RN Fall 2022 Newsletter — RESTORATION NOW GLOBAL

Greetings! Before I dive into the update, I want to thank you for your continued support for RNG! I am grateful for your partnership in all its forms, from brainstorming with me to financial giving. I've spoken with many of you about what RNG has been doing during and since the pandemic. But, it feels good to sit down and write to you, to share details of what is happening with our partners and with our organization. You can check out the bullet point version below for a quick update or scroll down to read the newsletter. Thanks! - Josh

The Short of it…

• RNG teamed up with a non-profit organization called Global Disaster Response.

• During the pandemic shutdown we continued to support our partners in the Philippines and Honduras by sending financial support and working on plans for future development.

• In May we took our first trip to Honduras since the pandemic.

• We are currently fundraising to support these community partners:

Carlos and Anita / Honduras / Arabu Community Center
community development, academic/health/WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) programs, mentorship, mental health support, vocational training, agricultural development, disaster response and preparedness training

Kike and Belinda / Honduras / Ascenso Community Outreach
wilderness ministry, WASH education, climbing gym, disaster response and preparedness training

Zuriel Burnidino / Philippines / Heroes Community Center
disaster relief, health education, medical clinics, unaccompanied minor support, trauma and mental health support, children's ministry, disaster response and preparedness training

Click here to meet our partners

First, I'd like to share a recent development in our organization, a new partnership with Global Disaster Response. GDR is a non-profit crisis response team who travels to communities affected by disasters and creates strategies to relieve suffering through medical care, counseling and shelter. Our history with GDR goes back to 2005 when I went to Louisiana on a Hurricane Katrina response team with GDR counselor, Michael Behmer. Later in 2014, Michael told us about one of their partners, Zuriel Bernadino, and his desire to build a community center in the city of Tacloban, Philippines where Typhoon Yolanda hit hardest in 2013. GDR became our sending organization when our family went to the Philippines to work with Zuriel and build Heroes Community Center. Before we left, we met Tom Felmley, GDR’s director who led our training and also became our contact person while overseas. So, when Tom and Michael contacted me in the summer of 2021 to see if there was interest in merging, I already knew their organization’s heart and had worked closely with them both. As we all know, in vulnerable places, disasters are far reaching and can have longer term physical and psychological effects. So, the RN board and I are excited about this partnership because we feel with GDR’s focus on immediate relief and our focus on long term access to basic needs we can combine tools in the communities we have been invited to support. Meet the GDR team by clicking here!

In May, Tom and I went on our first trip as a team and my first trip to Honduras since the pandemic shutdown. It was so great to see our friends/partners in person after such a long time and to get to introduce them to Tom. Our first visit was to Siguatepeque to visit Kike and Belinda who are serving in the mountain villages outside the city teaching WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygeine) programs. Many of these villages suffer from flooding during hurricanes. So, when I told Kike and Belinda about our partnership with GDR, they requested disaster response training for their team so they can respond to events like hurricanes and flooding. First we led classroom sessions and then went up to the mountains for hands-on workshops. It was a great 4 days, everyone was so eager for the information. The next session of this team’s training happened in webinar form in early September and was actually GDR’s first disaster response training webinar session ever! Tom is planning to return and continue training with this team in January.

Josh and Tom training Kike and Belinda's team for disaster response (4).png

Josh, Henry, Kike, Belinda and Tom (1).png

Tom and I then traveled to Le Ceiba, to visit RNG partners, Carlos and Anita, at the Arabu community center, another sweet reunion! They built two new structures since my last trip: a multi-purpose shelter with a kitchen where the local children go for meals, medical clinics, and health education, and a caretaker’s house. They have also constructed tilapia and chicken farms for ag development programs. It was amazing to see firsthand how RN’s financial resources and strategies are helping to support Arabu's neighbors. Carlos shared with us that he was able to hire local tradesmen from the neighboring village who could not find work during the pandemic because public transportation was shut down and there were travel restrictions in place. While working together, the nature of the relationship changed from the tradesmen being skeptical of their new neighbors, to becoming Carlos and Anita's allies in the community.

Caretakers home with solar lights installed (3).png

Josh and Tom installing water lines (3).png

One of our goals for this visit was to work on plans for the next phase of construction projects. Anita and Carlos’ first priority is constructing a bridge over a river between the village and the community center. Right now the village children either climb down the ravine and cross the river or have to walk around on the roads. The new bridge will provide quicker, safer access to the center and allow less able bodied individuals to get Arabu resources. We spent time at the bridge site surveying and planning and met with an engineer. I will return in November to help with construction, and thanks to a generous donation from a Fort Collins family, the bridge is 100% funded! We also discussed and planned for other construction on the property and it was exciting to hear Anita and Carlo’s vision for each new building and how it will specifically meet the most pressing needs and the longer term care of the children and families. The next phase will include a primary residence for Anita and Carlo's family, a building for staff and volunteer housing (medical and education teams), a bodega for private counseling, and a building for vocational training.

RN is currently fundraising for the
NEXT PHASE at ARABU COMMUNITY CENTER

• Work truck - Urgent need for a sturdy work vehicle capable of carrying passengers and cargo to the center and surrounding villages. $11,000 raised of $20,000 needed with $2,500 matching pledge available. Donate here for truck fund and choose "Arabu Truck Campaign" in the drop-down campaign field.

• Director's residence - Carlos and Anita's family of four is now living off-site and plan to construct a single-family home to live at the center 3-5 days/week

• Bridge - Click here to hear Carlos talk about constructing a bridge over the ravine/creek between the village and community center to provide safer access - 100% funded!

• Volunteer housing - Construction of 2 new buildings to house medical, dental, mental health, construction, and education teams.

• Bodega - Click here to listen to Anita talk about the need for a private structure for confidential conversations and counseling. The bodega will be a small, private, separate building near the river.

• Vocational training building - Many local children complete up to a 3rd-grade school education. Arabu plans to build a classroom/workshop to offer vocational focused training for teens and adults who want trade and technology skills.

During our time at Arabu Tom and I went with Anita and Carlos to visit the elementary school in the village and listen to Anita read to the students. Because of their efforts to support and tutor the children at this school, the first sixth-grade class graduated this year! Carlos and Anita took the class on a field trip to celebrate. While we were in the village we installed a water line at the school for the wash station. We also installed a water line at the caretaker’s house back at the community center along with a solar electric lighting and charging system we brought with us. The caretakers moved in last month and are a huge boost to Arabu not just by being a presence at the property and increasing security but also by helping maintain the grounds and the tilapia and chicken farms.

Those of you who know me well know that I am very excited about the work Carlos and Anita and Kike and Belinda and Zuriel (stay tuned for an update on the Philippines) are doing and the ways you can partner with us to help them, so if you want to know more, please call me! I would love to talk with you and hear about ways you would like to be involved or try to answer your questions. You can also visit our website and meet our partners by clicking here. Thank you for your time, your encouragement, your financial contributions and your energy toward changing the story for these communities.

Peace,

Josh, RNG Executive Director
970-413-2272
josh@restorationnow.org
restorationnow.org