GENEVA, September 21, 2007-On the night of June 2, while Olga Afanador Pérez slept, a nightmare began to unfold around her. "At about two in the morning, I felt a jolt inside the house and got up to see what had happened. The house was already flooded and the water was level with the beds," said Ms. Pérez.
As the night wore on, the water levels only continued to rise. "The force of the water knocked down the house entrance door... We had to leave the house to prevent drowning ourselves since the water was up to our necks," recalls Ms. Pérez, a mother of five children and head of her household.
The flood waters continued to sweep through the village of '20 de Julio' in the municipality of Arauca. The Pérez family was rescued by staff from the civil defense and Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CPDH), an implementing partner of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
Since March 2007, continuous heavy rains in Colombia have caused floods affecting 600,000 people in 247 municipalities and 27 departments. Some families who were originally displaced by the internal armed conflict in Colombia had sought refuge settling in marginal areas along riverbanks. With the ensuing floods, families then found themselves swept up into another emergency.
While the government has provided broad overall assistance, ACT members, Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH), found a particularly severe situation in the department of Cordoba, in the north of the country, and Arauca, in the west near the Venezuelan border this past July. More than 300 displaced families remained particularly vulnerable, living in appalling housing conditions in urban slums with little or no access to basic services.
LWF and DKH initially responded to the situation through support from the ACT Rapid Response Fund. LWF, with its partner CPDH, provided relief support to 1,434 persons affected by the outburst of the Arauca River through food distribution, health care, sanitation and housing.
"The flood didn't leave us anything dry nor in good condition," shared Ms. Pérez. "In the shelter we received medical attention, food and the support of the community."
In the department of Cordoba, DKH, with its partner Benposta, provided psychosocial assistance and recreational activities for 3,500 children along with emergency health care for 325 persons in the settlements of Palo de Agua, Nariño and Playón. DKH also intervened through rehabilitation of a local aqueduct.
Following the immediate response through the ACT Rapid Respond Fund, ACT member, LWF, is continuing to respond to the crisis phase of the emergency through an ACT appeal launched on August 24, 2007.
"Although the water has receded from most of the houses, the resulting effects have created a significant health situation. In the communities there are no basic services, water systems or adequate toilets," said Doris Pérez, the coordinator for LWF in Colombia.
LWF, with its partner CPDH, is continuing support to 330 vulnerable families, which includes the operation of community kitchens, psychosocial and recreational activities for youths, and health promotion and human rights workshops. All the activities form an integrated project, which aims at enabling communities to cope with future emergency situations.
Like others affected by this disaster, Ms. Pérez and her family remain thankful for what they do have, "We cried and hugged each other, giving thanks to God and to those that helped us."
(ends)
Action by Churches Together (ACT) International is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.
For further information, please contact:
Callie Long, ACT Communications Officer
(office: +41 22 791 6039 / mobile: +41 79 358 3171)
Sidney Traynham, ACT Assistant Communications Officer
(office: +41 22 791 6711 / mobile: +41 79 681 1868)
ACT Web Site address: http://www.act-intl.org
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
