Date: Fri, 06 Nov 1998 13:30:58 -0600
From: "Renske van Staveren" <rvanstaveren-AT-iatp.org>
Subject: NICARAGUAN PEOPLE  NEED YOUR HELP


NICARAGUAN PEOPLE NEED YOUR HELP

Dear Friends,

Terrible news of what is happening in Central America reach us by the
hour. The death toll is increasing day by day but probably it will take
several weeks until a
proper assessment of the full human and psysical damage is done.
Hurricane "Mitch" devastated the region, but Honduras and Nicaragua are
the two countries hit
hardest by the hurricane.

Friends and NGO's working in emergency relief in Nicaragua tell us that
the devastation can not be properly described by the horrifying images
that we have already
seen in TV or newspapers. The impact of the disaster might be much worse
than the 1972 earthquake. This time the damage is not concentrated in
the capital, but
extended all over the country. National infraestructure and agricultural
crops have been severely damaged and the worst is concentrated in the
rural areas where the
majority of the nicaraguan poor lives.

Most of the country - fourteen of its sixteen Departments - has been
flooded by heavy rains. The landslide in the Casitas volcano buried ten
communities. More than
2,000 nicaraguans have died and many more are still missing. A
preliminary estimate of 100,000 families are homeless. Many communities
are isolated with no food
reserves. A bomb health crisis is at the door in many rural towns. It is
the poor people whoare suffering most by the devastation, and it is the
poor people that need
immediate help.

Nicaraguans have reacted with enormous generosity and solidarity to help
the hurricane victims. Unfortunately, in the midst of the national
tragedy the government is
not providing an adequate leadership to coordinate a united national
emergency mobilization, disregarding the crucial contribution offered by
many Non
Governmental Organizations.

HOW CAN WE HELP

Many friends have asked us about effective ways to help the nicaraguan
people today. There are a number of Non Profit Organizations that will
guarantee that your
help will go where it is most needed. We are in contact with the Center
for People's Health and Education (CEPS), a non govermental organization
run by Dr.
Leonel Arguello, a very competent epidemiologist,  and a group of public
health activists that headed the national health programs during the
80's. These are very
honest and committed people who are now 100% dedicated to the emergency
relief campaign. They are working in close coordination with other NGO's
in the
effort to deliver of food, primary care and medicines to the damaged
areas.

Due to the destruction of road and bridges, there is still a need to
charter small planes to fly supplies to shelters in remote communities
in Matagalpa, Jinotega and
communities in the south part of the Autonomous Atlantic Region.  A
health and sanitary campaign is required to prevent a major catastrophe
with the expected
outbreaks of malaria, cholera, dengue and other water borne diseases.

For the above reasons we consider this a strategic campaign and
encourage you to support it. Please Help, sending cash donations, it is
the best way to help at the
moment. Any amount you can give can go along way in providing emergency
relief.

Checks should be made out to " CENSA" marked "Central American Hurricane
Relief Fund" and send to

CENSA
2288 Fulton Street
Office 103
Berkeley CA, 94704

CENSA is the Center for the Study of the Americas, a Non profit research
group based in Berkeley that will collect the funds and send them
directly to CEPS in
Nicaragua. Donations are tax deductible.

REMEMBER..

Even though media attention on the emergency may not last, the
catastrophe will have a long term impact. Thousands of Nicaraguans will
continue to suffer the
socio-economic effects of the hurricane for decades. If you want to
maintain your support during the rest of the emergency and the
reconstruction period, please
send us your name and email address, and we will enroll you in a mailing
list that will keep you posted of new iniciatives of the Center for
People's Health and
Education and other similar NGO's that have a truly commitment with the
poor. International solidarity has played a decisive role in dificult
moments of Nicaraguan
history. In this very unfortunate circumstance, all of us, sticking
together again, can make the difference.

Carlos Fernando Chamorro
Desiree Elizondo

You can reach us at:
desiree9-AT-pacbell.net
964 The Alameda
Berkeley CA 94707
(510) 528-0482

BAY AREA RESIDENTS

A group of latinos and north americans in the Bay Area are organizing a
fund raising cultural event for Nicaragua at LA PENA Cultural Center
(3105 Schattuck
Ave, Berkeley) on Monday, November 9 at 7.30 p.m.  Music by nicaraguan
artists based in San Francisco and a talk by Carlos Chamorro, former
Director of
Barricada, will be in the program. Hope to see you there.

PLEASE:

Forward this message to other individuals and networks!
__________________________________________
Ms. Renske van Staveren, Coordinator
International Forum on Food & Agriculture (IFA)
c/o Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)=09
2105 First Avenue South				=09
Minneapolis, MN, USA  55404-2505	=09
ph: 612-870-3423       fax: 612-870-4846
<rvanstaveren-AT-iatp.org>		=09
http://www.iffah.org				=09
__________________________________________
"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. 
When I ask why the poor have no food,
they call me a communist." - Dom Hélder C=E2mara