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Gifts That Won't Be Forgotten - SD
- 11-13-2009
- Categorized in: Pine Ridge, SD.
Transforming a Dream Into Reality
As if dire poverty was not enough, one of the nation’s poorest regions faced another blow in early April: a blinding blizzard. Into the swirling snow that blanketed South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation stepped Grammy Award-winning Christian band and World Vision partner Casting Crowns, accompanied by a 125-member mission team.
The harsh weather, however, proved to be only a sideshow, as the band members and their vast team swarmed into their work. Their mission trip, organized and hosted by reservation-based Wings as Eagles Ministries, was to build relationships and set the foundation for a “Dream Center” that will serve the Oglala Sioux Native Americans. Once completed, the center will serve as a vital gathering place for the 40,000 residents of this 11,000-square-mile reservation.
For days, Casting Crowns and its team persevered in the mud and freezing temperatures, preparing the ground for the Dream Center’s foundation and erecting poles for initial construction. Team members also went door-to-door, inviting youth to join them in basketball and other activities. Children participating in the team’s Kids Club were treated to a variety of activities and entertainment, such as music, puppet shows, and karate demonstrations.
A place for the community
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The Dream Center is the dream-coming-true of Lori and Gary McAfee, founders of Wings as Eagles Ministries. Once completed, the center will provide a job training center, employment assistance, shelter for homeless children, a sports and activities center, a food warehouse, and a worship center. For more than 100 years, the Oglala Sioux have struggled to survive on their reservation that abuts South Dakota’s famed Badlands. The median income here is $3,500, and more than 33 percent of reservation homes have no water, sewer, or electricity. On average, an estimated 17 people live in each reservation home. Average life expectancy for men is 47 years, for women 52 years. |
Poverty equal to developing countries
| “The poverty on the reservation is overwhelming,” says Lori, who with her husband has ministered since 1995 to Native Americans living in poverty in Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota. “Most people would not believe it.” In many ways, conditions on the Pine Ridge Reservation mirror those in poor developing nations. The infant mortality rate is 300 percent higher than the national average. At least 60 percent of reservation homes need to be razed because they are infested with mold that causes lung disease and damages immune systems. Here, isolated in the southwest corner of the state, seven out of 10 Native American children drop out before graduating high school. Most roads are unpaved, making many homes inaccessible during South Dakota’s merciless winter months. A scarcity of resources means critical infrastructure cannot be built, keeping the Oglala Sioux from walking into a brighter, healthier tomorrow. |
‘Wisdom, encouragement, and organization’
Walking alongside these isolated people is Wings as Eagles, which enlists volunteers to help build their Dream Center—a vital step toward providing the basics the tribe needs to move beyond persistent need. When Casting Crowns arrived to volunteer in Pine Ridge, World Vision’s Ruston Seaman also was there to coach Wings as Eagles Ministries’ Lori and Gary as they managed the largest mission team they have hosted in more than a decade of ministry. With Ruston’s help, soon Wings as Eagles had tribe members and visitors serving in sync with one another.
“He was such a blessing,” Lori says of Ruston. “He helped with wisdom, encouragement, and organization at a
critical time.”
World Vision’s Rural Ministry exists to equip community organizations in the United States like Wings as Eagles Ministries, empowering them to work more effectively among those whom they serve. This summer, World Vision also is sending mission groups to serve in Pine Ridge. With this added manpower, the Dream Center will soon become more than a dream.
Help now
Check out the locations of World Vision’s U.S. Rural Mission Trips this summer, and consider registering for one of them. World Vision invites you to be a part of an experience in which an under-resourced community like Pine Ridge is empowered to overcome poverty and severe need.
Donate now to support World Vision’s Rural Ministry in the United States. Your gift will help World Vision provide hope and a brighter future for children, families, and communities that need extra support, like the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
