NEWS FROM CHUKOTKA
    As you know by now Chukotka has a new governor, Roman Abramovich. He has shown that he wants to open up relations with Alaska and is proceeding thus, but he has many crises to solve. And in the meantime we need to continue to send aid and gifts to families, schools and communities, as he cannot cure the economic woes
of the region overnight.  Putin has also taken a vigorous interest in the Russian Far East and declared its development a top presidential priority. The most critical concern now is fuel distribution, for although our winter has been mild, theirs has not.
    We talked to families in Chukotka whose children had been able to go to the Black Sea for vacations last summer, paid for through Abramovich's foundation,
Polius Nadezhdy, and to families who had received his food shipments.

AFOC SHIPMENTS RECEIVED
    In January I was able to go to Abramovich's inauguration (he paid the way of three humanitarian aid workers) and used the trip to see several of the programs over there we support. The shipments into Anadyr's regional hospital and children's home were arriving regularly, nothing missing. We saw the linens sent from our regional hospital, met the staff, and it was great to meet the kids at the orphanage who each got a box from McMinnville United Methodist. They are most appreciative, believe me; everything gets used. The kids sent their beautiful artwork back to McMinnville,hand-carried by Hal Bernton, Seattle Times reporter with us. We visited with the Kaira Club student group who  help create the calendar you probably have seen, and with students from the villages who do elder homecare, paid for thru RFETF.
And also met some of those elders too.
    We got messages in late December confirming that shipments of clothing and nets from spring and summer had arrived and were in use at Kanchalan,Vaegi, and
Yanrakinnot. Alkatvaam students each got their boxes in February which were sent October 30 from Glenwood, Iowa UMC, and from Anchorage RFETF, so that was faster. Our role was coordination.

MAILINGS
    The AFOC direct mailing network succeeded.  About 35 individual families or small groups got their list from us and did their own collections, boxing and mailing. These went to the villages and institutions mentioned above and to about five others. Through this network we greatly expanded our ability to reach individual families. Many of these boxes are still in transit. This is a great method for small groups who want to have personal contact with a family. We have gotten nice letters back, last week one from a man telling how he used some of our fishing gear to catch pike! And he enclosed a picture from his daughter using the crayons she received. When we receive a letter back from a family which mentions a need they have we try to fill it soon.  For example, one woman replying said the thing remaining that she needed most was a school backpack for her son--none to be had in their village. These kids get a lot of homework to carry back and forth so that was not a trivial thing
to her.

SCHOOL BOXES
    With the help of McMinnville UMC and  Alaskan families we were able to send a school supplies box to 36 of 40 village schools by January. If we have the funds we will do this again next fall. Wasilla dog musher/trekker Pam Flowers organized her own network of U.S. schools to join in the project and reached three, possibly more in this way, school-to-school.

DONATIONS FOR POSTAGE, SCHOOL SUPPLIES AND NETS
    In addition to the direct mailing network,we had a healthy amount of cash donations this year, enough to keep up our momentum of mailings direct from Nome and
Fairbanks Chena Ridge Friends Meeting. Much of this came from Fairbanks area after Sue Steinacher's Chukotka trip. These funds also purchased the fish net
webbing and lures, hygiene items and school supplies.
    But in January the international postage rates went up by a third--that was a shock. By February 10 we had used up all of the postage money. To our relief we got word of a grant for $2500 from American Friends Service Committee for 25 nets and postage. These will arrive in Nome by next week. They will go, with more clothing etc., to two more villages. That will carry us through our spring mailing. Total villages we will have reached then since fall 1998 with clothing/nets: 13, plus the clothing to the hospital. (Alkatvaam, and the children's home are done by others in the network.) Most of the larger families get two boxes.

OTHER NEWS
    RFETF DONATED SEVERAL THOUSAND $$ TO VLADIMIR ETYLIN'S OWN NGO FOUNDATION TO PURCHASE NETS AND SUPPLIES FOR THE 5 VILLAGES OF BILIBINSKI REGION. This is the first aid to go into that region, besides our school supply boxes. RFETF also sent funds for medical aid to the villages in Magadan, and is exploring medical aid to the reindeer herds in Northern Kamchatka. This is something badly needed in Chukotka as well.
    Nome's mayor Leo Rasmussen is actively promoting many kinds of exchanges between this region and Chukotka, as being beneficial to both sides. A look at the map
will tell you why. We expect Governor Abramovich to be here again in April.

NEEDS
    FOR YOU THAT ARE NEW TO THIS NETWORK, the best way to contribute is to adopt your own family or school and use our website directions (at top of this letter) to send your own boxes direct. Do not send clothing/blankets to Nome to be re-sent because it is too expensive, and we will get lots, regardless, from
all over. The exception is warm sox, mitts and gloves. We never have enough of these, and another item not too heavy to send us is yarn. (Or you could send yarn
direct to a school!) We also never have enough shoes and boots but they are too heavy to send up here. IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO FISHING GEAR OR TO RUBBER BOOTS THAT CAN BE USED FOR FISHING IN SUMMER LET US KNOW! We can figure out a method of delivery.

CHANGES
    PERHAPS THE BORDERS WILL OPEN UP RAPIDLY WITH THE NEW GOVERNOR. WE MAY BE ABLE TO GET AID DIRECTLY INTO ANADYR SOON.  But in the meantime, we should not stop using a method which we know works, and especially to remote villages. As opportunities arrive we of course send things direct as freight. Several boxes went direct to the Providenski villages in January.
    Aside from building the network,the other big need is cash donations for postage, and hygiene supplies, nets etc which we put in with the clothing sent from Nome.
So far, the amount we have received each season is just about what we have people-power to pack and send.  With the increase in rates,  we will be cut back
unless we get increased donations.

THANK ALL OF YOU FOR CONTINUING TO FAITHFUL TO THIS PROJECT AND FOR REMEMBERING HOW TOUGH IT IS TO BE
WITHOUT SUPPLIES IN THe REMOTE NORTH. Please let us know if you get thank you letters, and pass this newsletter along!

AFOC January 2001 Newsletter

AFOC December 2000 Newsletter

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