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Altona, Man.
One man’s vision helps quake victims in El Salvador rebuild community


Ray Loewen, a businessman in Altona, Man., believes one person can make a difference. The Altona car dealer learned that when he set out to raise funds for victims of the earthquake that hit El Salvador in January. Build a Village campaign, done in partnership with Mennonite Central Committee, triggered a wave of donations across southern Manitoba. By early May, donors had given $240,000 (enough for 80 homes) to Build a Village. About $3,000 pays for one house.

“The village has grown now to more homes than we would ever have imagined,” said Loewen. His inspiration came in a series of attention-grabbing jolts back in January. Two days before his daughter Kristin was set to leave for Guatemala, as part of Canadian Mennonite University’s School of Discipleship, they were shocked by TV reports showing Guatemala and El Salvador hit by an earthquake.

The January 13 earthquake, which was followed by another exactly a month later, and continuing aftershocks, hit El Salvador hardest. The quake left over 1,200 people dead in El Salvador and about one million homeless.

A week later, Kristin wrote home about a family in the jungles of Guatemala who had hosted her student group. “These people have almost nothing,” Ray recalled. “Everything they have, they’re willing to share.

“And that e-mail had a huge impact on me as well,” he continued. “Surely, we should be willing to share as well.”

He decided to raise money for MCC, which plans to help rebuild over 400 homes in El Salvador over the next two years, and encourages others in southern Manitoba to pitch in too.

Loewen said he had initial doubts about his project, but was swept off his feet by the immediate interest of others. His careful fundraising plans were thrown out the window.

“We’ve spent all our time just running to keep up with God’s plan and not going according to our plan,” he said. “This is about what God has planned.”

Five-year-old Annika Enns–Dyck was one of the people who caught the vision. Learning about the campaign through her parents, she donated the contents of her piggy bank – about $100 – to the Build a Village campaign.

Loewen also tells the story of a Low German fundraising event in Winkler, Man. Because of a mix-up in communication, Loewen hadn’t realized the April 28 was a go until a week before it was scheduled to happen. He and the organizers scrambled to get tickets printed, posters put up and the word out. Details, however, fell into place.

“Come Saturday night, we had 500 people pack the Winkler elementary school for a Low German drama,” he said. About $17,000 was raised that one night.

The next Monday at work, Loewen braced himself for an anti-climatic week. “Within five minutes of each other, I had two people walk into my office and drop off a cheque for a home,” he said, adding he hasn’t set an end date for Build a Village.

Reconstruction is now underway in El Salvador. MCC is working with partner agencies there, using as much local labour as possible. It has also invited eight short-term Work and Learn teams from North America to help. He said people often become overwhelmed by all the needs around the world. But he said he believes that with this project, people “realize they can make a big difference in the lives of one family.”

This has been a life changing experience for Loewen. “I’ve realized there’s a lot of things in life more important than selling cars and trucks,” he said. “I think it’s been a really energizing project to be a part of. I wouldn’t trade a minute of it for anything.”

 – Carol Thiessen, for MCC Canada

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Last modified October 5, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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