Over 60.000 families affected by the torrential rains in Bolivia

Over 60.000 families affected by the torrential rains in Bolivia 25/02/2008

Once again Bolivia is suffering devastating rains. To the disaster caused by El Niño at the end of 2007, we have to add the one originated this past week by La Niña. The results are terrible. Over 60.000 families affected, 55 dead, 44.000 hectares, flooded. Economic damages exceed 600 million dollars and epidemics bursts threaten population in almost all the provinces.

Nobody remembers precedents of floods in two consecutive years of this magnitude. On this occasion La Niña is an atmospheric phenomenon, characterized by low temperatures and high winds.

Fe y Alegría Bolivia, active in the emergency

In light of the rain situation, Fe y Alegria has focused its action in the Bemi Department where they want to ensure as soon as possible, self efficiency in terms of food for over 2.000 families belonging to 120 native communities. In this area the harvests have been completely destroyed which is a loss of extraordinary dimensions for populations that live on subsistence economies, being fed by what they fish, hunt or harvest. Likewise they also live from certain domestic animals that in many cases have been drowned and in others they have been eaten out of need. Losses are added one to another.

Many families have lost their clothes, their tools and even their documents. The humble infrastructures of the communities have also been damaged. Especially the houses built on river banks.

Finally the floods multiply certain illnesses such as diarrhoea, cholera, yellow fever etc.

A slow and long recovery

F y A is aware that the aid will have to be sustained over time given that the fields have been flooded and that the harvest will take time to return to productivity. Because of this the project will have two phases.

In the first one seeds of frijol, maze and other vegetables will be provided. All of them short cycle harvests of three or four months which have already been treated with insect and fungicide. They will also be provided with agrochemical products which are considered necessary even if it is not general practice among the natives.
In the second phase which will start towards November, rice seeds will be distributed and treated in the same way as the previous ones.

The project includes the purchase of these seeds and the transportation to the ware house in Trinidad in order to transport them mainly by river to all affected communities in order e to give each family the same amount of seeds.

F y A has set as its objective to reduce to the minimum the dependence of emergency aid which at this moment the population is receiving but will not last long. Likewise it will intervene in more structural initiatives in order to prevent the effects of future rain floods such as the building of walls to contain the water.