“Pastora, please come with us. We need you to see.” Those words, coming from one of the pastors in charge of one of the missions propelled me into a boat, I was eying with grave misgivings.
In yesterday’s post, I did say there was no way I was getting into a boat with the river in spate. Well, I just could not turn back to the safety of my home and not experience some of the reality of my partners in Christ. I felt it would have been dreadful to just hand over the packages and say, ‘bye’. What kind of pastor only ventures out to visit her/his members in dry lovely weather and not when there is a disaster? Nonetheless, still suspiciously eyeing the boat, I got in.
A few churches from the Colon Baptist Association and the Central Panama Baptist Association joined with us in providing basic emergency supplies of dried/canned food and clothing. We bundled these into packages ready for distribution and set out early in the morning for Rio Indio or as far as we could reach.
It had been raining steadily all night, and it rained all the way to Rio Indio. Our first stop was at the MIDA in Icacal, Rio Indio. We transferred the packages to two higher pick-up trucks, climbed in and headed out to the bridge. There were dark clouds overhead, it was windy, the road was one wide muddy track – deep mud, and the sea was black and in a rage. You would not believe the amount of deposit along the coastline, thrown up by the sea.
We reached the bridge and saw that it was severed, and the middle section missing – gone in the flood. The river that ran to the sea was in spate, bringing down debris, rising with the tide, and the icy rain was still pouring. The bank where the boats were tied up on trees and rocks, was crowded with passengers waiting to transit up-river. I was not among the anxious.
Our ‘boat’ arrived, and I was somewhat relieved. It was something the size of a small fishing boat. At least it was not a ‘Kayuko’(Kayak/dug-out canoe). At least! After we had loaded the packages, the words from the pastor came. I looked at the river, felt the icy rain, whispered a silent prayer and got in the boat. Did I mention there wasn’t a single life-jacket in view or stashed away anywhere?
So off we go, all eyes on me watching I suppose to see me ‘freak out’ once we started moving. I was the only female on the boat. After about 10 minutes or so they began to relax and one even commented that I seem comfortable as If I am accustomed to being on the river all the time. Surreee..I live on a river in Jamaica:-) I could not confess then that I was having mental flashbacks to a literature book I studied in High School – “Three Singles to Adventure” by Gerald Durrell. If any of you ever read that book you would know what I am talking about.
But this was no adventure like Durrell’s. This was shockingly real. Five rivers merged into one to reach a width and height I could not even visualize. We were on a river that was extremely high, aided by the rising tide. The persons we were trying to reach lived along the riverbank but in a raised area, and yet we were looking up at clothing, wooden lathes, wooden chairs, and bed headboards hanging from high branches in the trees.
The church building at Buenaventura was demolished by the flood, its concrete walls smashed.
Pastor Brauillo’s house was completely washed away, only a couple sheets of zinc was nearby wrapped around an uprooted apple tree. Several other families, his neighbours, also lost their houses. These were concrete not wooden structures. All along the river bank it was pretty much the same, and in areas so far removed from the normal reach of the river that I was amazed. The school was also devastated. We saw evidence of the books in the mud on the bank where we stopped to deliver supplies to 7 families with at least 15 children including babies among them.
A Red Cross worker was stationed there as this was being used as a temporary shelter. Sections of the building was uncovered. The needs were evident. Some of the persons who had taken to the jungle were waiting expectantly on the banks. Reports are that some persons are still in the jungle, and no Aid had reached them. Others who still had houses were washing out the mud. The persons who we gave packages had not received any help at all since Tuesday. We were the first persons to get supplies to them. It soon became depressingly clear that we did not have enough. When we ran out, we simply had to turn around and headed back downriver.
We are looking at steady Aid for the next 3-6 months, now with emergency supplies and very soon with building materials. There are so many children exposed to the elements, wet, cold, naked and hungry. Plus we reached families with around 8 babies, 2-3 months old. There is an urgent need for clean water!!
I renew my appeal for help and look forward to receiving your contributions. Please email me for our church contact details. Write to me at marvia (at) marviaspanamajournal (dot) com.
Your prayerful support is much appreciated.
Love,
Marvia
Let's Connect