|
CARE field staff available for interviews
| Much of the farmland in flood-affected areas has been destroyed. (2008 Johnny Reyes/CARE) |
|
CARE is distributing farming tools, seeds and fencing materials to nearly 30,000 people in the Bolivian province of Chuquisaca in order to boost recovery from the severe floods that have swept the nation, killing 73 people and affecting nearly half a million others.
The central province of Chuquisaca has been particularly hard-hit, losing more than 60 percent of its agricultural production to the floods. More than 13,500 acres of corn crops have been destroyed (5,508 hectares), devastating the lives and livelihoods of the majority of the people in the province. | Roads in and out of gflooded areas are impassable, slowing much needed relief. (2008 Johnny Reyes/CARE) |
|
"People in Chuquisaca rely on subsistence farming to feed their families and earn a living, so it's critical to give them the tools they need to regain their ability to earn a living," says Chris Sykes, CARE's country director in Bolivia. Roads in and out of the province were impassable, slowing much needed relief. Those roads have been repaired, clearing the way for essential supplies to make their way to families in some of the most isolated communities in Bolivia. On Wednesday, March 26, CARE will travel to those communities to distribute tools such as pick-axes, hoes, spades, and wheelbarrows, as well as onion and carrot seeds and fencing materials so that families can begin planting again. The organization will reach nearly 6,000 people with this emergency assistance. In addition, another 1,095 people – who have been identified as extremely poor – will also receive a household kit comprised of blankets, a cooking pot, and kitchen utensils. CARE also plans to assist flood survivors in the medium and long term, as emergency efforts shift to rehabilitation. "Thanks to generous donations from the governments of Germany and the Netherlands, CARE's longer-term efforts will help to secure clean water sources, rebuild damaged infrastructure, provide farming assistance and help reduce the risk from flooding in the future," said Sykes.
CARE has been working continuously in Bolivia for more than 30 years beginning with its response to a flooding emergency in Beni in 1956. CARE has 60 years of experience delivering emergency aid. With ongoing poverty-fighting projects in more than 60 countries, CARE can respond quickly anywhere in the world. Our emergency responses focus on the needs of the most vulnerable, particularly women and children. CARE's portfolio in Bolivia includes projects and programs in food security, water and sanitation, disaster and risk management, natural resource management, education, health and income generation.
:
Atlanta: Alina Labrada, CARE USA, labrada@care.org, (404) 979-9383, (404) 457-4644
|
