Feeding the Hungry, P. C. Hiebert, 1929

f the Women’s Home. It was never a question of 106 FEEDING THE HUNGRY keeping the Home filled, but it was often a problem to know whom to admit. At Sourp Agop the number of inmates ranged from 35 to 55. For the 13 months during which the Home was in existence the cost to the Unit was $6919.27. The Personal Service division of the Relief helped many in getting their visas or in arranging for transporta- tion to join relatives. This department of Relief Work helped many to a new start and a new grip on life. CLOTHING RELIEF Because of the circumstances under which the refugee army left Russia most of them had only the clothing that they wore. The need for Clothing Relief was a close second to the need for food. Fortunately the bulk of the shipment from America consisted of good new and used clothing. This clothing had been a part of the shipment sent to Russia with Slagel. There was at least six weeks’ delay in getting it back and in having it admitted into Constantinople. About New Years, 1921, distribution was begun from the basement depot of the Children’s Shelter, under the direction of J. E. Brunk. Each morning saw a long waiting line. Some effort was made to investigate cases, but this could not be very thorough because from a thousand to fifteen hundred individuals were helped each month. The proportion of men among the refugees was much larger than that of men’s clothing in the supply. Such a situation could not have been foreseen. So our workers had to adjust themselves as best they could to the situation. While many thousands of garments were distributed monthly to individuals who applied at the depot in person, other thousands were used in the Children’s Shelter, and Men’s Home, and the young Women’s Home, or distrib- uted by those workers who regularly visited the camps. THE FIRST ESSAY INTO RUSSIA 107 The total value of clothing distributed by the Constanti- nople Unit was estimated at $39,976.91. The estimate was based on a rate of fifty cents per pound. After the work in Russia opened in February of 1922, and the dire need for clothing relief there became known, distribution in Constantinople ceased and the balance of clothing was. sent on. Several other interesting features of the work could be mentioned. 1. During October, 1921 over 1500 Rus- sian New Testaments were handed out with the garments. These were supplied by the American Bible Society. 2. A number of sewing machines were sold to refugees on installment payment basis. By May, 1921, ten had been placed at cost. 3. The supply of men’s shoes were soon exhausted, so shoe soles and findings were purchased and a repair department started. This provided employment for some of the refugees. From 300 to 600 pairs of shoes were repaired monthly. THE GENERAL WORK AND THE DEVELOPING SITUATION Aside from the four main departments of Relief as. already described, a few others deserve mention. i. The Director o