Donations sought to benefit impoverished Navajo people
Despite their proud history, the Navajo people, like many of this country’s indigenous peoples, experience a standard of living far below that of their white counterparts. There are few places this contrast is more pronounced than Arizona’s Navajo Reservation, where life is comparable to that of a Third World country.
In an effort to help the reservation’s residents cope with their plight, local residents Merle Hooper and Ronnie Perry have organized a donation drive for the reservation and are now collecting food, clothing and toys to be personally delivered next week.
“It’s pitiful out there,” said Hooper, a local minister. “There’s no industry and people live on dirt floors. It’s really a bad situation. We’re just trying to do what we can to help them make better lives for themselves.”
Hooper said he became involved in helping the Navajo four years ago through his mission organization, Care America Ministries, which offers assistance primarily to victims of disaster.
He met Perry two and a half years ago through a mutual friend, a Texas minister with whom Hooper had originally delivered food to the reservation. The two are currently organizing their fourth food, clothing and toy drive in the past two years.
While the Christian spirit is guiding their efforts, Perry said the drive is not being done under the auspices of any one church, but is relying on donations from many individuals and county congregations, including First United Methodist Church and its Native American ministries program, as well as organizations like the rescue squad.
The two are scheduled to leave McMinnville for the reservation on Saturday, but noted their tractor-trailer still has a lot of room for much-needed items, especially non-perishable food, which they say is in great demand.
Anyone interested in making such a donation to help those living on the Navajo Reservation can do so at Perry’s Garage on Sparta Street.