The Augustinian Recollect Family calls for help for the people affected by the flood, an emergency climatic event which is not over yet. You can collaborate directly through any of the Augustinian Recollects communities in the whole World.
During the months of February and March the climatic phenomenon “The Coastal Niño” has produced serious floods, fatal victims and injured, loss of dwellings and lack of drinking water and energy and during these last weeks dengue.
The Augustinian Recollect Family has started a Solidarity Campaign to fight this emergency which we don´t know when it will be over. It´s about the immediate response to an emergency and then organizing to recover normalcy and the well-being of the families affected.
Social peace has also been affected because in some place there have been demonstrations claiming attention from the authorities for lack of help especially in rural places and small communities.
The Augustinian Recollect Family, present in Perú since1939, acts in social and pastoral capacity in the regions indicated for emergency services as special risk (level 4, painted red in the map that can be seen in the gallery of images) This level indicates that rain hasn´t stopped and there could be more new episodes of extreme seriousness like flood, avalanche, etc.
People are advised “to be extremely careful because meteorological phenomenon of great magnitude is expected. And that people should be on the lookout for any development and follow the advice and instructions of the authorities.”
Seen as specially affected is the region of Chiclayo (Lambayeque) where The Augustinian Recollects have worked since 1967. Since the first of February, intense rains lasting nine hours reached 24 liters square meters in only one early morning. Only in the first week of this month fifty critical points have been observed during which the level of water never got any lower for many days.
Flooded streets and ways, the collapse of the drainage system and distribution of drinking water and the spread of other emergencies in many districts put many families helpless because during many days they received no support from the Regional Central Emergency Operation (COER)
In the middle of March new episodes of extreme gravity frightened the people and new generalized damages came up. There were not only direct physical consequences but the people have also been affected by fear and desperation and putting their lives in danger they try to save what were left of their homes and belongings.
At the end of March the first of dengue was observed and illnesses appeared produced by the bodies of water that permit the breeding of mosquitoes that transmit the illness.
Chiclayo with 600.000 inhabitants, has been seen very vulnerable. In the province of Lambayeque, to which it belongs, 4.483 residences were directly washed out and more than 41.000 direct victims and almost 95.000 affected.
In all of Perú there were, at least, 78 deaths, 263 injured and 20 missing. Besides there have been 100.000 direct victims and 640.000 indirectly affected by the abnormal rainfall.
THE PRESENCE OF THE AUGUSTINIAN-RECOLLECT FAMILY
The Augustinian Recollect Family is present in the capital, Lima and in the
areas in the northern part of the country. Chiclayo has been directly affected, and also the intense rain has cut off, blocked and made difficult the land communications and transport due to collapse and avalanche of the earth in places like the provinces of Cajamarca and Chachapoyas, where the Recollect are present.
Precisely in 2017 the Parish of the Virgin of Consolation in Chiclayo has its 50th anniversary where the Augustinian Recollects has served since its establishment.
Its social work carried out since the beginning permits the Order to know their particular cases and the help and support needed.
The NGOD Haren Alde, associated to the newly created Red ARCORES that coordinates with the social work of the Augustinian Recollect Family has its own Delegation in Peru. For two decades at least this NGOD has been working in social actions centered on education, wáter, health, higiene and housing. This permits it to manange more directly and rapidly the help with an infrastructure that has been in place for years.
From Spain one can collaborate directly through the emergency account of the NGOD Haren Alde ES57 0075 0241 4406 0086 0510. From other countries you can contact the Comisión de Apostolado Social de la Orden de Agustinos Recoletos through the official web of the Order, or through the same NGOD Haren Alde, which offers information and ways to those who like to collaborate; or even you can collaborate directly through any of the Augustinian Recollects communities in the whole World.