Good News - December 2020

OUT AND ABOUT 48 DECEMBER 2020 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition Thousands of families throughout Central America, already reeling from the crip- pling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, face a new wave of misery brought by devastating flooding and landslides, one week after Hurricane Eta slammed into Nicaragua. Even more help will be needed to assist families who lost their homes and have no access to food or clean water. Food For The Poor is con- tinuing to assess needs in the countries most affected by Eta, including Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Sal- vador, Belize and Jamaica, to gear up a quick response with additional aid to support relief efforts under way. Many South Floridians want to do what they can to help. The charity collects goods for Hurricane Eta relief at its Coconut Creek ware- house, 6401 Lyons Road. Items accepted include: non- perishable foods, canned milk, baby food and cereal, baby items such as diapers, wipes, blankets and gently used clothes, adult diapers, per- sonal hygiene products such as soap, tools such as shov- els, rainboots, raincoats and work gloves, heavy duty trash bags and buckets for cleanup, non-aerosol insect repellent, cots or sleeping mats, and first-aid items such as Band- Aid bandages, gauze and kits. Items should have expiration dates no earlier than May 2021 to ensure they can be shipped. Nicaragua In Nicaragua, as many as 130,000 people are affected with 47,000 relocated to emer- gency shelters. Officials are still determin- ing the number of damaged homes, but a preliminary count estimates about 1,700 with most of them near the Caribbean coast where Eta made landfall Tuesday. In Bilwi alone, 5,000 people have been affected and 500 homes are severely damaged. Thousands of wells were contaminated because of overflowing rivers and dam- aged latrines as well as intru- sion of salt water. Crops have been destroyed which is ex- pected to lead to greater food insecurity. In Honduras, at least 150,000 families have been displaced. More than 50 were reportedly killed as a result of the storm. Children in four of Food For The Poor’s Angels Of Hope Homes in Honduras were evacuated and sent to temporary shelters. Guatemala In northern Guatemala, at least 81,500 people have been affected with 1,122 homes destroyed. Many fam- ilies have evacuated their homes and fled to 50 shelters in the region. The death toll in Central America has climbed to more than 100 and it continues to rise as the countries begin to realize the full scope of the devastation, according to news reports. Jamaica Even in Jamaica, far from Eta’s landfall, areas of the country are isolated because of mudslides and significant damage to roads and bridges due to flooding from the storm’s spiral bands. “Our brothers and sisters in Central America were al- ready struggling because of COVID-19 and now they have been walloped by a cata- strophic hurricane,” said Food For The Poor President/CEO Ed Raine. “We know the goods we’re sending mean the world to these families, but it’s going to take a long time for these countries to recover. More help will be needed. Food For the Poor is commit- ted to being there every step of the way with the help of our compassionate donors and partners.” To date, the charity’s re- sponse has included: • Three disaster kits to Honduras and one to Guatemala. • Eighteen containers of aid, including 14 to Honduras with corn, blankets, tote bags, work gloves, bowls, food con- tainers, serving trays and fur- niture; three to Guatemala and one to Belize, all with dis- aster blankets. • Eight containers of food to Honduras. • Sixteen containers filled with food, cleaning supplies and medical items, which are on the way to Honduras. A special appeal for Nicaragua is under way, and relief supplies will be pur- chased in-country. The disaster kits contain multiple pallets of food, face masks, personal cleaning wipes, disaster blankets, tarps, portable stoves and bandages. In addition to pre- positioning supplies each hur- ricane season, FFTP organ- izes disaster relief kits with essential items that can be airfreighted and distributed within days to affected fami- lies in countries served by the charity. To help the victims of Hur- ricane Eta, cash donations are best. To make a donation, please go to: www.Food- ForThePoor.org/eta. Individuals who wish to donate relief items also can do so via Food For The Poor’s Amazon list: www.FoodForThePoor.org/hu rricanesupplies. Urgent Need for Aid in Central America A Food For The Poor fishing village boat is used to rescue families from homes flooded by Hurricane Eta in Honduras. At least 150,000 families have been displaced. Photo/Special to Food For The Poor