EMERGENCY IN TABASCO

Dear Friends of Armonía,

I am writing to inform you about the situation in Mexico's southern state of Tabasco. Officials have referred to the flooding in the area as one of the worst natural disasters in Mexico’s history. After heavy rain pounded the area for days, water has submerged over 80 percent of the state and virtually all of the state’s capital city, Villahermosa. Currently, over one million homeless, hungry, and dehydrated victims wait for government and private aid.

The massive flooding has left victims desperately in need of basic for survival supplies, including water, food, shelter, cooking kits, and hygiene items. There are no estimates on the number of homes destroyed, as the flooding is still too severe to asses the damage. It has been reported that long-term recovery efforts will likely include housing reconstruction, reparation of water and sanitation systems, and agricultural rehabilitation as over 90 percent of Tabasco's crops were inundated by the flooding.

The situation grows more critical as the lack of electricity and drinking water is making life in the city and surrounding areas nearly impossible. Many roads have been cut off by floodwaters, making it hard to distribute supplies to the communities that need them most. This is complicated further by the fact that Federal Police have now decided to limit deliveries to those rural communities still surrounded by water and are resorting to "selective evacuations" of those in the most critical condition.

Serving isolated and extremely poor communities has always been a central focus of Armonía. Presently, this means meeting the urgent need of getting food and water to areas of the state where little to no aid is being sent. Government aid has been slow to reach rural areas; many victims in the towns neighboring Villahermosa were stranded for days on rooftops, waiting for relief. These are poor people who live in very underdeveloped regions often located next to the city waste disposal sites or in areas overlapped by the growth of the city.

With floodwaters beginning to recede, there is a whole host of new problems concerning sanitation and disease. Now, the primary concern is water. Most of the affected areas have no running water and people have resorted to using stagnant standing water, contaminated by sewage and debris. Federal Deputy Health Secretary Mauricio Hernandez has warned of possible outbreaks of many waterborne diseases. The risk of diseases such cholera, dysentery, and those transmitted by mosquitoes, like malaria and dengue fever, is imminent. Furthermore, the waist-deep waters are infested with poisonous snakes and occasionally larger reptiles. The situation will only grow more severe if something is not done to provide a long-term solution to the water situation.

Armonía has donated money, equipment and medicine previously allocated to other projects to form a response team. This consists of a medical doctor, a Christian pastor and three helpers who can serve the communities as voluntary nurses. One of them was born in Tabasco and two of them are familiar with the area, allowing them to work alongside local Christian groups who are trying to help others in spite of their own tragedies. The team will travel in two vans containing a water purification system, food, clothing, and whatever else can fit. The trip will be short because we only have 500 dollars for gasoline; everyone going on the trip is paying their own expenses.

We have two key goals besides emergency medical attention. 1) To asses the condition of the people and the possibility of forming a local organized response to alleviate some of their needs and; 2) To install a filtration unit which can produce drinkable water for an entire community. With this system, safe water can be provided for as little as 1 US dollar per person per year; less that the price of one bottle of water. This system was generously given to us by Earl Combs for use in an area where political instability has prevented its installation to date. Having been frustrated by this volatility, we are grateful to God for his provision to allow us to have it ready to serve the people of Tabasco at this time.

We pray that the Lord will open up opportunities for us to serve the people of Tabasco with more than just temporary aid. We hope to encourage independence and long-term relief by supplying villages and towns with these units. A complete system that can provide an entire town with water despite severe conditions and lack of electricity costs $1550 US dollars (₤730) plus another 500 dollars for travel and installment costs.

We are contacting you to request your partnership in prayer and ask you to consider going above and beyond your normal giving to help facilitate this aid. We have the opportunity to use this disaster for God’s glory. The state has a very high Christian population and we can support our brothers and sisters in Christ by committing to send money, food, and water purification systems. This is an amazing opportunity for us to work together as a global community by facilitating relief and the spreading of Christ’s love through service to the poor and vulnerable in a desperate situation.

In Christ,
Saul and Pilar Cruz