Help for El Salvador

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, I have been living in El Salvador since August through a program called La Casa de la Solidaridad (The house of Solidarity). I have been a part of a community called Las Delicias experiencing the harsh and beautiful realities of the country.

The rain keeps falling. The tears do, too. For more than a week now, there hasn’t been a dry moment. Every day we are told that the rain will stop tomorrow but tomorrow never comes.

But you may think, well its just rain, what could rain do? In El Salvador (as of October 20) 38 people have died, 32,243 people have been evacuated from their homes and are living in shelters where there are limited resources.

More than 4 feet of rain has accumulated in the past week. President Funes has declared a State of Calamity throughout the country, higher than a state of emergency. It is being called a natural disaster but it is not natural when only the poor are losing their homes and lives.

In my community of Las Delicias, 1 young woman has died, 60 families are living in a church and many more are losing their homes as I write this letter. They are soaked to the bone and extremely cold which has been worse since a cold front is moving into the area. The roads are not passable or have been completely destroyed. The lower road had 3 feet of mud on top of the road and the military was brought in to clear it out but since it was cleared, there has been more rain.

A family I have come to know and love has two small children named Carla and Marcos. Their father was killed a few years ago and before the rains, they were struggling to fill their stomachs. Their mom had a small garden providing for them but now their garden is destroyed. They have no food and are staying in a shelter, as they are afraid their house will collapse. They do not have warm or dry clothes but somehow they still have hope that everything will be okay.

My community of Las Delicias right now desperately needs food, water and warm clothing immediately so they can make it through the crisis. Long term they will need help rebuilding their homes and community. I am asking you, as my friends and family, to help my friends and family in El Salvador. There are many ways you can help:

1. To donate directly to Las Delicias, the money will have to come through me. I will be able to keep track of the money for Las Delicias and use it as to best help the community since we have to take the situation day by day. This can be done by sending money to my parents, and they will deposit it into my bank account. Alternatively, you could send it directly to US bank (either my parents or myself can provide the account number).
2. You could give directly to an organization called Voices on the Border, http://www.votb.org/ They are a local organization that is helping with immediate relief but will continue helping with reconstruction.

Please keep my friends, the people of El Salvador and Central America in your thoughts and prayers. If you would like more information on the general situation the local newspapers are La Prensa Grafica (www.laprensagrafica.com), El Diario de Hoy (www.elsalvador.com) and Co-Latino (www.diariocolatino.com). Please let me know if you have further questions about donating or the situation here.

Thank you for your time and solidarity.
With love.