ARIZONA COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION Records, clothes stolen from Navajo non-profit: "The Arizona Republic
Feb. 15, 2006 12:00 AM

CENTRAL PHOENIX - A burglary is a major and upsetting event for anyone, but for the newly established Phoenix Dine organization, a weekend burglary was something of a catastrophe.

Phoenix Dine Director Melinda Tomchee said the year-old organization serves as a resource center for the estimated 25,000 Navajos (Dine) who live in the Valley.

The non-profit organization helps Navajo folks find jobs, scholarships and public assistance, and it also serves as a cultural center.

But when Tomchee walked into the office at 802 N. Fifth Ave. in Phoenix on Monday morning, she says she knew "that a lot of our work was going to be on hold for a while."

Tomchee saw that burglars had stolen a small safe with records inside, three desktop computers, a laptop computer, four printers, one video recorder, a digital camera and a projector and sound system used for PowerPoint presentations.

"We haven't backed-up our computer files for about two months, so a lot is probably lost," Tomchee said. "We were just getting ourselves really organized, and this is a considerable setback."

Cultural activity coordinator Suzette Numkena said losing the computers and their records was bad enough, but losing 20 bags of clothing recently sent by the Navajo Nation perhaps was in some ways worse.

Insurance will cover most of the electronic wares loss, "but we have families with small children who were expecting and needing the clothing this week," Numkena said. "We have to tell them it's just gone."

Tomchee said she and her board of directors are "absolutely determined" to get the center up and running again soon.

"Not only do we have many Navajo people living here now, but we will have many more in the near future," she said. "With unemployment at 42 percent on the reservation, young people are leaving and going to urban areas at an increasing rate. They are looking for new economic and employment opportunities.

"We not only act as a resource for jobs and things like that, but we are also their tie to their culture, to their language, to things that must not be lost."

Police had made no arrests in the burglary case as of Tuesday evening.

Anyone wishing to provide assistance to Phoenix Dine can call (602) 254-2891.