Posted in Latest NewsPress ReleaseSikh AID
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| A woman and a child get rescued after a massive landslide and flood in the Huachipa district of Lima, Peru PC : Guadalupe Pardo |
| Lima,Peru – #UnaSolaFuerza In Spanish, it means “one single force.” In Peru, the hashtag symbolizes the rallying spirit of solidarity that has unified the country since being hit with a natural disaster on March 16. |
| In just a matter of hours and without warning, powerful landslides demolished more than 100,000 homes, washed out over 100 bridges, and rendered roadways inoperable. The human toll of the disaster was arguably even more tragic. More than 78 people lost their lives and 70,000 more lost their livelihoods as a result of the flooding. In all more than 640,000 people have been affected. “I went to Punta Hermosa the Sunday before the landslides hit and the beaches were pristine and picturesque. After hearing word of the disaster, I returned to the very same area, only this time the beach was covered with mud, debris and household items that had flooded to the shore. The area was totally unrecognizable,” Rhonda Craig, UNITED SIKHS Media Coordinator said. |
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| Tree limbs and mud cover a street PC: Fernando Vergara | Massive cleanup work being done. |
| The hardest hit regions were near the coast, but the aftermath was felt in the country’s popular tourist capital of Lima. “My hotel was in a very popular and bustling part of Lima. We were without running water for days. Water bottles, when they could be found, were being rationed at the grocery stores, ” Craig continued. “We lost water for a week, but many families lost much more. While assisting with cleanup efforts we quickly learned that most families in the hardest hit regions were without food, clothing and shelter. In moments, their entire lives had been washed away.” Within days of the disaster, UNITED SIKHS volunteers mobilized to provide aid. |
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| Our volunteers on the field providing aid to the Peru victims. |
| As many as 15 volunteers from the UNITED SIKHS Peru chapter jumped into action to help families in need. The volunteers have been providing everything from bottled water to hot meals to flood victims, serving as many as 150 people a week. “We’ve been able to gather immediate funds but it is not enough. We need donations to supply flood victims with the basics; rice, sugar, milk, water, blankets and toilet paper. We need funds to supply lamps, at as there is no light when the sun goes down,” Partap Singh of UNITED SIKHS LIma, Peru said. |
| We are asking members of UNITED SIKHS to stand in solidarity with the people of Peru. Monetary donations are the most direct way to help make an impact: they allow us to allocate funds where they are most needed. If you’d like to help provide water, meals or other aid to the families of Peru please send donations online to www.unitedsikhs.org/donate and add “Peru” in the message. Click here to join our volunteer force. For questions about other ways to help, please email sikhaid@unitedsikhs.org Let’s stand together as one single force to help the people of Peru prevail. |
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