CFCA news

Mudslides kill 4 sponsored Guatemalan children

September 7, 2010

A bus traveling near the CFCA subproject
in Tecpan, Guatemala, crashed because
of the mudslides.

TECPAN, Guatemala – Torrential rains and landslides in Guatemala have killed four sponsored children served by CFCA’s Hermano Pedro project.

Guatemalan news reports estimate that 45 people died over the weekend, and the country’s death toll may continue to increase.

After a landslide destroyed part of the Inter-American highway, a group of neighbors and rescuers from Nahuala were surprised by a second landslide, which killed 21 of them. Among the dead in the second landslide were four sponsored children, along with six fathers and two brothers of sponsored members from CFCA’s Santa Catarina de Alejandria subproject (SCA) in Nahuala.

“We all saw the destruction on the news, but today I could see this reality firsthand on the roads,” said CFCA's Guatemala communications liaison Luis Cocón.

CFCA is in the process of contacting sponsors of the deceased children. Their names will be released once their sponsors have been notified.

“CFCA grieves this loss of life and honors the brave men and women who gave their lives trying to save others,” said Dan Pearson, CFCA international operations and program development director. “The people who tried to uncover the bus sacrificed everything for the sake of others, and we are honored to have served some of them. Their ultimate expression of love will not be forgotten.”

In another incident, 10 people died after a bus traveling near the CFCA subproject in Tecpan, west of Guatemala City, crashed because of the mudslides. No sponsored members were involved in the crash.

Pearson also said the government has restricted movement along Guatemala’s highways, according to reports from the field. Communications are also limited in certain areas of the country.

A recent CNN report quoted the nation’s disaster agency as saying around 11,500 residents have been evacuated and 9,000 are in shelters. The rainfall has been said to be the strongest in 60 years.

Mudslides also claimed the lives of nine sponsored children in May after Tropical Storm Agatha.

CFCA’s largest outreach is in Guatemala, where more than 84,000 children, youth and elderly are sponsored through our Hermano Pedro and Atitlan projects.

Please continue to join us in praying for the people of Guatemala.