El Salvador (MNN) ― El Salvador's President Mauricio Funes has declared a national emergency following floods and landslides.
In the wake of Hurricane Ida, three days of national mourning, beginning Tuesday, are underway in El Salvador following the deaths of over 130 people in floods and landslides.
The areas around the capital, San Salvador, and the central province were hardest hit. Thousands are homeless and large parts of the country are without electricity and clean water.
Compassion International has many church partners in the flooded areas. Kathy Redmond says, "We're looking at 21 of our Child Development Centers that operate out of the church being damaged by this and so, we're looking at about 6,000 kids who have been affected."
The United Nations World Food Program says over 10,000 people will need emergency food assistance over the coming days. Compassion teams are responding. An initial aid package of $20,000 disbursed to get immediate aid on the ground.
This is where Compassion partnerships through the local church become essential. They're a functioning network with an infrastructure. They can respond quickly to emergencies. Redmond notes that meeting needs in crisis opens many doors. "People within the community have to go to the local church to get relief. When they go to the local church to get relief, the message is already there that, 'We're God's hands. We're doing God's work.'"
Pray for wisdom for the church leaders as they respond to the situation. Redmond says, "When strangers from the church come along and say, 'We're here to help you and we want to make sure you have everything you need,' it really goes a long way in ministering to people. It goes much further, I think, than just being a church that has services."
You can help. The humanitarian aid response is just the beginning. Compassion assessment teams are still making their way to the disaster zones to find out how heavy damages are.
