By Paul Leighton
BEVERLY — A Beverly native is leading an effort to help residents of Nicaragua recover from a devastating hurricane.
Peter Coleman, who works for a relief organization called Peace and Hope Trust, is overseeing the distribution of 5,000 pounds of food, $3,000 in building supplies and $1,500 in medicine to residents of the isolated towns of La Barra, Karawala and Sandy Bay.
The towns were struck by Hurricane Ida on Nov. 4 and 5. Although it was a relatively small Category 1 hurricane, it "wreaked havoc" on the three communities, according to an e-mail from Coleman.
Coleman said 70 people, including children and pregnant women, took refuge in a hurricane shelter built by Peace and Hope Trust USA in La Barra as the water rose to more than 4 feet.
"Many families told me that they are convinced that were it not for the (shelter), there would have been tragic loss of life," Coleman wrote.
The 35-year-old Coleman, a graduate of Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School, is the Nicaragua field director for Peace and Hope Trust, a nonprofit organization that provides relief and development in remote regions of Nicaragua. His father, Mark Coleman, the retired pastor of North Shore Community Baptist Church in Beverly Farms, is chairman of the board.
For more information or to donate to Peace and Hope Trust, go to www.peaceandhope.org.
