CFCA news

Families receive aid in Agatha's aftermath

June 5, 2010

Another death has been confirmed in a CFCA Guatemala community as a result of Tropical Storm Agatha.

The latest death was discovered in Hermano Pedro’s Tecpan subproject. At the time of this news post, staff members in the field have reported a total of eight deaths of sponsored children and one sponsored child still missing. Floods and mudslides collapsed homes, and destroyed bridges and roads in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras over the weekend.

Seven of the deceased were from Atitlan’s San Antonio Palopo and San Lucas Toliman subprojects. Once CFCA has notified sponsors of the deaths, the names of the victims will be released.

CFCA staff members are assisting families and communities, and assessing loss and damage. The Hermano Pedro CFCA headquarters in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala, opened its doors as a refuge for about 200 people from the town, both sponsored and not sponsored. At this time, 133 men, women and children are using the CFCA center as a temporary home.

“The challenges have been huge. They need many things, and families only came with what they had on them,” CFCA staff member Mario de Leon said. “There are a lot of children to feed. I see families that are sad thinking about what the future holds for them.”

CFCA has received donations to the CFCA’s Disaster Assistance Fund in direct response to this emergency. The organization is grateful for this support, which will be used to help sponsored members and their families affected by the disaster.

“I feel weak because we can only do so much,” de Leon said. “I pray a lot and talk to them and tell them they must be strong. But in spite of their struggle, I see hope in their eyes, how grateful they are to be all together as a family and be alive and have strength to rebuild their lives.”