Midnight Run to New Orleans; the Airport Evacuation
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INTERNATIONAL ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHARITIES NEWS NEEDS SNAPSHOTS FROM THE FIELD VOLUME 9, NO. 1 SPRING 2006 Midnight run to New Orleans; The airport evacuation gates of evacuation had opened.” The remarkable story that Lebanon school culminated with the evacuation of 300 patients and 30 Vietnamese receives help evacuees in the early morning of Sept. 11, 2005 actually started following attack ten hours earlier. By Rachel Zoghbi Azzi, IOCC-Lebanon Although the situation in New Orleans had somewhat stabilized with the military taking control, Photo by Michael Rieger-FEMA at the city’s airport people with Baltimore, Md (IOCC) — special medical needs had not “Probably the most gratifying been evacuated, and the situation thing about bringing out the 300 was desperate with people dying critically-ill patients from the every day. Frank Carlin, drawing New Orleans airport that unfor- on more than 35 years of disaster gettable evening,” recalled IOCC response experience, led the Board Member Lee Kapetanakis, IOCC response team and recalled Beirut, Lebanon (IOCC) — As “was pulling back into Baton the evening’s events. the new year progresses forward, Rouge just at sunrise and seeing “From 9 to midnight we pressed many Lebanese communities are a convoy of more than 100 buses the case at the FEMA command still reeling from the effects of last headed the other way to evacuate center in Baton Rouge trying — year’s political and economic those we couldn’t. Word had with great difficulty — to get ten instability. Especially devastating spread that our midnight-run school buses to evacuate 300 were the more than ten explo- had made it and now the flood- continued on page 7 sions targeting populated com- mercial and industrial sites in Greater Beirut. Mr. Maurice Bou Habib, Director of the Public School of Antelias, was in his office on July 12, 2005 preparing for the start of the new school year. Suddenly, less than 50 meters away, an explosion targeting Lebanon’s Minister of Defense shook his school, blowing out most of the windows and doors. The Minister, his escorts and others were injured, a civilian was killed, and the immediate area Photo by Michael Rieger-FEMA Evacuees, including many who required medical attention, share floor space at the New suffered massive destruction. Orleans Airport following Hurricane Katrina. More than 300 of the sick were taken to Baton continued on page 3 Rouge, La. by an IOCC team. INTERNATIONAL ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHARITIES NEWS NEEDS 2 From the Executive Director without parents, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is raising new awareness to help those afflicted with the disease with new opportunities to live fulfilling lives in their communities and prevent others from becoming infected. And in Serbia-Montenegro and Bosnia- Herzegovina, the IOCC Study Group, joined by longtime supporter Vlade Divac, witnessed first hand how IOCC has empowered people, whose lives were destroyed by war and international -Ethiopia sanctions, to help themselves. God’s promise of Resurrection is given flesh on a daily basis through the programs you support Photo: IOCC in IOCC. As we approach the Resurrectional As we enter the period of Great Lent we prepare celebration this year, we thank you for your ourselves for the fulfillment of God’s promise in the prayers and we thank you for your faithful Resurrection. The Lenten fast can be more than a support that has brought this Paschal hope personal preparation; it can also be a reminder of to millions worldwide through IOCC. those for whom basic food, shelter, economic self- sufficiency and hope are a daily miracle. The pages Yours In Christ, of this newsletter are devoted to people who have received those miracles through your almsgiving in supporting the work of IOCC. First the story of immigrants, the elderly and infirm Constantine M. Triantafilou who were evacuated by a pan-Orthodox and Executive Director Photo: Nicole Minor - The P ecumenical group of humanitarian aid personnel from the devastation of New Orleans during the mid- dle of the night after a harrowing journey, and into the capable hands of medical personnel to treat them. Then there is the story of children in Lebanon and how their school was restored after a bomb damaged their building weeks before classes were angea Network to begin. A village on Nias Island in Indonesia that was leveled by the destructive force of a tsunami over one year ago is beginning to be revived through a comprehensive community development strategy that is bringing hope to the people as new buildings are being constructed. National Basketball Association Superstar and longtime IOCC benefactor, Vlade Divac, is shown above with two children from In Ethiopia, where HIV/AIDS has claimed Serbia whose family receives support through IOCC projects. The millions of lives and left over a million children visit occurred during the IOCC Study trip this past September. International Orthodox Christian Charities, Inc. (IOCC) was established in 1992 by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) as the official humanitarian aid agency of Orthodox Christians to work in cooperation with the Orthodox Churches worldwide. The mission of IOCC is to respond to the call of our Lord Jesus Christ, to minister to those who are suffering and are in need throughout the world, sharing with them God’s gifts of food, shelter, economic self-sufficiency and hope. Published three times a year by IOCC, News & Needs is edited by Dan Christopulos, Mark Hodde and Emily Stchur. recycled paper To learn more about IOCC’s international work, please visit www.iocc.org INTERNATIONAL ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHARITIES 3 NEWS NEEDS IOCC rebuilding disaster-affected regions By Dirk Van Gorp, IOCC-Indonesia Photo: Dirk V Nias Island, Indonesia (IOCC) cally needed healthcare services to — One year after the devastating the families of Gunungsitoli. Tsunami and earthquake in Staffed by a local doctor and nurses Southeast Asia, IOCC and its part- on a daily basis, the clinic will also an Gorp, IOCC ners are continuing to provide benefit from visiting doctors and life-recovery assistance to hun- specialists. In addition to financial dreds of affected families. The support for the clinic construction -Indonesia Tsunami that hit the northern and equipment, IOCC recently coast of Sumatra, Indonesia on shipped a material donation of December 26, 2004, causing new medical supplies and equip- incomprehensible damage and ment valued at more than $300,000 human tragedy, was followed by to support this clinic and other an earthquake on March 28, 2005 health clinics and hospitals in the that struck near the small island Tsunami and earthquake affected The construction work on the new health of Nias southeast of Sumatra regions of Indonesia. clinic just outside of Gunungsitoli is nearing destroying 35,000 homes and IOCC has also partnered with completion and will be opening in April, 2006. killing hundreds. Church World Service — Indonesia Just outside the main town of (CWS) to provide $450,000 for an reconstruction of family homes, Gunungsitoli on the island of Nias, integrated village recovery pro- the rebuilding of water supply IOCC is working in partnership gram in Tugala and Desa Fodoro, systems and sanitation facilities, with the Orthodox Church of two small neighboring villages in psycho-social activities, nutrition Indonesia and the Orthodox the Sirombu district of Nias, fifty and feeding programs and liveli- Metropolitanate of Hong Kong miles from Gunungsitoli. hood recovery assistance. and Southeast Asia (OMHKSEA) The villages’ infrastructure, The integrated approach of to construct, equip, and operate a which was already in poor condi- these programs and others in the new community health clinic. This tion, was left largely destroyed by disaster-affected regions is aimed will be the first new clinic to open the earthquake. Through this pro- at helping entire villages in largely devastated Gunungsitoli. gram, IOCC will address many of rebuild their lives and liveli- The new clinic will provide criti- the most critical needs, such as the hoods, one family at a time. Lebanon school receives help following attack Continued from page 1 Luckily no one in the school start of the school year … and my able to resume our school year as was hurt, but the buildings were students will not have the chance scheduled,” expressed Mr. Habib. left badly damaged. to attend classes anymore. It was Words of thanks were not limited The Public School of Antelias is the end of the world for me. I was to the director or the manage- composed of three four-story so desperate. But, something trig- ment of the school, but students buildings that house 36 class- gered me to call IOCC saying to also wanted to say, “thank you” rooms. “No glass, no windows or myself maybe they can help,” to IOCC in their own way by doors; nothing stayed the same… said Habib. painting a picture of children I just thanked God for keeping us The IOCC team rushed to the saying “Merci IOCC.” alive, a few scratches were not a school, assessed the damage, and The Public School of Antelias problem,” replied the director within three days the rehabilitation is considered one of the premier when asked about his reaction work was ready to start. After schools in Lebanon for excellent after the explosion. thirty-five days of continuous hard student performance, despite its “But after realizing the size of work, all of the windows and poor building and infrastructure. the destruction, I automatically doors were fixed or replaced. It has also benefited from thought that my school will have “We are very grateful for the IOCC’s School Feeding and no future; no one will be able to effort done, and if IOCC did not Education program for the recover all the damage before the intervene, we wouldn’t have been past two years.