Due to the climate phenomenon "El Niño", heavy rainfalls have caused flooding in the east and northeast of the country. Up to 68,000 families in the rural regions of the Santa Cruz and Beni districts are affected.
The SOS Children's Village, the SOS Social Centre and the SOS School in Santa Cruz are fine. But families who benefit from the SOS family strengthening programme and those who attend events organised in the "Hogares Comunitarios" (community centres) have had difficulties reaching the centres, as public transportation was partially halted.
Local authorities have decided to evacuate families from the most-affected areas and relocate them to camps. Together with other humanitarian organisations and the local authorities, SOS Children's Villages is monitoring the situation, especially of children. In the next days, SOS Children's Villages will provide the most vulnerable children with basic relief items and will care for proper shelter.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
