LIMA, Peru—Buckner International is shipping more than 500,000 meals and 400 water filters to Peru to help 630,000-plus people who have been affected by the worst floods to hit the nation in 20 years.
The international humanitarian aid arm of the ministry has sent more than 272,000 meals donated by Feed My Starving Children and 400 water filters to Lima.
Buckner has wired funds to Buckner Peru for use in immediate relief efforts, and another shipment of more than 272,000 meals will be sent soon.
Scope of destruction
In recent days, about 80 people have died and more than 200,000 homes have been destroyed in the arid landscape of coastal Peru. The torrential rain burst riverbanks, created mudslides, collapsed bridges and closed roads, leaving more than 630,000 people displaced as the flooding rages through rural and urban areas.
Buckner operates two Family Hope Centers in Pamplona, an impoverished community just outside Lima, plus two transitional home programs for young women in Lima and Cusco, as well as offering foster care services. Most of the families Buckner serves in Bucker programs have not been affected directly.
“Because of this tragic devastation in Peru, thousands have lost all of their material possessions and dozens have lost their lives,” said Dexton Shores, Buckner senior executive director of Latin American programs.
“Even though most of the families we serve in Buckner programs were not directly affected, our natural compassion for the most vulnerable calls us to pray and actively respond to the needs of these suffering multitudes nearby.”
State of emergency
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A state of emergency has been declared for half of Peru and the need for food and clean water is immense. Clean water is scarce, and stores are limiting the sale of water to only two small bottles per individual.
Intense flooding is expected to continue for two more weeks.
“When you see homes, vehicles and animals … being swept away by the raging waters, our passion for those who are being affected motivates us to action,” said Henry Jackson, vice president of Buckner Children and Family Services.
“To help, serve and be the hands and feet of Christ is a natural response. Responding in this way is just one way to demonstrate the love and compassion Buckner has been providing for 138 years.”
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