PFM Staff members went with Helbert Castellanos, overseeing pastor of the Ciudad Vieja PFK program, to visit two families displaced by the volcano eruption.
Don Victor and his grandson, Wilber, are from San Miguel de Los Lotes – situated at the base of the volcano. It was one of the communities completely destroyed in the first eruption; the population before the eruption was 2,500 and only 500 survivors remain. Wilber, his wife, their two children, and Don Victor, along with a few more family members are the only survivors of their extended family. Around forty family members are still missing. The nine remaining family members now live together in a small bedroom in Wilber’s mother and father-in-law’s home.
Neal, Pastor Helbert, Don Victor, Wilber, and Matt (From left to right).
Don Victor was stranded on a hill as the ash river rushed around him on both sides of the hill. First responders rescued him about four hours after the initial eruption. He is 81 years old.
Wilber is thirty years old. He had just finished his home where he was living with his wife and two children. He was self-employed and lost everything. He went back for the first time to visit his community and found nothing remaining of his home. The ash is still steaming and is about a story and a half high.
PFM Staff members, Matt and Brooke, giving Wilber some items for his children.
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Sandra and her husband lived in a small community that has been declared uninhabitable since the initial eruption. They were forced to leave their home initially due to the eruption, but have not been allowed to return since. They now live with Sandra’s sister in a small room with another sister and nieces and nephews.
Hearing the story of Sandra’s family.
Due to the damage to the main road towards Escuintla, her husband now must leave the house at 3:30 am in order to take the bus around the other side of the mountain to get to his job. He arrives after the kids are in bed. Sandra’s son lost his best friend the day of the eruption. The children have not been back in school since the eruption and the government plans to move the affected children to the next grade level, regardless of whether they complete the full year or not.
Praying over Sandra and her family.
Please continue to pray for these families and Guatemala!
In answer to our prayers and through our hands-on efforts, we have found that one of the greatest needs we can help meet, in the immediate, is by providing basic personal hygiene and baby care kits to those most impacted and displaced by this disaster.
Want to get involved? We are working diligently to raise resources to target this need of providing these kits, which would include such things as:
Personal Hygiene Kits for Men/Women: Towel, washcloth, bar of soap, razor, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, toilet paper, wipes, shampoo, pack of gauze, feminine products, hair ties, comb, laundry bar soap, large market bag – approximate cost: $25
Baby Care Kit: Diapers, wipes, towel, washcloth, bottle, 800 gram can of formula, jar of juice, two jars of baby food, large market bag – approximate cost: $40
Click on the link below and select “Guatemala Relief Fund.”
