Too much rain
It’s raining in Santa Cruz: outside, a gentle pattering on the leaves, gray skies, that unmistakeable sound of car tires sliding along wet asphalt.
I’m grateful for the relief from the 90-degree weather. (Summer in Santa Cruz is something I've had a harder time adjusting to than I expected.) But at the same time, I worry about the people who live where there is no asphalt and drainage systems are inadequate—the peripheral and rural areas, especially those near rivers, where a day of rain too often means serious flooding.
As I write, about 15,000 people in the Santa Cruz area, and tens of thousands more in other areas of the country, have been flooded out in the past few weeks. Heavier-than-usual rains have raised the level of the Río Grande in the departamento of Santa Cruz, making people’s homes uninhabitable and their fields rot.
According to the Santa Cruz newspapers, 3,053 families are living in 25 refugee camps in this province until the waters subside. Cuba has sent a brigade of doctors to help prevent epidemics from breaking out (so far, so good, according to the paper). The U.S., Japan, and other governments and NGOs are sending food and tents for the refugees. But they can’t stop the waters from advancing, or people’s homes and livelihoods from being endangered.
Please pray for the farmers—many of whom have gone into debt to pay for seed, fertilizers, and pesticides—who stand to lose all or most of their crops this year. (Many have lost animals too; thousands of livestock have drowned.) Pray for the people in the refugee camps who are hungry, sick, and/or anxious about the homes and belongings they’ve left behind.
I’m guessing this is one of the many disasters worldwide that flies mostly under the radar of the mainstream news. If you’d like to find out more, here are a few places you can look:
Granma International gives a good overview of what’s happened.
Relief Web is a good source for facts and figures—who’s been affected, what the need is, what’s being done, etc.
BBC News and Reuters focus on the political implications for Bolivia’s new president.
posted by The Enríquez-Zandstra family @ 4:07 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Dear Anita,
I sometimes find it frustrating even when disasters recieve media attention because I often wonder what happens when people forget and move on with thier lives in other parts of the world without continuing to support those who must struggle so hard to rebuild. How much more devestating when nothing is noted by those who can help across the world. Thanks for letting us see it from your eyes and making your circle aware. I wish I could help right now but I'll do my part by spreading the word. Peace and Blessings,
Hi, Janna. I couldn't agree more. Even here, news from the flooded areas has stopped being front-page news by now. And the same thing tends to happen in our minds--in mine too, I admit. It's hard to keep caring for too long.
One encouraging note: today's newspaper (on page ten) showed rows of schoolkids lined up to sing the national anthem. School has started in the refugee camps, and though they started two weeks late and conditions are crowded (two grade levels sharing the same classroom, etc.), education is marching on.
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