American Baptist Men Coordinates Hurricane Clean-Up

October 28, 2002
by Susan Gottshall

NEW ORLEANS – In the wake of hurricane damage estimated at $700 million throughout the south central U.S., officials of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) asked ABMen Disaster Relief – a program of National Ministries' Men's Ministries – to coordinate the work of volunteer groups in the Louisiana cleanup effort. The request marks the first time the government agency has invited an organization to take on the disaster-wide coordination responsibility of recovery response crews.

Buren Sparks, ABMen's national coordinator for disaster relief, toured the region with FEMA staff to survey the relief effort's scope the week after Hurricane Lili stormed ashore. To detail more specific recovery needs Sparks returned with members of ABMen's West Virginia disaster relief group: Leonard Howell, the Rev. Harry Drake and State Coordinator Fred Duffield. In one week the four-member team visited each of Louisiana's 27 parishes (counties) damaged by Tropical Storm Isidore and Hurricane Lili, interviewing town mayors and emergency service directors to develop a comprehensive list of sites requiring cleanup.

Where the eye of Lili passed through – to the west of New Orleans – Sparks said thousands of trees, felled by the hurricane's winds, covered yards and roads and tore open the building rooftops. Isidore's main damage fell to the east of the city, where its heavy rains left a swath of flooding. "Wind to the west, water to the east," Sparks said. "People lost everything and they didn't have much to start with."

Dick Balnicky, FEMA's voluntary agency liaison, said the idea to utilize ABMen to coordinate volunteers came by way of the group itself. At the national VOAD (Volunteer Organization Action in Disaster) conference in Oklahoma City in the spring, ABMen "made an excellent presentation" about its disaster program and suggested the group also could coordinate national disaster recovery efforts.

The suggestion struck an immediate chord with Balnicky, who said he thought, "Wow, that is one area that has not been addressed." The current Louisiana effort is a test case; according to Balnicky, "They were sure right on.... [Sparks] and his guys clearly proved they know what they are doing. All of us have been tremendously impressed."

In a letter thanking National Ministries for the ABMen ministry, Peter Van Hook, disaster response and recovery liaison for Church World Service, wrote: "[Sparks] worked with little more than suggestions and did a magnificent job, serving those who needed help after a pair of devastating storms. I hope that the American Baptist Men will consider making this ministry of coordination a permanent part of their disaster relief efforts."

The Rev. Dr. David C. Laubach, National Ministries' associate executive director for Congregational and Evangelistic Ministries, expressed his appreciation to Sparks and the ABMen disaster team from West Virginia "for their unhesitant and generous response" to FEMA's call. "This is a new role for ABMen and a strong affirmation by the federal government of their leadership and skills," Laubach said.

Sparks will work as national coordinator into early November, matching recovery jobs with Southern Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Mennonite and Seventh Day Adventist volunteer groups.

The ABMen emergency disaster relief ministry, begun in the mid-1990s, includes nine region-based tractor trailers loaded with disaster cleanup equipment and staffed by hundreds of volunteers. These trailers have provided relief for thousands of victims. Most recently ABMen Disaster Relief was involved in the New York City cleanup and recovery following Sept. 11, 2001, along with post-flood recovery in West Virginia.

National Ministries maintains certifications for the ABMen trailer ministry through its office of National Disaster Response and supports volunteer relief work through Volunteers In Mission. Information is available at www.nationalministries.org or by calling 1-800-ABC-3USA/x2034 or 2449.

American Baptist News Service