Each day brings new challenges for UMCOR staff in Kosovo
8/24/2000 News media contact: Tim Tanton · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn.
NOTE: For related coverage, see UMNS stories #383 and #385. Photographs are available.
By the Rev. Mike Stanton-Rich*
KOSOVO MITROVICA, Yugoslavia (UMNS) -- Tim Madigan is a long way from Cleveland.
It is 9 a.m. in Mitrovica, and his office is full of people wanting something from him. Some want a job, others want building materials, and many just want Madigan to visit their village so he can see what it looks like.
As folks clear out, he meets with engineers, warehouse managers, senior staff. Before he can leave the office, he has to make an important call to Sarajevo to secure another shipment of building materials. When you are in charge, you don't get a break until you jump in the truck, and even then there's still the radio.
Madigan is director of the Shelter Program for the United Methodist Committee on Relief in Kosovo, and has been on the job since June 1999. Since last year, more than 500 families in four villages (equal to about 4,500 people) have received materials to rebuild their homes, which were destroyed by the war in Kosovo.
Driving through Mitrovica, Madigan discusses the problems he faces. "We made some great progress this year, but new folks are coming back home every day. There are still people in temporary housing from last winter, and we are only months away from another one. I don't know how we'll face another winter with inadequate housing."
Arriving at French KFOR headquarters downtown, we are met by the nongovernmental organization liaison. He tells us to let him know if KFOR, the United Nations peacekeeping force, can help in any way, and we quickly take him up on his offer. A contractor's truck carrying sand to one of the villages where UMCOR is distributing materials has turned over and is blocking most of the main road through the mountains. The Belgian soldier puts in the request and it is honored. The problem will be handled "sometime this afternoon," he says.
That's a small miracle in Kosovo. Madigan is in a great mood and feeling lucky. He takes a reporter to the other side of the bridge, into North Mitrovica. The Serbs had rioted just a day before, and the area is noticeably tense, but lunch is good. "Real ham on the pizza; we don't have that on the south side," Madigan remarks.
After lunch, we head up the mountain to the villages of Bare and Bajgore. Passing one red-tiled roof after another, we are in UMCOR country. We reach the site of the accident and find KFOR already working on the situation. Negotiations ensue, and the village leader allows KFOR to topple a portion of fence to move a crane into place. Only three hours have passed since we requested assistance.
We meet with some of the village folks, who want to show the American reporter where a NATO bomb destroyed a home that Serbs commandeered during the war. Then we see their homes, which are nearly rebuilt with the help of UMCOR. The roof tiles, floorboards, doors and even the sand for the stucco all give the homes the stamp of Madigan's program. Chickens are in the yard and sheep are in the fields, compliments of UMCOR's agriculture program.
Returning to the main office, Madigan negotiates with a truck driver who wants to leave unacceptable materials at the warehouse. "You can do what you want with them and drive home, but we cannot receive inferior materials," he tells the driver.
UMCOR has been busy since last year, but much work remains. Ninety homes in the Bare and Bajgore have been identified as Category 5 homes, most destroyed or deemed irreparable. Slightly more than $1 million from UMCOR partners has been designated to provide new housing for some of the neediest families.
"UMCOR is offering materials and organization for these families to rebuild their homes," explains Ruzan Agahazadian, a staff member from Armenia, who oversees the Category 5 project. "This is a self-help program where they only receive materials if they can show that they have the ability to build and give back to the community."
The standard plans for the homes are small, with the largest home spanning just over 800 square feet. "Some of these families have lived through two winters without adequate housing," Madigan says. "This is a chance for them to live a normal life."
One of the warehouse managers, Agron Spahia, is in the office before the day ended. "Tell your readers I have seen over 250 large trucks come through the warehouse, and we have already sent out 95 percent of the materials received," Spahia tells the reporter. "Thank them for their help."
Madigan still has a couple of hours in the office before returning home. "Every day is different and has its new challenges," he says. "But it's worth it when you see entire villages restored, and you know you've helped."
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*Stanton-Rich is pastor of New Covenant United Methodist Church in Mount Holly, N.C. He was in Kosovo Aug. 7-17 as a volunteer with the United Methodist Committee on Relief.
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