Regional Food Systems Community Garden Project
In early 1996, provided
financial, technical and operational support for an organic
market
gardening project with developmentally delayed residents from Northview
Developmental Services in Newton, Kansas. Regional Food Systems (RFS) was
the brainchild of Rev. Wendell Wiebe-Powell, a member of the Leaveners
Board of Directors. Rev. Wiebe-Powell and his partner, with help from Northview
residents, gardened several acres and sold the produce in local Farmers’
Markets and to the Northview kitchens. Unfortunately, RFS operated
for only two seasons, due to Rev. Wiebe-Powell’s partner taking an out-of-area
job.
Bosnian Aid Project
| As most people are
aware, the genocidal war in Bosnia left tens of thousands of people
severely wounded due to the wholesale use of land mines. A large
percentage of these were amputees, including para- and quadraplegics.
Insufficient medical aid reached Bosnia during the war. Although the
flow of aid increased after the war ended in the Fall of 1995, there was
still a serious lack of rehabilitation and medical materiel for
approximately another two years. When Leaveners manager Erik Kilgren traveled to Bosnia in 1996 as part of the Fellowship of Reconciliation’s first Bosnian Work Camp, he found the overall condition of the Bihac Regional Hospital, in which he was working, seriously deteriorated. Much of the damage caused by Bosnian Serb shelling during the war had not been repaired and basic medicines and supplies were still needed (much of what had been sent by U.S. and European agencies was past its expiration date.) |
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The difficulties were compounded by the bureaucracies of the Bosnian Federal and local governments, the United Nations (UN), and the Non-governmental Relief Organizations (NGOs) working under the UN. Procedures often got in the way of efficiently getting people the aid they desperately needed. Favoritism intervened, as did graft, and short-circuited the process. The black market flourished. Given this situation, there was considerable need on a daily basis, but little hope of finding a legitimate local organization and a sure and direct method of getting aid to it.
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Only two days before leaving Bihac, Kilgren gave a talk on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to a group of war invalids, Organizacija Ratnih Vojnih Invalida (ORVI). (ORVI's poster appears on the Welcome Page of this website.) The talk almost did not happen, due to it likely being given a low priority by the local liaisons because ORVI was not an "official" organization. But, Kilgren and other FOR members persisted. |
| In addition to talking on PTSD, Kilgren wound up giving an impromptu
primer on political organizing (to get aid) and leading a group discussion of wartime
experiences so intense that his translator, who had translated for UNPROFOR
during the war, was in tears the last quarter hour. As it turned out, ORVI and its members received minimal help from international aid organizations and almost no help from the local or Bosnian federal governments at that time. It raised its own money for members to buy needed prostheses and other rehabilitation and medical supplies-- usually in Zagreb, Croatia. Decisions were made on the basis of need. The legitimate local aid organization sought had been found. After returning to the U.S., Kilgren gave several public talks on his experiences and the situation in Bosnia over the next ten months, raising over $10,000.00 to purchase medical supplies and rehabilitation equipment for Organizacija Ratnih Vojnih Invalida. |
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| Of this, approximately one-third was used for shipping costs and the remainder was leveraged into the purchase of $20,000.00/DM30,000.00 worth of medical and rehabilitation equipment and supplies--wheelchairs, tripod canes, catheters, bandages, bedpans, therapeutic exercise equipment, etc. This leveraging was possible due to finding the largest seller of overstocked and "distressed" (new, not needed) medical supplies in the U.S. in Topeka, Kansas, MedVentures, Inc. | ||||
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Lawrence Social Service League Building Renovation
| The Lawrence
Social Service League had its beginnings in the relief efforts
of local citizens after Border Ruffian William Clarke Quantrill
burned Lawrence to the ground in his infamous raid on the town in
August of 1863 (as seen in the recent movie, Ride with the Devil).
The cut and faced sandstone building that houses the Social Service
League was constructed shortly after the raid in the "City
Rebuilding Period." The League, as it is called, has for
some years served as a thrift store, social center and information
clearing house/referral agency for poor and marginalized residents
of Lawrence. Leaveners has provided several grants to the League to support its activities, but in 1997 Board Members undertook the re-mortaring, re-plastering and painting of a substantial part of the second floor, assisted by paid craftsman Giles Thompson and volunteers Richard Jessee and Mark Larson. One room was completely re-done, including the stripping and refinishing of walnut window casings, so the League could donate space to the Hermes Peace Library and have a communal meeting room. Additionally, during 1997 and 1998, Leaveners provided organizational consultation to both the League and the Hermes Peace Library. Organizational Consultation for the Lawrence Community Drop-In Center
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Current Projects
Continuation of the Bosnian Aid Project Focuses on Education
| Current direct assistance projects include
the sponsorship of two talented young Bosnian students from Bihac, Mr. Hinko Vincar, and
Mr. Dino Cehic. Mr. Vincar has been awarded a full tuition scholarship to Johnson County Community College from January 1998 through Fall 1999.
Called by local
educators in Bihac the brightest student in Computer Science of the decade, Mr.
Vincar was
unable to attend college in Bosnia due to lack of qualified professors and
money. He had additionally exhausted all options for going to college overseas,
having received no response from UNHCR sponsored assistance programs such
as World
University Service and The Bosnian Student Project, which
had helped several other students from Bihac. The fact that
such a
talented student could be overlooked was mystifying and that he should have no
opportunities to attend college highly unfortunate. The second student, Dino Cehic, was awarded $2,500.00 at Leaveners' Fourth Quarter Board Meeting in 2000 to assist in his last year at Robert Morris College in Pittsburgh, PA.. Erik Kilgren met Cehic and Vincar while working in Bihac in 1997 and subsequently arranged independently funded sponsorships through Leaveners. Mr. Vincar recently graduated from Johnson County Community College with a cumulative 4.0 grade average and is pursuing his Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science at Ottawa University. He has recently been offered a position for his one year off-campus practical training with Transportation.com. Mr Cehic currently has a 3.4 cumulative GPA is business administration and computer science. |
Peter Max Benefit Art Auction
| Through the efforts of Lani Oglesby, a community volunteer and friend of Leaveners, well-known artist Peter Max has recently donated a print/poster of his work with autograph and sketched profile to Leaveners for the benefit of the homeless and disadvantaged of Lawrence, Kansas. The 24" X 36" piece, along with pieces by local artists Jon Narum, Lora Jost, Ardys Ramberg, John Sullivan and Jimmy Lee, will be exhibited at Carmesi, 1012 Massachusetts in Lawrence, KS from March 19-31, 2001. Silent bids for the artwork will be accepted during this time, with the works going to the highest bidder. A minimum bid will be set for each piece. For more information, please call Erik Kilgren at 785-841-6686 from 8:00am to 5:00pm or Carmesi at 865-0502. |