Humanitarian Training

This week we are receiving Humanitarian training at the MTC. We are in a small group of 11 couples. Four couples will work in the field in Humanitarian work. Six couples will work in employment service, and one couple will go to the Navajo reservation with LDS Family Services (she is a psychiatrist). The countries represented in our small group are astonishing: Turkey, Armenia, Belarus, Kenya, South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Ecuador, Hong Kong, and England.

We are so very impressed with the Humanitarian training we have received! What a great program! It is certainly not a hand-out to victims—it is a program which builds dignity and capability. It is based on the principles of self-reliance, participation and work, local leadership, and sustainability. We have found out a lot about what we’ll be doing—and it’s hard. We’ll be facilitators. We work by asking questions to help people clarify what they can and will do, and then we apply to the Church for money, talent or materials to complete the project. The Church has four major initiatives at this time: Clean Water, NeoNatal Resuscitation Training, Vision Care, and Wheelchairs.

We leave early Saturday morning (Jan. 17) and arrive in Ankara Sunday afternoon (Jan. 18). We're really excited about getting to work! Although we won't wear our Turkish nametags because we won't be proselyting in Turkey, we will be known in Church as Yasli and Kizkardes Keeler.