Helping the Victims of Hurricane Otto
Hurricane Otto, an unusual late-season November storm, made a historic trip across Central America late last week. It made landfall on Thanksgiving Day and there was torrential downpour and winds of up to 110 mph for about 6 hours in northern Costa Rica. It’s been 174 years since a hurricane hit Costa Rica. Although the government did the best they could to prepare their people, the reality is this country is just not equipped for hurricane like conditions.
The aftermath resulted in at least nine people dead, over a months worth of rain in a few hours, flooding, collapsed bridges and hundreds of families left with no power or water and their homes & crops destroyed. Friday, November 26, 2016 was a sad day in Costa Rica. President Luis Guillermo Solis declared three days of mourning. The areas most affected were the towns of Upala & Bagaces, south of the border with Nicaragua.
The government, Red Cross & hundreds of churches united in the aftermath to provide relief to those victims directly impacted by Hurricane Otto. I was fortunate enough to stumble across one of these local churches, Hope Fellowship Church, located in Playas Del Coco in the province of Guanacaste. The Sunday following the storm the community gathered to make hundreds of bags filled with food & toiletries, which were to be donated to those families in need.
The vibe around this church was one of hope & unity. Everyone was so eager to help, doing whatever they can to make the process of stuffing bags as efficient and quick as possible. The bags contained everything from rice & beans to diapers to spices to toilet paper and of course water. These bags were to then be personally delivered and donated immediately after we finished stuffing them. This particular church had already visited some communities affected days prior. There was no time to waste around here. They were on a mission, a mission to pray & help.
Once the bags were ready & loaded we gathered for final instructions before departing. At this point I’m still trying to wrap my head around how I ended up here and how blessed I am to be able to be a part of this. There were about 50 or so volunteers broken up into groups of 3, as there were 3 different communities to visit. We were not going to the towns most affected, Upala & Bagaces, as there was already some relief there. We were to visit smaller rural agriculture communities that have not been tended to as much or at all for that matter. Before we left the pastor preached, “The government provides assistance. The Red Cross provides relief. The church provides hope.” So, off we went to provide hope to those in desperate need of it.
My group had about 3 cars and I was in a car with a lovely family of a single mother, her 17-year-old daughter, her daughter’s friend and another family friend. We drove north, towards Liberia and then even more north towards the town of Santa Cecilia. We were headed to a small pueblo called Belise, which is practically on the border of Nicaragua. We drove for about 3 hours from Playas Del Coco. We went very deep into these mountains, a difficult part to access especially with the current situation. As we got closer to the town of Belise the damage became very visible.
This is pure woods, so you can imagine the amount of fallen tress and scattered branches everywhere. Those stronger homes had very minimal damage, but those not so strong, well, not so much. But I think what really affected these secluded mountain communities was not so much the destruction of homes as it was the destruction of their crops. You see, these simple farmers live off their land. Their land provides food for their families and some income in whatever they sell. So, with no crops there’s no food or business.
We arrived at the towns’ church in Belise around 5pm. The families were to meet us there to collect their donations. It‘s just nearly impossible to reach some of these secluded homes, so it was easier for them to meet us at a designated spot. The church, built of concrete, was in a decent condition. There were about 50 families that gathered.
The vibe around this church, well, it was a little different. You can see it in their faces. You have to remember, these people have never experienced a hurricane in their lifetime and were definitely not prepared. I felt like they were still a little shaken and distraught.
So we all gathered in this little simple pueblo church and we prayed. It was emotional. It was powerful. It was healing. There were tears & there was laughter, but most importantly there was a sense of community & hope. We then made our way outside as the families lined up to collect their goods. They were so thankful and grateful. And of course we didn’t forget our four legged friends. We also brought dog & cat food.
Little by little they all disbursed, most of them hopping back onto their horses and made their way back home. We distributed to 50 families in a matter of 45 minutes or so. Although it wasn’t much, this food will feed them for at least a few days and they now have some water. By the time we left it was pitch black. We could barely make our way through the dirt road. I came home feeling so incredibly humbled and last night I thanked God, I thanked him so hard for my life and I continued to pray for those families.
If you’ve ever lived through a destructive hurricane then you know the road to recovery is long. If you want to help these families in particular, Hope Fellowship Church is collecting donations to provide roofing material specifically to the town of Belise and other remote areas. They need $12,000 and please know that 100% of your donation will be used to fund this project. Click here to donate. Thank you for reading & please keep these families in our thoughts & prayers!
