October 2001 NEWSLETTER
Coordinator Nancy M. Mendenhall
P.O. box 1141 Nome, Alaska 99762
(907) 443-2455
nfnmm@yahoo.com
If you would like to be on our list to receive this newsletter by e-mail, send a message to e-mail address above.
For specific information about our direct mailing network and how to mail gifts: www.uuff.org/chukotka.htm
Update, 21 October 2001:
Nancy is going on leave starting October 30 for 2 months and will not be in regular contact for e-mail until January 3 . In her absence, if any of you "direct mailers" need answers to questions or want to report that you got your packages mailed, send your message to Michele at mail to: peterson@nome.net She can also deposit donations. Thank you, this time, especially to the following: AFSC for the 19 boxes of jackets which have all been mailed except for 10 jackets to go to families; Whitefish Bay UMC for their big donation which helped get the mailing done; Chena Ridge Friends for their own big mailing this month; all the knitters who sent the high quality yarn which is going out in every box we send; and to all the people who took on new families or sent funds to help us finish the village of Konergino.
I recently was privileged to attend a conference of the Beringia group
of the National Park Service. Several delegates from Chukotka said the
best thing AFOC could do was to keep sending clothing at this time, as
it is still absent in village stores. We received several thank yous for
fish nets sent. Food and fuel are being covered by the Anadyr government
now and many good projects started or planned. The place where the hot
springs is being utilized for a heating and even
electrical system is Lorino, not Providenya. However, the heating
system is being totally repaired in Providenya. More details in the January
newsletter on joint initiatives with Alaska as wll as Chukotka's own projects.
October 2001 Newletter
To All Alaskan Friends of Chukotka, and the friends outside Alaska too: The Chukotka Ethnography website, which our information is linked to, has changed its address. This website by Dr. Patty Gray is updated regularly, full of general information and photos about Chukotka, is always interesting, and has links to an archive of AFOC newsletters as well as to our "direct mailers" info website. The new address is: www.chukotka-ethnography.org. There is a new section on local efforts to combat alcoholism. This is one of the new governor's top priorities. The other "direct mailer info" address remains the same: www.uuff.org/chukotka.htm.
The rest of this message many of you have already received, so forgive me for repeating. I found out that many of the addresses on our mailing list had gone into some never-never land and you were not getting my AFOC list messages. But you can get the September newsletter and any others from the archives from the websites above. We met our goal for funds and mailings for this fall! A big thanks to everyone who helped out with that special request. Local groups and congregations were really generous and we were able to mail out the 19 boxes of jackets from the American Friends Service Committee. Chena Ridge Friends, McMinnville, OR UMC and Glenwood, IA UMC continue with their own adopted village projects and many smaller groups as well.
I was able to go to the Beringia Days conference in Anchorage sponsored by the National Park Service and talk to several Chukotkans attending. They were full of reports of improvements under the new government, and long range plans that sounded so similar to what we plan for in Alaska. Food and fuel needs for the winter have been met. However there are still few clothes and footwear in village stores, especially for children, and we are urged to continue with this kind of mailing and other small household necessities and school supplies.
The next big fund-drive, clothing collection, and mailing will happen in January. I will be gone Stateside until January 3 working on a personal project. In my absence, Michele Peterson in Nome will answer e-mail questions about mailings, receive and deposit donations, etc. She has been very active in this project for two years. We will get out another newsletter by early February. We have received many thank you letters in the last few months, among them three letters from families specifically mentioning the terrorist attacks and telling us they are with us in sorrow and sympathy.
Yours for peace and justice in our troubled world,
Nancy
AFOC September 2001 Newsletter
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