And Adra Italia opens a fundraiser.
Adventist News – It continues to rain in Rio Grande do Sul, the Brazilian state already devastated by floods. Since April 29, the water has produced what experts have called the worst natural disaster ever to hit the region. Around 400 municipalities were affected. Victims (147), injured (806), missing (107) and displaced persons (619 thousand) are increasing, according to data released by the Civil Protection. Many do not have access to clean water or electricity, or even the means to call for help, as telephones and internet are down in many places.
Adventist churches and volunteers immediately mobilized to offer support and assistance to the affected families. ADRA Brazil (Adventist Agency for Development and Relief) sent a truck to the flooded region offering some immediate services to the population in difficulty. It is equipped to prepare 1,500 meals a day, wash and dry up to 105 kilos of clothes at a time, and provide psychological support to those who need it.
The mobile unit
This solidarity truck has been operational since May 5th and, after stopping in Igrejinha, for a few days it has been in São Leopoldo, one of the cities most affected by the floods. The mobile unit opens twice a day for laundry service and meal distribution. It also serves as a collection point for donations of food, clothing, water, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products.
“Our goal is to cross the most affected regions of Rio Grande do Sul, bringing a little love and comfort through a hot meal and clean clothes. This is why we are coordinating, together with the local authorities, the next destinations of the truck” explained Fábio Salles, director of Adra Brazil.
The humanitarian agency underlines that this initiative is possible thanks to the generosity of those who donate.
To give an idea of the volume of aid, we share some figures. In its first 84 hours of service, the mobile unit had the support of 150 volunteers and distributed: 2,350 complete meals, 2,900 kilos of sanitized clothing, 1,210 food parcels, 1,160 hygiene kits, 1,033 cleaning kits, 140 mattresses, 5,775 items of clothing, 888 pairs of shoes, 2,911 towels and bed linen
The solidarity truck has been active for about eight years in Brazil. In total he delivered 178,294 hot meals and washed 191 tons of clothes in the dozens of Brazilian cities where he intervened to respond to the country’s main emergencies.
Adra’s work
The humanitarian agency actively collaborates with the Secretariat for Social Development of Porto Alegre to manage four emergency shelters at the Humanistic Vida Center of the Fgtas (Fundação Gaúcha do Trabalho e Ação Social), the State Sports Training Center (Cete) and the ‘Military Police Academy, each of which can accommodate approximately one thousand people. In the south of the state, particularly in Rio Grande’s ADRA Center, the organization is preparing to respond to new floods with plans to offer 24-hour assistance to 60 people, distribute bed linen and operate a collection point for clothing donations.
Fundraiser
ADRA has also started a fundraising campaign on social media for flood victims in Rio Grande do Sul, with the aim of distributing vouchers worth 1,000 reais (about 190 dollars) each. These vouchers are designed to help families purchase essential goods such as food, hygiene and cleaning products, household utensils and building materials.
The director of ADRA Brazil highlighted the importance of continuous support and national and international solidarity to overcome the devastating effects of the floods.
“Our emergency response reflects our ongoing commitment to human dignity and the well-being of vulnerable populations,” Salles said.
Adra Italia has also opened a fundraiser for flood victims in Brazil.
It’s possible donate online.
Or through the following bank account:
Adra Italy – Monte dei Paschi di Siena
IBAN: IT 72 S 01030 03203 000002465824
Reason for “liberal donation for the Brazil emergency”
[Foto: Adra Brasile. Fonte Ann]
