April-May 2005 NEWSLETTER
Coordinator Nancy M. Mendenhall
P.O. box 1141 Nome, Alaska 99762
(907) 443-2455
nfnmm @ yahoo.com
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For specific information about our direct mailing network and how to mail gifts: www.uuff.org/chukotka
AFOC Newsletter, April 15, 2005
I hope that it is safe to call this a spring newsletter! First, I apologize if you did not receive a February newsletter. We were struggling with a virus here and about 12 names got knocked off the mailing list but they are back on now.
We have on hand here 10 letters from hard-up families in village of Enurmino and Neshkan needing kids' clothing and boots/shoes for all. We are getting the boxes out as fast as we can ( have mailed out 6 and have 2 more ready to go, but these ten are in addition). We have included fish nets for those that requested and received funds today from Carl W. to order more nets. Thanks so very much Carl!!! If any of you are able to take on one of these families it would be great. We will send the details if you contact us.
In addition we received lists of names of 12 needy families in New Chaplino and forwarded them to two churches in Anchorage who will take care of them. Then we got a list of 10 needy families from the large village of Lorino, which we have barely sent to in the past. These last two lists are carefully screened by social welfare people in those villages for those most in need.
Thank you to all of you who have continued to sponsor families. Please let us know if you receive a thank you letter so we can make note the box arrived. We got, through the grapevine, word from two coastal villages--Enmelen and Uelen--great thanks for large shipments received from several groups on this side. These messages were handcarried by women coming here for a conference. They also said that some gifts had arrived in Providenya from a Fairbanks address, but did not have details.
As we mentioned last time, we received no letters last fall after October, but now they have come in healthy numbers. Two had dates inside a year old. I wonder where those had been! The village of Enurmino continues to send the most letters and we are busy responding, family by family.
Based on the news we receive from travelers and letters, our priorities are correct: we need to assist people to take care of themselves and kids to get to school. So, outside gear that can be used for hunting, herding, fishing and gathering, and kids' warm clothing, boots and PE clothes are what we urge folks
to send. Notebooks and pens for school, yarn, needles, nylon thread and seed beads can be stuffed in corners.
A social worker from one of the villages said that she felt we should not send too many boxes to a single family and foster dependency on this source. She felt we should limit this and try to reach new families that write. I could see her point, although I don't think one or two boxes a year to a family we have adopted (which is typical) will foster dependency! That is just enough to help keep morale up and help out. She wants to see them strive to build their own self-sufficiency, and I think our choice of things we send does do that. But also we want to be sure kids don't stay home from school due to lack of clothing.
Education is surely one of the best ways to increase self-sufficiency.
She also said that it was no longer the case that people could not cover their power bills in the new housing. The old system of vouchers for low-income has been improved so that the forms are easy to fill out and all unemployed or low income people have to do is sign up for a voucher and they will have their
utilities at reduced cost. Thus the government is continuing to try to improve over the old cumbersome methods. I trust this woman, and know she is reporting accurately.
UAA Alaska-Russian Center continues to work on small scale economic development projects, housing, and social improvements like the rec centers. Their project director told me recently that our AFOC project has been the best ongoing outreach to the villages! That is because of all of you that have seen
the benefit of working directly with families. THANK YOU AGAIN for your support , and let us hope for continuing improvements for Chukotka!
Warm Regards,
Nancy
MAY 20, 2005
Hello AFOC network. This is just a brief update and reminder that if you are thinking of clothing/footwear deliveries to Chukotka for fall you might think about planning them now, to go out in June. We don't know if the same problems will prevail again with transportation, but the two villages we are
particularly concentrating on--Neshkan and Enurmino--could not get mail deliveries for a long time late fall due to extreme weather. So they did not get their winter clothing in time.
Many letters have come early--they are learning how long it can take, and we have about 10 families on the wait list here. I also have a list of families in need--either with kids or elders-- from the social worker at Lorino, a large village in same region. You may already have your family you are working with, many do, but if you want another one, I've got them. However, my point is not to ask you to do more so much as to ask you if you can do the mailing earlier than usual this summer. We are working on the same list here in Nome. We need to allow 3 months minimum mail transport time. Cold weather comes by mid September.
Thank you very much for hanging with this project when I know you probably have many others as well. This spring families write that they have enough for food and housing now but don't have enough for clothing the family, or else there are still shortages in some areas like kids' shoes still--or both
problems. If they ask for a fish net, etc., we send from here ASAP.
Thanks again to all of you who have sent yarn--very much appreciated by them. If I can help you anyway with this, let me know.
Thank you very much,
Nancy
AFOC September 2001 Newsletter
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