The DeKalb Interfaith Network for Peace and Justice is coordinating local emergency relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Joan.

The hurricane struck the east coast of Nicaragua Saturday with 120-mile-per-hour winds and moved inward through Uganda, the nation’s capital.

In its wake, Hurricane Joan left dozens of people dead, hundreds missing and thousands homeless as their shanties were blown away by high winds and torrential rains.

Heading Nicaragua’s relief efforts, Dr. Miriam Lazo Laguna indicated a desperate need for all sorts of relief—from blankets and tarps to antibiotics and diarrhea medicines. She said Nicaragua has suffered eight years of U.S.-sponsored war and economic embargo, and the government now is hard-pressed to provide urgently needed relief without outside help.

DeKalb Interfaith spokesperson Cele Meyer said, “It is very important for us to get as much aid down there as possible. Their only hope is from people in the international community, and I am counting on the people of DeKalb.”

Meyer said she is hopeful that area residents, who have responded generously in the past, will help meet the needs of the suffering Nicaraguans.

Local collections will be forwarded to Milwaukee for shipment to Nicaragua through the Ecumenical Refugee Council. ERC Director Sallie Pettit, who has spoken locally on several occasions about the organization’s Godparent Program in Nicaragua, said ERC will fly priority medicines that can be handcarried within a week to areas where they are needed. Heavier items will be shipped by container as soon as possible.

Contributions of goods and funds can be delivered to 739 Hillcrest, DeKalb, or 120 McCormick, DeKalb, or checks can be mailed directly to ERC, 2510 N. Frederick, Milwaukee, Wis., 53211.