NEWS FROM
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
July 31, 2002
For more information contact Jonathan Frerichs at (410) 230-2802.
In this news release:
- Snowstorm Devastates Peru and Bolivia
Snowstorm Devastates Peru and Bolivia
Baltimore, July 31, 2002 - It's winter in the southern hemisphere, and parts of Peru and Bolivia are buried under as much as three feet of snow, creating an emergency to which Lutheran World Relief is responding with its local partners.
Snow and temperatures as low as -5 degrees Fahrenheit have killed more than 60 people as well as cattle and other livestock. (More than 50,000 llamas and alpacas have died in Bolivia; click here to see photos). More than 20,000 adobe houses with straw roofs have collapsed or been badly damaged in Peru alone. The only source of heat, stored firewood, is now damp from the snow. Crops and pastures have been destroyed. Most people who live in the zones of the worst weather are poor farmers and their families who depend on income from livestock The weather has caused increased pulmonary illness particularly among children and elderly.
The government of Peru, which declared a 30-day emergency in eight departments (similar to U.S. states) in a remote area of the southern Andes, has airlifted some supplies and sought humanitarian assistance. The government of Bolivia, saying it has no resources to respond to the current situation, also appealed for international help.
LWR's Andean Regional Office (ARO) is working with its long-time partner organization, AEDES (Specialized Development Association) to assist some 400 families in Peru. Working with another partner, PAIS (Program for the Self-Development of Social Initiatives), LWR seeks to support some 275 families in two rural provinces of Bolivia. Through its partners in Peru and Bolivia, LWR is providing supplementary food rations and help in restoring the families' capacity to grow crops and raise livestock.
The LWR emergency response will assist more than half of the affected families in the snow-devastated sections of Peru and Bolivia.
Lutheran World Relief urges all people to pray for the safety of all whose lives are affected by the unusually-severe weather in Peru and Bolivia.
