“It touched my heart when on Sunday, the day after the project, Trinity’s mom texted me…”

This summer Craig Wollman, South Dakota MDS Unit Chair, received a call from the regional FEMA office in Colorado seeking assistance repairing damage on uninsured homes following a June 29^th wind and hailstorm in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. In August Craig, along with an assessment team and representatives of local partner organizations, visited some of the most significantly damaged and uninsured homes on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.  After the visit, a plan was made to re-roof the three homes most in need of assistance; prioritizing single mothers raising children in homes with significant damage.

The first home repair was completed on September 12, by a crew of 5 volunteers, aided by homeowner, Trinity, and her father, Arlen. Trinity’s home, where she is raising four children ages 4-9, got a new metal roof. The volunteers on this project feel that their time was very well spent and worthwhile! Craig reports, “It touched my heart when on Sunday, the day after the project, Trinity’s mom texted me that it rained in the night, and Trinity was so happy to not have to get up in the middle of the night to clean up water leaking into their house.”

MDS South Dakota unit volunteers repair Trinity’s roof

MDS South Dakota is now organizing volunteers and supplies to install a new roof on Melody and Gracie’s homes October 1-4 and 15-18.  Melody is a grandmother raising 7 grandchildren in her damaged four-bedroom, one bathroom home in which one bedroom has become unusable due to water damage.  Gracie is a working mother of three teenage children.  Teams of 4-8 will include roofing volunteers and cooks.  Lodging and kitchen facilities are being provided by the Hands of Faith Ministry at their building four miles south of Pine Ridge.

Please hold these projects in prayer over the next few weekends and if you’d like to join a volunteer team October 1-4 of 15-18, or in the future, please contact MDS. To financially support the work of the South Dakota MDS Unit, send donations to Mennonite Disaster Service 583 Airport Rd., Lititz, PA 17543 or donate at mds.org (write “SD Unit” in the memo or designate it online). If additional volunteer and financial support can be located, the South Dakota Unit hopes to return and repair windows and siding on these homes.

A video sharing about this project at Salem Zion Mennonite Church on August 23, 2026 is available HERE