Sunday, September 5, 2010

Tropical Storm Fiona

The shoveling has begun again.
It rained without stopping until yesterday, day break! We really thought it would never end. People, still traumatized from Agatha evacuated their houses, and over 160 people were still living in the Panajachel gymnasium yesterday when Susie visited. Many people spent the day shoveling mud and scooping water out of their home. . . once again.

Nine of those sleeping in shelters were Mayan Families sponsored students, including families along the river we started evacuating Friday. We have let sponsors know of each families situation, but we have distributed all our food stores, and would greatly appreciate food donations.

Your donations are serving these communities tremendously right now. Mayan Families staff and volunteers were in San Antonio Palopo yesterday handing out food and clothing, and diapers, to so many grateful families who have lost their homes or had their homes filled with water and mud once again. Over 100 people spent the night in the cemetery, where they felt a bit more secure from landslides. This community has suffered fatalities once again, perhaps 4 people, now missing. Mayan Families was the only non-profit able to respond in San Antonio, because we were luckily able to get a boat to take us across, loaded with volunteers and donations. The particularly urgent need right now in San Antonio is money for traditional clothing. This community, like many we serve is 100% indigenous, and the women and over half the men wear exclusively traditional dress. Your donation for traditional clothing will help the families who have lost all their possessions maintain their dignity.

Here's a story of a mudslide north of us that threw a bus down the mountain. People came immediately from all around to help and continuing mudslides killed some of the rescuers, as well. This report says 12 were killed.

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/deadly-mudslides-in-guatemala/19621759

Keep Guatemala in your prayers, today as the sun comes out and people start coming together and moving forward.

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