Do you ever wonder how One Great Hour of Sharing works?

In our case in Nicaragua, One Great Hour of Sharing was key to making sure people who were suffering hunger in a disaster flooding situation were able to eat. This is what happened and why we praise God for what he is doing through all of you in places like Nicaragua suffering from disasters.

On October 12th, Tropical Depression 12-E moved through Central America, bringing torrential rains to each country it passed. Since then, the repercussions have been extensive. On top of normal rainy season weather there have been intense non-stop downpours for 11 days now throughout northwestern Nicaragua in the region of Chinandega. So far...

- 5,000 acres of crops lost and 3,300 acres severely damaged

- 150 miles of roads damaged

- 9,100 people evacuated from flooding and moved into 102 shelters

- 8 human lives lost thus far 

Since 2001, we have been serving in Nicaragua with International Ministries and the ministry AMOS Health and Hope which provides basic health care to 27 rural communities through a network of health promoters. Thanks to the constant communication with the AMOS health promoters in the affected regions of Chinandega, AMOS was able to act quickly with accurate information from within the flooded communities. 

Disaster preparedness from within communities

Disaster preparedness occurs even before any kind of disaster strikes. Our health promoters are trained respond through basic disaster relief interventions such as making sure people in flooded zones are brought to shelters, assuring clean water through chlorination, and doing preventive measures such as medicating for leptospirosis, a illness that often comes with flooding. Each promoter has their basic medication kit to treat fevers, respiratory illnesses, diarrhea, and injuries. We also provide each promoter with a cell phone and minutes to call our offices in case of any kind of disaster -- and they only call in the case of emergencies!

So even before the disaster situation became serious, our health promoters were already busy in their communities. Isabel (promoter from La Consulta), Ramiro (promoter of El Obraje), and Silvina ( promoter from La Pimienta) are all very humble but strong leaders who care deeply for their communities. Isabel and Ramiro were able to walk knee deep in water for 3 hours to the nearest town, Villa Nueva, to coordinate with MINSA (Ministry of Health) where they received doxycycline (preventative antibiotic for a deadly rodent-borne disease called leptospirosis) amoxicillin and chlorine for each family. Silvina from La Pimienta, was unable to get to us by foot, but we were able to communicate with her by cell phone.

All promoters reported loss of crops, flooded homes, and continued rains but thankfully no deaths or illnesses because of the preventative actions they took in their communities. However, food supply remains a problem. Isabel said, ”We have nothing left, nothing to eat but tortillas with salt. The people are hungry and worried because we have never seen a rain like this.  We haven't seen the sun for 11 days but we are grateful for the help that AMOS is giving because they are the only ones who worry about (are concerned for) us”.   

One Great Hour of Sharing Rapid Response

As soon as the promoters reported the damage to us, we were able to communicate to our area director, Rev. and Dr. Jose Norát, who quickly activated $4000 worth of One Great Hour of Sharing funds so that we could respond quickly here to the need in Nicaragua. 

On Tuesday, October 18th, a team of 6 AMOS staff were able to travel to Chinandega in order to scout the territory to ensure safe passage for a truck filled with food donations. With help from the health promoters, the AMOS team conducted post disaster assessment surveys and brought messages of solidarity to the communities from all  of you who have been praying and seeking support for them. In each of the communities, our teams worked with the health promoters to verify the amount of people in each family to assure equitable distribution of the food packets. 

The following day our AMOS team was able to get the supply truck into the area to  give families suffering from the disaster a basic supply package which will last a family one week. The food packages contained 8lbs of rice, 5 lbs of beans, 2lbs of sugar, 1ltr of oil and milk for the children under 5yrs old, and costs $15.

We have now been able to get food to over 1000 people in the communities of La Consulta, El Obraje, and La Pimienta. 

Continued prayers and support needed

This type of devastation is not new to Nicaragua but its impact is felt deeply. For the people of El Obraje, La Consulta and La Pimienta, the flooding means severe lack of nutrition for weeks, loss of livestock, threat of epidemics and perhaps long term loss of jobs due to crop loss. 

 We continue to be in communication with our health promoters in Chinandega, Ramiro, Isabel and Silvina, accompanying them through this time as we work together to assess the situation and find the best solutions for their communities. 

As it continues to rain, we ask for prayers and support for the continued efforts for disaster relief in Nicaragua, and thank the rapid response of International Ministries One Great Hour of Sharing, and all the churches, and individuals who are supporting our efforts to help those affected by the disaster. While there are many other groups working in the area, AMOS and International Ministries were the first to respond, meeting needs, when no one else was able to. 

If you would like to continue to help the disaster in Nicaragua, please pray for the people who continue to suffer, and consider providing support for the disaster and it's aftermath.

 $15 helps buy a food packet for a family

 $50 helps to buy 100 pounds of seeds for a family to re-plant their crops

 $100 provides a trip for our truck to get out to the communities.

You can give through International Ministries and earmark the donation for AMOS Disaster Nicaragua.

Thank you for being a testimony of hope and God's love for all of us through your prayers and contributions.

Blessings!

David and Laura Parajon