Hurricane-devastated community thrives in new location

Mennonite Central Committee
Wednesday, 20 December 2000

When Hurricane Mitch struck the village of Masicales on Oct. 28, 1998, panicked residents flocked to Gladys Zuniga and Horacio Ferrera's store and living quarters. As flood waters rose to the top step of the only two-story building in town, 140 people stranded there sang, cried, prayed and read the Bible. They drank rain water and caught coconuts and bananas that floated by.

Several days after Mitch, boats from the nearby town of Tocoa delivered food to the people in the Zuniga-Ferrera home and rescued others trapped in trees.

One year later, many of these families were staying in temporary shelter and working to build new homes . Two years later, they live in the community of Holandeza Linda. The 55 new houses were funded mostly by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and built by community members themselves, with support from North American Work and Learn teams.

Tidy homes and open, green spaces in Holandeza Linda reflect the struggles and hope of its residents. On Oct. 28, 2000, the second anniversary of Mitch's devastation, community members were sweating in the hot sun to install poles that will soon bring electricity.

"We reflected back a lot," said MCC Latin America director Linda Shelly, who visited the community on the two-year hurricane anniversary. "People were very hopeful for the future."

The Mennonite church had been in Masicales, a community of about 155 families, since the 1970s. After Mitch flood waters receded, Zuniga and Ferrera held church services at their home until the mud and debris were cleaned out of the church building. The congregation did not miss a single service.

About half of the Masicales residents were able to return to their homes, but the community felt strongly that they all needed a new place to live. The hurricane had changed the course of the nearby river and left everyone, even Zuniga and Ferrera, feeling vulnerable.

Those whose homes had been completely destroyed were first housed in a nearby school and then in a shelter. Some decided to resettle in another relief project, which offered smaller houses at no cost.

About a third of the families chose to relocate to Holandeza Linda. The community was designed by former MCC volunteer Jacob Schiere, a native of Holland. Schiere, whose work was supported by MCC and the Social Action Committee of Dutch Mennonites, designed the new town to include green space, trees and relatively spacious lots.

The community was named for Schiere, his wife, Anelies, and Shelly, whose first name in Spanish means "beautiful."

The Honduran Mennonite Church purchased the 20-plus acres of land with Emergency Project funds donated by MCC. The owner sold it for about $21,500 Can./$14,000 U.S., lower than market value.

The new community lies eight kilometers/five miles from the old Masicales, close enough for families to continue farming their land, but far enough from the river that they feel safe. Construction on Holandeza Linda began in August of 1999.

"It was a tremendous amount of work," Shelly said.

Community members mixed the cement and sand for the concrete blocks themselves. In fact, some of the men now have construction jobs because of the skills they learned building their new community, Shelly said.

The Honduran Mennonite Church found Hondurans to give technical assistance. Another agency worked with the community's water system.

MCC volunteer Sid Frey and his family came to Tocoa in July 2000 to coordinate MCC Work and Learn teams at Holandeza Linda. Seven teams, composed of men and women from North American Mennonite congregations, came for several weeks at a time to provide labor and encouragement.

The teams' greatest contribution, Frey said, was their "willingness to walk alongside people, to encourage them as they worked shoulder to shoulder."

In return, he added, visiting North Americans took home a new perspective on material possessions and the example of the Hondurans' perseverance under difficult circumstances.

The houses were completed by July 2000. Residents are now making payments on the houses -- not to MCC, but to a community fund that can be used for future improvement projects.

Holandeza Linda residents erected an all-purpose building that served as both a church and a warehouse during the construction phase and is now also used as a school. They have plans to build a new school building soon. Along with these markers of a vibrant community, another old landmark is also present. Gladys Zuniga has turned the front room of her Holandeza Linda home into a new store, and is once again open for business.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org