What will PHT be doing this summer?

PHT will be mobilizing volunteers and local labor to build an elevated high frequency 2-way radio outpost in the village of Makantakita. We employ a style of building that is hurricane and flood resistant with pressure treated pine posts and 1 inch threaded rod, cabling, etc. Our other similar facilities have saved hundreds of lives in the years past and we hope this solid model of building will serve and protect the community of Makantakita for many years.

PHT will also be delivering mosquito nets and medicine to isolated villages who suffer a high incidence or water and malaria-borne illness and death especially among infants.

Who will involved?

Peace and Hope Trust, Inc., a MA based non-profit, will be spearheading the project. They have mobilized volunteers from ME, MA, IL, VA and WY who will be spending at least 2 weeks in the jungles of Nicaragua serving these communities.

Where will they be working?

Makantakita is one of the most isolated places in Central America. The tiny village of Makantakita is cut off from the world and is accessible by a 8-10 hour high speed boat ride from the nearest resemblance of “civilization”. It is located up a tributary of the Rio Grande de Matagalpa River which starts in the mountainous heartland of Nicaragua and empties into the Caribbean on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua.

When will they be doing this?

The VA based team will deploy on June 23rd. They will return to VA on July 7th.
The WY based team will deploy on June 30th. They will return to VA on July 14th.
The MA based team will deploy on July 2nd. They will return to MA on July 17th.

Why are you doing this?

Peace and Hope Trust is committed to reaching out to the poor and isolated communities on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. This is a part of the world that has been devastated by hurricanes, massive flooding, drug trafficking and war. Peace and Hope Trust has been doing humanitarian projects in this region for 11 years.

The community leaders of Makantakita have agree unanimously that the installation of a high powered, high frequency 2-way radio would give them life saving contact with the outside world and greatly improve their self-sufficiency, disaster preparedness, community health and municipal capacity. We are also coordinating with the Nicaraguan Civil Defense to help them develop their ability to disseminate important information to isolated communities with this project.

How is this being funded and operated?

This project is funded through the generosity of numerous small and medium size donations from the Peace and Hope Trust donor base consisting of individuals and families from across the United States and by funds raised by the courageous teams from MA, VA, WY who are volunteering in Nicaragua.

Makantaka is one of the most remote and isolated villages in Central America. I have just returned from a exploratory mission to meet with the villages leaders, assess the needs of the community and identify how Peace and Hope can facilitate the community with their most pressing needs. The community leaders agreed unanimously that the installation of a large VHF radio outpost (H.A.M. radio) would give them access to the outside world and greatly improve their self-sufficiently, community health, disaster preparedness and production capacity. In June and July of 2010 three teams of Peace and Hope volunteers will partner with the people of Makantaka to build the radio outpost. The outpost will be powered with solar panels and the entire facility will be built on large telephone poles and over 10 feet off of the ground to protect it against flooding and increase the range of the radio. Please consider partnering with us in this exciting and life-changing adventure....the total costs for the entire project is approximately US$15,000...we need volunteers and money to make this happen....please JOIN US!

Peter
Spring 2010

I have just returned from 8 grueling days mobilizing our post-Hurricane Ida disaster response on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. We were able to supply two of the most devastated villages (Sandy Bay and La Barra) with well over 5000 of pounds of food such as: rice, beans, cooking oil, sugar, flour, yeast and milk powder. Peace and Hope also supplied two critical medical outposts (Karawala and La Barra) with US$2000 of medicine and re-hydration salts.

Thousands of people in the communities we serve have been facing a water crisis in the wake of the hurricane due to contamination by salt and sewage. There have been over 7 infant deaths reported in the last 12 days due to starvation and complications associated with dehydration and contaminated water. Much of my time was spent cleaning water tanks, re-fitting gutters and repairing roofs. These communities were blessed
with torrential rains on Wednesday and Thursday and thanks to the support of our generous and action minded donors and volunteers, we were able to have everything in place to catch that sweet and life-giving water when it came. The villages now have thousands of gallons of pure rainwater in reserve for the weeks ahead and we are expecting to see a dramatic reduction in waterborne illness.

There is still more work to do. Peace and Hope would like to thank you for your support and prayers and for the life-saving work that you made possible. This crisis has reminded us of the fragility of life in a part of the world we so many have so little.

BEVERLY — A Beverly native is leading an effort to help residents of Nicaragua recover from a devastating hurricane.

Peter Coleman, who works for a relief organization called Peace and Hope Trust, is overseeing the distribution of 5,000 pounds of food, $3,000 in building supplies and $1,500 in medicine to residents of the isolated towns of La Barra, Karawala and Sandy Bay.

The towns were struck by Hurricane Ida on Nov. 4 and 5. Although it was a relatively small Category 1 hurricane, it "wreaked havoc" on the three communities, according to an e-mail from Coleman.

Coleman said 70 people, including children and pregnant women, took refuge in a hurricane shelter built by Peace and Hope Trust USA in La Barra as the water rose to more than 4 feet.

"Many families told me that they are convinced that were it not for the (shelter), there would have been tragic loss of life," Coleman wrote.

The 35-year-old Coleman, a graduate of Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School, is the Nicaragua field director for Peace and Hope Trust, a nonprofit organization that provides relief and development in remote regions of Nicaragua. His father, Mark Coleman, the retired pastor of North Shore Community Baptist Church in Beverly Farms, is chairman of the board.

For more information or to donate to Peace and Hope Trust, go to www.peaceandhope.org.

September was a great month of outreach and very successful as I was able to mobilize some small new development initiatives. Peace and Hope is in the process of facilitating the formation of a fishing co-op in a small and impoverished fishing community on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. We were also able to support and mobilize 4 communities in the same region to send delegates to attend a conference on disaster preparedness. Most of these communities are hit very hard by hurricanes and suffer massive flooding in October and November every year.

I will be in the United States in early October in the event that you would like to help me arrange an opportunity to speak at your local church, school or Rotary to share about the work of Peace and Hope Trust. You can contact me directly at peterc@peaceandhope.org.

Blessings,

Peter Coleman