Sacred Valley Flooding
Hector and Maritza, the house parents at the children’s home destroyed by flooding, have now returned to the Sacred Valley with the boys. They are staying together near the town of Urubamba in accommodation which is being rented for the next 12 months. Despite all that has happened spirits are high and everyone is thankful to have found a place where they can stay on a temporary basis. Soon after the disaster Hector went back to salvage what he could from the home including a number of mattresses which have now dried out and are being used in the new accommodation.
Hector and Maritza have enrolled the boys back in the same schools they attended prior to the flood. In the long term it is still hoped that a new home on a new site can be built.
It is very encouraging to hear of all those that have offered support both here in the UK and in Peru. A couple of the top pianists in Peru have offered to put on a concert in benefit of the Sacred Valley Girasoles home. While other institutions such as The American- Canadian society of Peru, Union Church of Lima and Colegio Roosevelt have also offered their support.
We are also very grateful for the support, financial or otherwise, that has been given by many supporters in the UK.
Appeal: Sacred Valley 14.02.10
On Sunday 31 st January we heard the sad news that extreme flooding had affected the Sacred Valley region leaving over 3,000 people homeless. Unfortunately Casa Girasoles (home for abandoned boys) had also been destroyed as shown in the video.
Ironically the water did not enter Casa Girasoles from the river but came from behind and so the rooms furthest away from the river were first to collapse.
Thankfully for the first time ever the children were on holiday! Hector and Maritza, the house parents at the centre had taken them to Kawai, another Casa Girasoles home about 2 hours South of Lima. They were all enjoying their time at the seaside when the flooding happened.
In the year ahead temporary accommodation will need to be rented. It is hoped that construction of a new home will be possible in the next 12 months provided a new site can be identified soon.
Obviously there are immediate needs as most of the belongings from the home have been damaged or lost.
We are immensely grateful for the interest shown by many supporters in asking how they can support this need. As a response we are launching an appeal to replace lost clothing and equipment and to assist with the eventual replacing of the home. To make a donation for this purpose please follow the links on our donations page and choose the 'Sacred Valley Appeal' option.
We are also encouraged that the donor who funded the construction of the first home remains fully committed to the project and to the home.
‘Casa Girasoles’ Children’s Home Affected by Floods 02.02.10
Days of heavy rain have destroyed around 3,000 homes in several Peruvian provinces. Landslides have disrupted road and rail links while hundreds of acres of crops, mainly maize have been destroyed.
The Cusco region was one of the worst effected and the authorities have now declared a state of emergency. Our partners SU Peru, run a street children’s home in this area- in the heart of the Scared Valley which links the city of Cusco to the famous Inca ruins at Machu Picchu. Unfortunately the home has sustained very serious structural damage in the floods but thankfully no-one was in the home at the time.
Recent Flooding near Urubamba in the Sacred Valley
Hector and Maritza, the ‘house parents’ of the home, had taken all the children and staff away on their summer holidays! This is Peru’s main holiday season when thousands of people head from Lima and other cities to the coast, to relax by the beach. The home is over 30 hours away from the Lima beaches but this did not stop Hector. Resourceful as ever, he hired a bus large enough for his staff and the 40 boys, and set off on a trip that promised so much.
They were staying at ‘Kawai’ one of SU Peru’s other street children homes, which enjoys a seafront location, when news off the flooding reached them.
Hector has since returned to the home to see what can be salvaged. Meanwhile we have offered our full support to our partners as they assess the damage and make contingency plans. The welfare of the children will be the main priority as SU Peru look for temporary accommodation for everyone involved.
The home only opened in April 2008 after a generous donation from an anonymous individual in Scotland. Many of the children previously lived very difficult lives on the streets and in ‘Casa Girasoles’ they had finally found a place they could call home. Our thoughts go out to the house parents, staff, children and all our colleagues in Peru as they come to terms with the effects of the flooding.
Elsewhere in the Sacred Valley, authorities have been airlifting tourists from the area around Machu Picchu, the top tourist attraction in the country. They had become stranded when the railway that is the main route in and out of the site became blocked by landslides.
Link to article about the floods on BBC News ….
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8483093.stm
Some of the children in the home with Hector
Tourists have been airlifted from a village close to Machu Picchu