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Hurricane Mitch effort was launched Dec. 24, 1998
The Orphan Grain Train is collecting food and medicine as part of relief efforts for the countries of Central America hardest hit by Hurricane Mitch last November. Shipments will be sent to secure distribution networks in Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
After pulling moisture into its clouds for three days off the coast of Honduras, Hurricane Mitch went inland and dropped 48 inches of rain in 24 hours on Central American Mountains at elevations above 10,000 feet. The resulting sea of mud and debris scoured out everything in its path: people, homes, cattle, bridges, crops and trees. Seventy-four bridges in Honduras and another seventy-one in Nicaragua were wiped out or damaged along with villages and thousands of people.
Knowing it was unlikely that aid would come to them, thousands of survivors trudged toward perceived aid at airfields. Food and medicine is shipped to larger airports in Trujillo, San Pedro Sula, La Ceiba, and Tegucigalpa, Honduras. From there it is flown on smaller planes to remote areas in need. There it is transferred to waiting trucks which take it to the villages cut off from outside contact after bridges were washed away.
Orphan Grain Train has shipped over 360,000 pounds of corn flour, pinto beans, dried peas, and medicine. Clothing and housing kits will also be shipped later in response to specific requests from OGT’s relief partners.
Medications purchased at wholesale cost are sent to combat diarrhea and conjunctivitis along with ampicillin, penicillin and children’s vitamins.
OGT is appealing for cash donations to be used to purchase and ship these bulk quantities of food and medicine. Donations may be sent payable to Orphan Grain Train, PO Box 1466, Norfolk, NE 68701, or through secure forms at http://www.ogt.org on the world-wide web.
Orphan Grain Train is a “hands-on” humanitarian aid and disaster relief project, a national network with divisions across the country. It is organized to bring necessary help to the endless requests for food and clothing, medical supplies, and Christian-centered literature.
Begun in 1992 in response to appeals from people in the formerly Communist countries of the Soviet Union, OGT has sent over 250 forty-foot container loads (semi-loads) to date, including 75 loads in 1998.
Recipient partners have been in Russia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Liberia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Brazil. Disaster aid has also been sent to victims of hurricanes, floods and tornadoes in this country. OGT partners with Lutheran Disaster Response and the American Red Cross when responding to domestic disasters.
Orphan Grain Train’s name and character are explained by the words of Christ recorded in John 14:18: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”