There are countless stories like Alicia’s, pictured above with Maryknoll missioner Margaret "Gigi" Gruenki. "Alicia, 60, was left to remove the rubble of her home and improvise a room out of tin scraps," writes Gigi, stationed in San Salvador for several years. "She cried when she showed me her life’s belongings piled up on her bed, explaining that she can only sleep sitting up due to the lack of space."

In addition to homes, many hospitals, clinics, churches and schools are unusable. Roads, bridges and water lines suffered major damage. In the words of Rev. James Elliott-Amen, with the Lutheran Church in El Salvador, "An entire country is traumatized."

Diane Thomas, Westerville Community UCC member and recent graduate of Methodist Theological Seminary, traveled to El Salvador between February 27 and March 5 to visit Gruenki, a longtime friend. She carried with her vitamins, pain relievers, hand wipes and other items—donated by Ohio Conference members—that are needed but hard to obtain.

"The basic problem in El Salvador is poverty," said Diane. "The earthquake didn’t cause the people’s suffering; it just made their suffering worse. Most rural homes are built of bamboo, dried mud, thatching and other flimsy materials. Damage wouldn’t have been so severe if so many people did not live in poorly-constructed homes on the sides of mountains."

The earthquakes that recently shook El Salvador were only the most recent assaults on the country. Since 1979, the country has suffered a 13-year civil war, a severe earthquake in 1986, and Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The combined damage to communities, crops and infrastructure is immense, and some was unrepaired when the earth shook in January. The resulting burdens weigh most heavily on the backs of the country’s rural poor, who make up the vast majority of the population.

El Salvador, the smallest Central American country, is seriously overpopulated. More than 6 million people live in a space about the size of Massachusetts. Most live in valleys of the volcanic mountain chain the crosses the country. Most people work on farms belonging to large landowners or in El Salvador’s textile mills and food processing plants. Neither group earns adequate wages. The gap between the small number of rich and the millions of poor is wide and still expanding.

Most Salvadorians cannot afford the coffee, sugar and cotton—grown mainly for export—that their labor produces. "A worker who picks 100 pounds of coffee beans," notes Diane, "receives 69 cents." Salvadorans depend heavily on foreign aid and money sent home by family members living in the U.S.

The quakes added heavy stress to an already harsh existence. Gigi Gruenki wrote in a February letter, "These geologic events have placed the people of El Salvador in an ongoing state of hyper-alertness, anxiety and grief… Many of those who were the helpers after the first quake were victims of the second."

Dr. Mary Annel, a Maryknoll nun, tells the story of a man who lost two children in a landslide after the first quake. He pleaded with neighbors to help him find their bodies. Sixteen families each sent one man. They were all digging when the second earthquake came. All of them died in the landslide.

Gruenki has set aside her usual literacy and nutrition classes to teach relaxation and stress reduction techniques. "The Salvadorian people are taught not to show emotion," Diane explained. "Gigi is trying to help them express what they are feeling. In the short term, the techniques can help people deal with aftershocks with less panic. Later, they can begin to heal."

Diane tells of a class she observed. The relaxation exercises abruptly stopped when Gruenki asked the women to re-enact with motions what they felt during the earthquake. "They couldn’t move; they just stood there," said Diane, "and one woman ran from the room in tears."

Diane later discovered why. "Her father died the day before the quake," she explained. "His coffin was resting in the living room of their home. The house collapsed, and her father’s makeshift coffin split open. She had to deal with the ruins of her home and with the trauma of removing her father’s body from the rubble. I can’t imagine the pain she suffered."

Priests in this 86% Roman Catholic country have to counter people’s belief that the quakes are God’s punishment. "The priests try to help them realize that they are victims, that God did not cause the earthquakes because he is angry at them," said Diane.

In the face of such misery and fear, providing relief is a formidable task—more than the Salvadorian government can handle. Relief efforts by El Salvador’s government have been "ineffective, unorganized, politicized, corrupt and incapable," said Rev. James Elliott-Amen, with the Lutheran Church in El Salvador. "Some of the supplies they did deliver were marked ‘Mitch,’ meaning that they were part of the aid package intended to respond to the 1998 hurricane."

The majority of the relief that is reaching El Salvador’s people is coming through ecumenical church groups such as Action by Churches Together (ACT) and the Common Board of Global Ministries, a UCC and Disciples of Christ partnership. Funds from One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) and the Disciples’ Week of Compassion were sent to church organizations who are providing direct assistance.

Because most relief supplies and long term recovery resources can be purchased in the region, OGHS encourages UCC members and friends who want to respond to the quake to send contributions to Wider Church Ministries/OGHS. "Financial contributions help the local economy and are the most efficient way for aid to reach the people on location who know exactly what people need, can use, and will use," said Diane.

Many residents are salvaging cement and adobe blocks from their ruined homes to be used in rebuilding, but it has not yet begun. "…this will not be feasible for a few months while we address the more immediate needs," said Rev. Elliott-Amen. Until then, some relief camps are open, and many are sleeping in the open or in temporary homemade shelters. Building sites away from mountainsides are being sought, and plans are being made for modest, sturdy houses to replace the flimsy ones. But many people who own land want to rebuild where they were.

"We must be careful not to rebuild the misery in such fragile and insecure conditions…" warns Medardo Gomez, Bishop of the Lutheran Church in El Salvador.

Trinity UCC, Cleveland hosted an HIV/AIDS event for youth and adults on March 18. Attendees were introduced to the sexuality education program, Our Whole Lives, Sexuality and Our Faith, developed by the UCC and the Unitarian Universalist Association. Event organizers hope that congregations will provide leaders to be trained to use these resources. Leaders for the HIV/AIDS Event were Sprite Johnson, Interim Pastor, St. John's UCC, Lorain, and Ann Hanson, Minister for Children, Families and Human Sexuality Advocacy, UCC Justice and Witness Ministries. For information, call Mary Miller, HIV/AIDS Working Group, 440-988-8215, or Margaret Mills, Western Reserve Assoc., 216-749-3116 or millsmarg@aol.com.

Memorial UCC, Toledo has established the Irvin E. Smith Memorial Scholarship fund to provide an annual $500 award to a Memorial UCC member for post-high school education or training. Awards will be based on financial need, church activities and academic standing.

Lou and Jim Deitz, The First Church, Oberlin, recently returned from a UCC-sponsored work/study trip to Cuba and shared with their congregation stories about their experiences and what they learned about life in Cuba, the communities, culture and churches.

Trinity UCC, Wooster welcomed the Rev. J.Y. Ledo and his wife Esther, visitors from Ghana in January through March. The Rev. Ledo served on Trinity’s staff as Mission Minister during Trinity pastor Jim Christensen’s sabbatical in Ghana. The Ledos shared Ghanaian customs, food and music with Trinity’s congregation.

Members at East Market Street UCC, Akron, have combined a Lenten remembrance activity with a special offering for the church’s ministries. Members were asked to fill coin bags with ’30 pieces of silver’ in remembrance of the significance of Judas’ betrayal of Christ. The offerings will be brought to church on Easter Sunday.

OSU dental student and Westerville Community Church UCC member Philip Mikesell joined other medical and dental professionals on a mission trip to Honduras in March, through the Christian Medical and Dental Association.

Trinity UCC, Canton hosts Shalom Zone, a weekly art workshop for children and youth, 5-6:30 pm on Wednesdays. This new program uses music, drama, dance and visual technology to provide positive opportunities for participants.

First Church, Congregational, Painesville is one of the many congregations holding rummage/ garage sales this spring, but theirs had a unique feature: a fashion show. Featuring models with names such as "Ivana Make-Lotsa Money," this tongue-in-cheek fashion event displayed outfits created from donated clothing, with purchases benefiting the American Cancer Society.

The Community Church of Chesterland will celebrate 40 years in their present building on May 19-20. There will be games, dancing, lots of good food, special music, worship and guest speakers.

St. John’s UCC, Newport, Kentucky sponsors the Twilight Concert Series, an outreach program of three concerts a year by a variety of musicians, given free to the public. No tickets are sold nor offerings taken. The concert series is wholly supported by the contributions of arts patrons and members and friends of St. John’s. The Amernet String Quartet gave the most recent performance, on March 18. The 2001-2002 series will begin next fall.

Middleburg Heights Community Church sponsors FROG (Fully Rely On God) Nites, when junior and senior high youth can be together in a safe place for a couple of hours, play loud music, talk, work the computers, play games, eat pizza, and even do homework. There is no "program," there may be a service project to work on, and young people are encouraged to bring their friends.

The Team has come a long way from our beginnings in the Fall of 1999, when we made our first trip to North Carolina to help restore flood-damaged homes. Progress has been made in Princeville, but much more remains to be done. More than 300 homes are still waiting to be repaired. Hundreds of people are living in temporary dwellings, waiting to return home.

So we are organizing more people willing to give some of their time to paint or drywall or string wire in the home of a family that does not have many resources but has a lot of need right now. There will be local skilled work supervision and materials supplied. Bring common hand tools and appropriate work clothes. We have scheduled three work week options this year: May 6-12, July 8-14, September 9-15. Come when you can and stay as long as you are able.

There will be Ohio UCC trip leaders, and up to 50% of all travel expenses will be covered. Housing is expected to be at no cost, but there will be food expenses. Food service availability is difficult to predict. Conditions for each week will be clarified a short time before the trip week. Bring your own bedding and towels. It is probable that kitchen and shower facilities will be available.