http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php Copyright 2012, Peace and Hope Trust Peace and Hope Trust en-US SPHPBLOG 0.5.1 http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry111022-082130
12 years ago Peace and Hope Trust began distributing mosquito nets in the desperately poor and flood-prone jungle village of Esperanza, which was notorious for its voracious clouds of mosquitoes, especially during the rainy season. After volunteers spent some nights in this village, which lies along the Rio Grande de Matagalpa, they found it lived up to its reputation as a haven for this deadly and annoying insect. During one of our first visits to that community, while providing relief after a flood, a woman asked our volunteer team for a mosquito net, and it became clear that distributing nets could be a tremendous and life saving blessing to a community by curbing the spread of Malaria and Dengue Fever.

Since then, every year during the rainy season, we go door to door in a village to distribute nets and have provided between 800 and 900 nets to the villages of Esperanza, Company Creek and Makantakita, as well as to isolated homes along the river. During the last two years, our Nets for Neighbors program at North Shore Community Baptist Church has provided sufficient funding to increase the number of nets we deliver to these communities. Many thanks to the church members who purchased a net (or several) for someone in these jungle villages. We plan to reach many other communities with nets as we continue our work along the river in the years ahead. If you would like to raise funds for mosquito nets in your church, civic group or community, we would be grateful for your help. Please contact Roger Drost (rogerd@peaceandhope.org).

Blessings to you all,

Peter Coleman and Roger Drost


For 12 years PHT US has been distributing life saving mosquito nets on Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast]]> From the Field http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry111022-082130 Peace and Hope Trust Sat, 22 Oct 2011 15:21:30 GMT http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110926-054011
During this time of trying financial times for our ongoing work in Nicaragua, I thought it would be appropriate to focus on something positive and recognize the sacrifice and service of a dear friend of our organization and a person we have been working with deep in the jungles of Nicaragua for nearly 10 years, Mrs. Lila Bendliss.

Lila is a Miskito speaking Nicaraguan and a Registered Nurse. She is greatly respected by our volunteers and she is very talented at treating the medical/health needs of some of the poorest and most isolated people of the Americas with compassion, dignity and great efficiency and skill. She is from the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua and accompanied our Summer 2011 volunteers to help us provide holistic support to the nearly forgotten people we serve. In the days that Lila worked with us in July she treated roughly 160 patients with medicine and supplies mobilized in the United States. While Lila is fighting diabetes and high blood pressure, and with an injury to her leg from falling on her first day in Company Creek, she pressed on with Peace and Hope to serve her people along side of us. We are all inspired and blessed by her abilities and her heart for her people.

Your donations and support help us pay people like Lila, purchase medicine and medical supplies and make our medical interventions possible. There is always a lull in giving after our summer projects and we are feeling the pressure of the economic downturn now more than ever before. Our commitment to the isolated and impoverished people of Nicaragua continues to be implemented daily. Your ongoing support is ever-so-valuable and needed and without it we would not be able to serve these forgotten and disenfranchised people.

Blessings to you all,

Peter Coleman
Resident Country Director


Lila in Company Creek attending to patients who would otherwise have no access to medical care or medicine]]> From the Field http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110926-054011 Peace and Hope Trust Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:40:11 GMT http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110824-140227
We are pleased to officially announce that Roger Drost has accepted a position with Peace and Hope Trust as our U.S. Field Director. Roger has been serving in Nicaragua for 13 years and served as a Trustee with Peace and Hope Trust since 2002. We are excited about the future of our work and grateful that Roger has made this significant commitment to our ongoing service to the poor and isolated people of Nicaragua.

We would also like to say a very special "thanks" to North Shore Community Baptist Church for extending their facilities to Peace and Hope Trust. Roger Drost will be setting up the new Peace and Hope office at the NSCBC facility in the weeks ahead and we are grateful for their generosity and support.

We thank you all for your support and want to remind you that there is always a lull in giving after our summer projects. Our commitment to the isolated and impoverished people of Nicaragua continues to be implemented daily. Your ongoing support is ever-so-valuable and needed and without it we would not be able to serve these forgotten and disenfranchised people.

Blessings to you all,

Peter Coleman
Resident Country Director


Roger Drost
working on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua]]> In The News http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110824-140227 Peace and Hope Trust Wed, 24 Aug 2011 21:02:27 GMT http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110722-145724
I have just returned from a terrific trip to the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. Peace and Hope Trust had the privilege of hosting a great team of volunteers from VA and MA. We were able to accomplish more than expected in our trip. We delivered mosquito nets to Makantakita and some isolated families living on the Rio Grande de Matagalpa. We conducted an amazing 4 day VBS program and hosted a Nicaraguan nurse to treat many (perhaps hundreds) needy patients in Company Creek and Esperanza.

The bulk of our manpower and resources went into the construction of a solar powered radio outpost and building a cement path through the mud to the new Moravian Church which the small community is in the process of building. Don't miss the photo of our inauguration of our radio outpost below!

We thank you all for your support and remind you that while our summer project is over, our commitment to the isolated and impoverished people of Nicaragua continues to be implemented daily. Your ongoing support is ever-so-valuable and needed and without it we would not be able to serve these forgotten and disenfranchised people.

Blessings to you all,

Peter Coleman
Resident Country Director


Celebrating the opening of the radio outpost in Company Creek]]> From the Field http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110722-145724 Peace and Hope Trust Fri, 22 Jul 2011 21:57:24 GMT http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110705-144643
This week marks the beginning of our Summer 2011 Projects! We will be hosting a group of more than 15 people deep in the jungles of Nicaragua to serve the most isolated and impoverished villages on Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast: Makantakita, Esperanza and Company Creek.

We are approximately $3,800 short of our project budget and we need your financial help! We will be building a solar powered 2-way radio communication outpost, a cement wharf, delivering mosquito nets and Miskito Bibles, conducting a VBS program and hosting a small medical team to reach out to our dear brothers and sisters in dire need.

Without your support our mission into the jungle to serve these humble people and to do our small but important good works and Christian charity would not be possible. Please consider a last-minute gift to this important project and partner with us as we press ahead with this life-transforming project. Thank you!

Blessings to you all,

Peter Coleman
Resident Country Director]]> From the Field http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110705-144643 Peace and Hope Trust Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:46:43 GMT http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110531-164445
We are rounding the corner and finishing our challenging planning phase for our Summer 2011 volunteer projects in Nicaragua. I have been busy meeting with community and territorial leaders trying to open new doors and mobilize financial support for our important and transformational work in the most isolated regions of Nicaragua.

During one of my most recent trips to the Atlantic Coast to meet with territorial leaders I was pleased to receive an award from a Nicaraguan Scout Troop in Bluefields. In 2010 we were able to help them with some of their challenging outdoor survival and orienteering activities. We admire these young people so very much. Many of these young Scouts live in abject poverty and their willingness to commit themselves to serving others and their personal development for the sake of their community speaks loudly to the commitment of Peace and Hope Trust, our volunteers and our beliefs.

Without your your support our missions into the jungle to meet with territorial leaders and our support of individuals such as the young people in the local Scouts in Bluefields would not be possible.

Blessings to you all,

Peter Coleman
Resident Country Director


Peter receiving an award from local Scout Troop in Bluefields]]> From the Field http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110531-164445 Peace and Hope Trust Tue, 31 May 2011 23:44:45 GMT http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110307-174521
We would like to announce our exciting Summer 2011 Projects and invite you to JOIN US!

We will continue our pioneering humanitarian work this July in Esperanza, Makantakita and Company Creek. We hope to build a radio outpost in the isolated village of Company Creek as well as build a large concrete wharf so that this community that sits perched high up on the muddy banks of the Rio Matagalpa will have improved access to the river to boost their commercial potential, increase their health and safety and improve their quality of living in general.

We also plan to conduct a VBS in Makantakita and Esperanza. There are opportunities for everyone, regardless of age, experience, education, or background. For an application please visit the forms page on our website or contact me directly.

Blessings to you all and our heartfelt thanks to you for your support.

Peter Coleman
Resident Country Director]]> From the Field http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110307-174521 Peace and Hope Trust Tue, 08 Mar 2011 01:45:21 GMT http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110108-125014
We will be serving villages that have never before received dental care. This is a tremendous blessing to the isolated people groups we are serving. Many suffer from ongoing and chronic pain and infection cause by broken, infected and damaged teeth. The work will predominantly consist of extractions, gum repair and fillings. We look forward to updating you on the progress of this important mission in the weeks ahead and appreciate your prayers.

Blessings, Peter

]]> From the Field http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry110108-125014 Peace and Hope Trust Sat, 08 Jan 2011 20:50:14 GMT http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry101006-155733
We are bracing ourselves in Nicaragua for a challenging hurricane season. We have already suffered numerous tropical storms but we are hoping for a safe and non-destructive season on the Atlantic Coast. None-the-less, we are updating our boats and equipment and ask for your support in the event the areas we are committed to serving are impacted by a hurricane or tropical storm in the months ahead.

I am currently making plans to return to Makantakita to install a new radio and begin planning for our upcoming projects. Thank you for your support and encouragement and please stay tuned for an exciting announcement about our upcoming expedition!

Blessings,

Peter Coleman
Resident Country Director
]]> From the Field http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry101006-155733 Peace and Hope Trust Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:57:33 GMT http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry100925-035110 Trickling down the emerald slopes of Nicaragua’s central highlands of Matagalpa and through their lofty rainforests, streams of water converge and spill into a rocky riverbed to form the shallow beginnings of the Rio Grande de Matagalpa, which follows its 267 mile course through the heart of Nicaragua’s wilderness. As it approaches the city of La Cruz, the second longest river in Nicaragua surges past huge boulders and over submerged rocks, creating rapids, swirling eddies and foaming pools. Soon after, the river widens and meanders through rolling hills and meadows dotted with cattle, past pine and palm savannah, and past dense jungle and rainforest shaded by the unbelievably broad canopies of towering trees. The occasional crocodile can be seen along the banks or surface of the water and a passing traveler may elicit hoarse roars from a cluster of howler monkeys in the overhanging branches. The murky river passes through vast swamp and marshland and, beside the small fishing village of La Barra, it finally flows into the Atlantic Ocean, along with brown billows of soil and silt.

But the people are the real story of this river. Nothing is easy and folks struggle and heroically persevere to scratch out a meager living. A dugout canoe carrying a mother, father and children and loaded with plantain sits so low in the water the family seems to be gliding along the currents on a banana leaf as the father paddles to transport the goods he has cultivated in some remote part of the jungle. Miles from any neighbor or village, a lone hut sits on stilts while curious children peer out of the doorway and windows, perhaps returning a wave or smile from someone on a passing panga (small, open boat). One wonders how those little ones survive. Miskito Indian villages with names like Anglo American, Britania, Company Creek, and Esperanza appear along the banks, and they are usually little more than a row or two of rickety shacks set on stilts, a small red and white church and a concrete block two-room village school. These are places of great need where few outsiders go and that most visitors have forgotten. But our faithful God remembers them and cares for them and would pour out his blessings, even as the waters of the Rio Grande flow out of the mountains.

The story of the Nicaragua team this summer is intertwined with the story of this river. The team’s work began at the mouth of the Rio Grande de Matagalpa in the village of La Barra, continued upriver in the villages of Esperanza and Company Creek and even beyond, to the remote community of Makantakita, and finally came to a close at the source of the river in the mountains of Matagalpa. Those who volunteered their service during the first two weeks of July under the auspices of Peace and Hope Trust, a nonprofit Christian organization which focuses its ministry on the more remote places in Nicaragua, were Sarah Amadon, Tom Clay, Meg and Matt Pascucci, Justin Steele, Roger Drost and Mark Coleman. The team was joined in the field by volunteers from Wyoming and Virginia and lead by Peace and Hope field directors Peter Coleman and Paige Crockett.

In La Barra, the two-room concrete schoolhouse was packed with eager, energized children…and it was school vacation! More than 80 raucous children, from small toddlers to 13-year-olds, sang songs of praise, listened to Bible stories, made crafts and played games during a four-day vacation Bible school led by Meg and Matt Pascucci, volunteers from Wyoming and community members. During the time in La Barra, the team participated in both the Moravian and the Anglican church services, sharing scripture messages and music. On a personal level, volunteers built friendships while working alongside community members and encouraged and prayed with villagers. Tom Clay and Meg and Matt worked alongside village experts to lay a concrete path from the main walkway to the riverbank and to construct cement catchments (for collecting rainwater).

Departing from La Barra just after dawn, The Peace and Hope panga wound its way for two hours up the murky Rio Grande and carried two Nicaraguan nurses, a load of donated medicines and mosquito nets and a small team of US volunteers. When the panga arrived in the village of Esperanza, a community of about 30 homes on an oft-flooded promontory in the river, the nurses set up a makeshift clinic in the community center and the US volunteers left them alone to work. Meg, Matt, Roger Drost and a Wyoming volunteer continued 20 minutes upriver to Company Creek, a village of about 15 huts. By way of introduction to this remote community which sits atop muddy bluffs along the Rio Grande de Matagalpa, the team of volunteers distributed mosquito nets, purchased through funds donated to the Nets for Neighbors program at NSCBC. Volunteers visited every home, discussed community needs with village leaders and returned to Esperanza. By the time the work was over in Esperanza, the nurses had treated 85 patients and the group of US volunteers had slogged through the village’s ankle deep mud to visit every home and deliver mosquito nets and school supplies.

In the jungle wilderness at a bend in a small,, shaded river branching off the Rio Grande lies the Miskito village of Makantakita. This was the most remote community in which Peace and Hope has served and US volunteers, including Sarah Amadon, Justin Steele and Mark Coleman, Tom and Roger, spent almost two weeks there building a radio hut to provide the village with a critical communication link to the outside world and sprucing up the community church. Teams from Wyoming, Virginia and NSCBC, all contributed to the construction of the radio hut, set 8 feet off the ground on telephone poles. When the structure was completed and the antenna erected, villagers crowded into the hut to hear the first broadcast. The anticipation was palpable in their silence as the microphone was keyed, and their delight was expressed in the excited chatter that followed as the radio operator made contact with a distant community. A second project, which captured the enthusiasm and cooperation of the community and church members, was the painting and finish carpentry work on their Moravian church. This project provided great encouragement to this small, village church, the fruit of Moravian missionaries sent to the wilds of the Mosquito Coast from Germany as early as 1847.

The team’s story ends where the Rio Grande begins: in the mountains of Matagalpa. A dedicated Nicaraguan Christian woman established a small orphanage in Matagalpa five or six years ago and took in abandoned, neglected or abused children and gave them a home. That means she strove to provide everything a home should offer including shelter, food, safety, Christian instruction, education, encouragement, discipline and affection. Today she labors alongside her husband and works to support her ministry with revenues from a small farm and a bakery. The volunteers from NSCBC spent two days working on the construction of a retaining wall at the orphanage and enjoying the company of the resident children. ]]> From the Field http://www.peaceandhope.org/news/index.php?entry=entry100925-035110 Peace and Hope Trust Sat, 25 Sep 2010 10:51:10 GMT