Lima, Peru, Apr 25, 2017 / 05:04 am
Archbishop José Antonio Eguren of Piura and Tumbes, Peru visited the inhabitants of one of the areas most affected by the recent floods in northern Peru, who asked him to help them get some Bibles.
According to the Archdiocese of Piura, a group of victims from the Pedregal Chico settlement in Baja Piura approached the archbishop last week and asked him for some Bibles because the ones they had were lost in the flood.
"They said that the Word of God is essential for them and for the continuity of their family catechetical programs and ongoing catechesis they have implemented in their village," said a news brief from the archdiocese.
Archbishop Eguren promised to get the Bibles and assured the victims that "the love of God does not abandon them nor has he forgotten them."
The archbishop, accompanied by volunteers and authorities from the charitable group Caritas, brought three tons of food supplies for the more than 300 families in this area, who were hard hit by the Piura River overflowing in recent weeks.
The river waters obliterated homes, workshops, plazas, ranches and farm fields, completely flooding the village and reaching a level of five feet.
To save their lives, the villagers had to leave everything behind and flee with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Much of the village has been buried under a thick layer of much. Some 80 percent of the homes have been demolished, while rice and cotton fields have been destroyed.
Today, the almost 1800 inhabitants of this village, devoted mainly to farming and handicrafts, "spend the day in makeshift and uncomfortable tents, without basic services, living together with sickness and extreme poverty," the Archdiocese of Piura reported.
"They just ask that we don't forget about their situation and that we help them so they can recover."
"They are people of deep faith and despite everything they have suffered they have not lost hope or the desire to go on, since they're sure that with the help of the love of God, their desire to work and our aid they will be able to again see their people better off than before," the news brief concludes.