TALCAHUANO, Chile – Talcahuano was hurt badly by the tsunami that hit Chile’s coast. The naval port was completely swept away and the water system collapsed. Those who lost their homes are being housed in schools and the Chilean government is helping to take care of their needs as well as providing water in the city.

But all the supermarkets are closed. Curfew is enforced from 6 p.m. to 12 p.m.; movements are restricted. Sometimes it looks like a ghost town here. Most of the people whose houses were flooded have left the city to live with their extended families. But embedded in the communities are pockets of very poor families who remain unnoticed and have nowhere else to go.

We met one of those families whose home had been destroyed. When the tsunami hit, they had escaped to a nearby hill for safety. But everything in their house was floating in water.

When they returned two days later, they found their house filled with mud. Everything was destroyed. There was no room to sleep, there was no food, and it was miserable.

They all began working together to remove the mud. The wooden floor was rotting, so they removed it. The beds and furniture had to be thrown away. All that remained were cooking pots and pans. Knowing their condition, their church provided some clothes and food, but when we met them they had nothing. Their neighbors have not returned; they have moved to other cities to live with family. But these children have no other place to go.

When a local pastor and I arrived to their home, the mother was in tears. She had no words to express her loss. The house was a mess and had a strong odor. These children and four adults were cramped in one home. There were no smiles, no hope, and no food for the day.

We brought in packages of food, which would last them for two weeks. The mother gave me a hug and said, “May God bless you.” Finally, they were able to smile and some hope returned. For the next hour the pastor and members of the church spent time encouraging the family. And the children were even smiling as I took their pictures.

In all, 250 needy families received food packages consisting of rice, flour, sugar, oil, milk powder, and pasta. Five churches with volunteers visited the homes, gave them food and encouraged the families. For these families, it was hope and help they so desperately needed.

Tags: Chile, Disaster Relief, Earthquake, Food Distribution, Kumar Periasamy, Latin America, OBI, Operation Blessing, Relief, Relief Aid, Talcahuano, Tsunami

This entry was posted on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 5:36 pm and is filed under Disaster Relief, Earthquake, Kumar Periasamy, Latin America. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.