El Niño: The Coming Storm

"This past April, our community experienced a single night of relentless downpour hinting at our vulnerability to the upcoming El Niño. 

As the heavens wept, our playing field, where both children and adults spend countless joyful hours, surrendered to the merciless deluge becoming submerged under two feet of water. 

Many neighborhood streets were transformed into stagnant rivers of sewage.

For the first time in our history, the weekly senior lunch service, a cherished lifeline for our elderly residents, was forcibly canceled. The floodwaters stole our ability to provide nourishment, washing away cooking supplies and precious food stocks stored in the humble home of a dedicated volunteer.  

A significant number of homes were filled with water and raw sewage requiring drainage, disinfecting and the replacement of personal belongings.

Experiencing the impact of a single night of rain, I shudder at the thought of the impending El Niño. The grim reality looms like a shadow, casting a chilling foreboding over our community.

From a North American perspective, my instinct is to champion the cause of personal and family-level emergency preparedness, urging the creation of plans and kits to weather the storm that lies ahead. Unfortunately, the widespread poverty in our region renders such individual preparation an elusive dream for most families. Those in comfortable situations have made plans to relocate to other parts of the country in advance of the severe weather, an option not open to the majority of the residents.

It is with this in mind that I embrace our mission—to shield our most vulnerable community members from the coming El Niño as best we can. El Niño's wrath may be inevitable, but we refuse to be passive observers in the face of catastrophe. 

We will do everything we can to inform our neighbors of any steps they can take to prepare and will help in any way we can.

We must stand together as a bulwark against despair, determined to minimize the impending devastation.

Every stride we make in our mission is a testament to your trust in our work. Thank you for standing with us as we face this unforgiving challenge head-on."