Wednesday, November 18, 1998
MEChA arranges drive to ship out relief, provisions
to Latin America
HELP: Group joins forces to send food donations, aid homeless
survivors
By Diana Ting
Daily Bruin Contributor
In a torrent of wind and rain, Hurricane Mitch engulfed Central
America within days of its sighting, ruthlessly claiming more than
11,000 lives and leaving three million homeless.
Mitch, said to be the deadliest Atlantic storm since "The Great
Hurricane" of 1780 killed 22,000 people, has left its victims
struggling to recover since unleashing its wrath on Oct. 28.
In an effort to help victims of the hurricane, UCLA’s Movimiento
Estudiantil Chicano y Chicana de Aztlán (MEChA) organized a
food drive that started last Wednesday and will continue "until
necessary."
"MEChA understands that an organized effort by students at UCLA
is needed to provide relief to the survivors of this devastation,
and so our organization was committed to launching a food drive,"
said MEChA Chair Henry Perez.
The organization is working with the Community Programs Office,
which is in charge of organizations and clubs on campus. But, since
MEChA itself does not have the money or equipment to ship the food
to Central America, it had to find a larger organization to work
with.
MEChA joined forces with unions and church groups to form the
Coalition of Immediate Relief for Central America, to ship donated
goods to hurricane victims.
Perez said the combined efforts of the coalition will ensure
that the food and materials arrive in Central America "in a timely
manner."
When other campus organizations, such as Bruin Belles, Jewish
Student Union and Latin American Students Alliance (LASA), heard of
MEChA’s efforts to help victims of the hurricane, they offered to
collect canned goods from their members as well.
The success of the food drive is even more important to many
UCLA students because they have family and friends in Central
America.
Third-year history student Baudelia Chavez has family in
Nicaragua, one of the countries struck hardest by widespread
flooding.
"In Matagalpa (a farming community in northern Nicaragua), I
have an uncle who is recovering in the hospital after being swept
away by the floods," Chavez said
"He was trying to get on higher ground (when he saw the flood),
but a mudslide made him lose his balance," she continued.
Chavez also has a cousin who is missing. He was working in the
fields near Honduras the last time he was seen. Because
communication is difficult at this moment, Chavez does not know
what has happened to her family since.
What she does know is that they have lost too much to Mitch.
"My family lost part of their home, friends lost their lives.
They all lost their livelihoods," Chavez said.
"And since they worked in the fields, they had nothing to (fall
back on). They had only their livestock, and those too are now
gone," she continued.
Chavez’s family will not be the last to face the disastrous
aftermath of Mitch, as aid workers still anticipate more fatalities
due to hunger and disease.
Supplies of food and medicine are much needed. And although the
supplies are starting to reach flood victims in various areas, it
is still difficult to access other parts of the nation.
Clean drinking water is also in short supply. In an appeal on
Nov. 10, Honduran President Carlos Flores described the devastation
of his country by the hurricane.
"We lost in 72 hours what we have taken more than 50 years to
build, bit by bit," Flores said.
Elena Lempel, president of Jewish Student Union, urged students
to help hurricane victims by donating food and medical
supplies.
"Even though it’s Thanksgiving for us and everyone wants to help
the homeless in the United States, these people (in Central
America) don’t have any support," she said.
"They can’t go down the street and buy something because there’s
nothing there," Lempel continued.
Drop boxes for donations are located at 407 Kerckhoff Hall, 102
Men’s Gym, 7449 Bunche, 58 Haines, 5310 Rolfe and Campbell Hall.
For more information, contact MEChA in 407 Kerckhoff Hall, or call
(310) 206-6452.
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