Hurricane Iris - Plenty Belize Response Donations needed for immediate relief and long term development by Melanie Reimer Plenty Belize Coordinator October 18, 2001 Plenty Belize has been working with communities and community groups in Toledo District for over 10 years, introducing new skills and ideas and products, with the goal of improving the standard of life for residents of Toledo and protecting its fragile environment. We work in the areas of health care, sustainable agriculture, solar energy, income generation, and organizational strengthening in general, together with our local partners. We are a small scale operation, which is nevertheless attempting to address some significant needs which have arisen due to the impact of Hurricane Iris on our home district. Taking advantage of a ready supply of soybeans and other locally available ingredients, as well as contacts with several willing volunteers, Plenty Belize mobilized on Oct. 9th, the morning after the hurricane hit, to start making nutritious food to supplement the meager supplies in the villages. Assistance delivered as of October 15: 1120 servings of roasted soy/corn cereal 800 soy fritters 720 gallons of clean water One cereal serving provides 25% of the recommended daily calorie intake for an adult. This food relief has been sent to the villages of San Jose, Na Lum Ca, Big Falls, and Santa Elena. Fritters were delivered to Methodist School for integration into meals, to be distributed via the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO). Water has been delivered in 120 gallon tanks to Big Falls, San Marcos, Santa Cruz and Santa Elena, thanks to the kind assistance of the Punta Gorda Fire Department. In all distributions, we have worked to identify villages in need and coordinate with NEMO and Belize Red Cross. Our next phase in emergency food delivery is currently being prepared. It will consist of setting up a soy/corn cereal operation in the villages of Big Falls and San Pedro Columbia, using local women's groups to assist in the roasting and grinding. Depending on donations received, we hope to provide up to 8000 additional servings in the coming weeks. Thanks to the generous donation of Belize's Reimer Feeds, we were able to secure two tons of corn for this effort! Greg delivering water Grinding team at work in Big Falls Sorting donated corn Roasting team in Big Falls Thanks to a Unitarian women's group in Indiana, we also have designated funding to purchase and install a small school-based or community water system, and are planning the best use of those funds in conjunction with other agencies. Along with food supplementation and restructuring its ongoing projects in light of the disaster, Plenty is developing projects in conjunction with local partners to alleviate the immediate hardship and to rebuild Toledo. including rehabilitation and strengthening of the School Feeding Program for undernourished kids (which operates in 4 of the affected villages), a health and sanitation education initiative, and technical assistance to farmers who wish to plant additional crops in the dry season with the aid of appropriate water pumping technology. We are also assisting Red Cross and Ministry of Health with volunteer recruitment via the Internet, and helping to channel in-kind donations from women's groups in northern Belize. We are working with our existing partners and contacts, including UNICEF, Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), Toledo Ecotourism Association (TEA), Global Environmental Facility (GEF), Ministry of Health, Red Cross, Toledo Cacao Growers' Association (TCGA), Sustainable Harvest International (SHI), and others, as well as cooperating and coordinating with the other NGOs and agencies in Toledo who are involved in the relief effort. Donations continue to be needed for immediate relief and long term development, and can be sent to Plenty International - PO Box 394 - Summertown TN 38483. Examples of what your support can provide: $25 will buy a hot school lunch for 100 children $40 will be enough to buy an extra gas burner and fittings to expand our cooking capacity for emergency relief and ultimately for the School Feeding Program. $50 will purchase 300 lbs of soybeans Personal requests for assistance from our friends in Belize. Please contact us for more information at any time: Melanie Reimer, Country Coordinator Plenty Belize PO Box 72 Punta Gorda Belize Ph. (501) 722 198 Email: plentybz@btl.net