This used to be the thriving town of Tambo de Mora.
This boat used to feed a family.
What happened?
Here’s the story I got…
Tambo de Mora was an oceanfront town, a fairly wealthy town (one compared it as a upper middle class area) and on August 15, 2007, their world turned upside down. A three minute shake of the earth, and life changed. Water came up from the ground. Three minutes.
Take that in…in 3 short minutes (approximately the amount of time it takes you to brush your teeth) and your world is turned upside down. Your house has crumbled to the ground. Your job (a fishing boat) missing from the area. A meter of water surrounds the place you and your family once lived…if you didn’t run away right then. Prisoners fled from the nearby prison, approximately 590 escaped, some ran away, some went into town and helped the families save what they could and escape to higher, safer ground. Approximately 200 of the prisoners came back on their own will, another 300 more were caught and returned.
Here’s their homes now….
What next?
Approximately 300 families from Tambo de Mora alone were displaced (just one of many towns displaced…600 in another, more elsewhere), like refugees in their own country. Very little assistance from the government came to these people. One rumor I heard was that the government would rather attract a large oceanfront development, ignoring the needs of the people. International aid comes, but nowhere near enough. Thousands displaced into temporary housing, tents, and the streets. They need hope.
The people have few possessions, and made us feel like kings living from our tents in a church campus. The World Race has many young folks looking to loose their material possession lives…and replace it with a life of living in community with God and each other. A life of simplicity, relying on God for our every move.
More to come soon…this is just a start.
Oh, and here’s the prison…they painted this on since the quake…have it translated on freetranslation.com
