Beni Flood Relief 2014
In the first 2-3 months of 2014, there was very heavy flooding in the Beni region of Bolivia, where the majority of our aviation program takes place. In the Beni department, 7 of 8 provinces and 16 of 19 municipalities were under water, with 75,000 people (more than one-quarter of the population) affected. Crops were devastated, and more than 900,000 livestock died, which has had and will continue to have a huge economic impact for families in the Beni.
Mano a Mano focuses on working with isolated rural communities – like those in the Beni – that are often ignored, due to their small size, transportation challenges, and difficult working conditions; this is true under the best circumstances but is exponentially worse in times of emergency. There are simply no resources or infrastructure available for the government or other organizations to reach many of the smallest communities. This is why it has been so important for Mano a Mano to provide whatever support it can; outside of a few local churches or dedicated volunteers, we may be the only assistance available to the communities that we work with.
Read much more information in the full article here
Our Response to Flooding in Bolivia
Here are a few previous updates on our flood response:
- How Mano a Mano is Responding to the Flooding in Bolivia
- Distributing Food and Supplies to Flood-Affected Communities in Beni
- Making Peanut Butter to Include in Food Distributions
- Dropping food & supplies from the Mano a Mano plane
- Pictures of the flooding in Beni