First, a little background........
Kris and I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Ometepe, , an island in the middle of a huge lake with two volcanoes. For three weeks we house sat for a fellow blogger, Deb Goehring . We hit it off with Deb and her husband Ron and had a lovely time staying in their home, exploring the island and meeting all sorts of friendly islanders. We had a great time on that peacful island and will be returning in late November after a house sitting gig in Granada.
Now, here is the reason I'm posting to ning. I get a lot more views on my blog when I post here. I'm NOT posting to promote IT, but to try to get the word out that a disaster has hit Ometepe since we left and the folks there need some help. More views, more eyes, maybe more donations!
Torrential rains — including almost 15 inches in Altagracia in one day— unleashed at least five huge mudslides on Ometepe last week (Oct. 8-9). They killed a 5-year-old girl and buried cattle, crops, roads, and schoolyards. Mudslides down the side of the Concepcion volcano that blocked roads, killed farm animals, ruined crops in the fields, and damaged homes.
Not JUST mud and water, but rocks, some quite large, some almost the size of my Hyundai Atos. Oh, and a few days later the island felt the rumble of a large earthquake. I won't go into more detail, Deb spells it out on her blog if you go there. http://retirenicaragua.wordpress.com/
ANY amount you care to give will go a long way on this island where a worker is lucky to make $4 (YES, FOUR US dollars a DAY, or $10 if they are skilled).
The first site aids the town of Los Ramos. They were hit REALLY hard with a lot of mud, water and rocks, the town is a mess.
http://www.youcaring.com/help-a-neighbor/help-los-ramos-rebuild/248011
The second site aids Puesta de Sol They had a lot of damage there. Kris and I became friends with many of the folks there and are happy to spread the word to help them. The site is in Spanish and English. DONAR goes right to the PayPal site which is in English. http://puestadelsol.org/donations.php
There it is, my little plea that you will consider helping these kind folks. When Deb asked what they needed at Los Ramos, a guy replied "Candles and food". Pretty simple request, I'd say.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, I'll copy it and paste it to a post on my blog.
Many Thanks in Advance,
Joel and Kris Cunningham
Replies
Thank you for posting this! I just got an update from Deb. Tomorrow a resident of Los Ramos is going to give her the list of the 110 displaced families in need there. She knows someone with a truck so on Friday they are going shopping and will deliver the supplies to those families. The Puesta del Sol people have learned that the damage to their place is more extensive (and expensive) than they thought. The community is already working to repair the damage but they need money for materials and supplies. Everyone so appreciates the help and support!