maribor and Celje branches to help to clean up Slovenia in a day of service on April 17, 2010. [1]

The Church offered widespread support, including the full-time missionaries and President David H. Hill of the mission.  The service included rubbish clean-up projects in several areas, including Hill Roznik, behind the city park Tivoli and the Heracles temple in the park.  In the entire country, 250,000 people participated in the clean-up project, and the government sponsored festivities for the participants.

Mormon Church Sponsors Local Addiction Program

Mormons in Charleston, South Carolina, are sponsoring an addiction program for members of the local community of any faith or persuasion.  The program is adapted by LDS Services with permission from the Alcoholics’ Anonymous 12-step program.  Anyone from the community who suffers from an addiction, be it addiction to tobacco, alcohol, drugs, gambling, or pornography, is welcome to attend, and family members and friends who might benefit are also invited.  Those who have eating disorders or caffiene addiction would also benefit from the program.

The program is free and ongoing.  The experts managing the program are Kitty Baughan Cole, retired marriage and family therapist, and Dr. Marylou Lewis, former chief of staff for Charleston Area Medical Center.  

Lewis is now clinical ethicist and palliative care physician for CAMC Health Systems Inc. She is also affiliated with her local Mormon “stake,” which includes several Mormon congregations.

Read More…

Support groups in other locations

"Mormon Angels" in Tennessee

When several Tennessee counties flooded in early May, 2010, “Mormon Angels” pitched in to help.

The first weekend in May, after two days of relentless rainfall, the Harpeth and Cumberland Rivers that meander throughout the city and suburbs of Nashville, overflowed their banks at record-breaking heights and caused extremely serious flooding.   The flood waters reached four counties in Tennessee, causing so much damage they were deemed federal disaster areas. Over 20,000 homes were destroyed or damaged with 21 deaths across the state.

Though 42 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lost their homes and 100 members’ homes or vehicles suffered damage, no lives were lost among the members of the Mormon Church, and no church buildings were damaged. 

“On Saturday afternoon the rain continued and rivers began creeping out of their banks. Members checked on one another and then organized into small groups working tirelessly throughout neighborhoods. They moved furniture and supplies to upstairs rooms. In one subdivision the residents began to call the members the ‘Mormon Angels’ because of their selfless service. One neighbor wrote the following to the members, ‘We can’t tell you how much we appreciate all the help from all of our angels yesterday. You lifted a load in more ways than one. Please convey our UTMOST appreciation,’ Cindy Tumblin. ” [1]

“On Sunday church meetings were cancelled and members continued helping others. Many housed those that were forced to evacuate. Over 15 inches of rain had fallen by Sunday evening. In some places the rivers had risen 20 feet and totally submerged homes and vehicles. Weather forecasters said a summer’s worth of rain fell in two days.”

The Church Disaster Relief in Atlanta sent 7 semi- truck loads of clean drinking water, food, cleaning kits, generators, diapers, fans and other items into the Metropolitan Nashville/Davidson County Office of Emergency Management distribution point, to the Second Harvest Food Bank (who served as a distributor for Metro) and to the Town of Lavergne.

One semi-truck full of food and supplies was taken to the Grace Works Ministries and the Empty Hands Fellowship in Franklin, TN. Seven churches belong to this ministry and serve the people throughout Williamson County.  Two semi-trucks full of water (about 7,400 gallons) were sent to Mount Pleasant, TN, because their water purification system was underwater and not working properly. Members of the Nashville stake gathered supplies for over 1200 hygiene kits that were donated to the Red Cross for distribution.

Hundreds of church volunteers gathered in flood-stricken neighborhoods cleaning up muddy debris.  Every LDS ward had work crews out daily. Members worked tirelessly side by side with people of other faiths. “Our members have been welcomed every where they have gone, wonderful associations and friendships have been established. “

Sixty members in Thompson Station met at a local Baptist church that suffered severe water damage.  The church had six inches of water fill the sanctuary and class rooms. Mormon volunteers swept, cut drywall, and cleaned mud grime off of furniture.

LDS bishops and branch presidents have assigned priesthood leaders to lead volunteer service activities and have contacted city leaders to coordinate the service activities with neighborhood needs.   The mayor of Franklin, Tennessee was grateful and called the church daily for help. Several times persons needing help would call the mayor and ask for the Mormons.

One young man preparing for his mission went to the mayor’s office daily to find out what families needed help. Members of the church assisted in any way possible such as feeding relief workers, clearing trees, removing floors, siding, air conditioners, duct work, dry wall, garages, etc.

Mormon missionaries participated fully in the clean up, and seemed to work beyond their capacities.  Many were amazed at the missionaries hard work and diligence.  They pulled up damaged wood floors and tore out soaked HVAC ducts full of mud and awful smells.

Recovering from the flood may take years for Nashville and its surrounding areas but members of the Church will always be organized and ready to serve. “We feel extremely fortunate that our members had so little damage to their homes and properties when so many others lost everything,” said Franklin Stake President William Grayson. “We consider it a blessing to be able to coordinate supplies and food to those who were affected, and we are grateful for the volunteers from our stake who have worked tirelessly to reach out and help through daily service opportunities in their communities.”   [1]

Kentucky Mormons Clean Up after Louisville Flood

Members of the Louisville Kentucky Stake joined in relief efforts during two Saturdays in October to clean up homes damaged by floodwaters during the summer.

Torrential rains ravaged the greater Louisville, Ky. area on August 4. Widespread flooding damaged more than 200 homes in the western and southern portions of the city, rendering many uninhabitable and others susceptible to dry rot, dangerous black mold and structural dangers.

Efforts by civic and volunteer organizations began addressing immediate needs, but the work required was substantial. Over a month after the flood, more than 200 homes were still on a waiting list for assistance.

Mormon Youth Surprise Family with Home Makeover

On one occasion, a group of North Ogden Youth, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) decided to replace their annual weekend conference with a week long service project. Foregoing the dances, spiritual talks, sporting activities, and other normally-planned activities of a conference, forty youth decided to renovate a home in their Ogden neighborhood. Read more

Mormon Helping Hands Clean Parks

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is calling upon its members to volunteer in a day of service on May 8, 2010. Known as “Mormon Helping Hands Day-Renewing California Parks,” the Church will join hands with the Rancho Simi Parks and Recreation to clean and restore two parks in need of repair.

Tasks range from the small, such as pruning shrubs and repainting wall that had been sprayed by graffiti, to the large, such as rebuilding fences and creating and widening trails. The park overhaul requires a real labor force—more than 400 people. Volunteers will lend a hand beginning at 8 a.m. and going until the cleanup is done.

California is not the only area where members of the LDS Church are aiding in cleanup efforts. Mormons in both California and Hawaii have decided to focus on cleaning parks. Recently, in the Church’s North America Southeast Area, hundreds participated in a park cleanup during the second annual day of service for that area.

Challenger Park is a well known equestrian park with two miles of hiking trail, oak groves and a stream in the southern foothills of Simi Valley.  The other park, Corriganville, has passed through some famous hands and has been the site of multiple films and television shows.   It was the backdrop for movies and television programs such as Fort Apache, The Lone Ranger, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Sky King and Star Trek and featured such actors as Hopalong Cassidy, John Wayne and Ronald Reagan. At one time, Corriganville was listed as one of the “Top Ten” places to see in the United States.  However, the park was swept by several fires, with one in 1979 destroying all the structures. Since that time, the regional park has been subject to taggers, overgrowth and trash.

Volunteers in both locations will be recognizable by their yellow Mormon Helping Hands volunteer vests, the official vests used by Church members when participating in humanitarian service projects and disaster relief efforts throughout the world.

Update:

70,000 members of the Mormon Church showed up for the clean up projects.  Read about the results here.