Estelí in Nicaragua, after the rain.…
In mid October 2007 heavy rains caused damage to SOS Children's Village Rivas in Nicaragua. This is what I found out about the impact of the flooding. I always find it difficult to conceive of the impact of flooding, living in England where flooding is relatively rare.
- Lisa
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Estelí in Nicaragua, after the rain.
In mid October 2007 heavy rains caused damage to SOS Children's Village Rivas in Nicaragua.
This is what I found out about the impact of the flooding. I always find it difficult to conceive of the impact of flooding, living in England where flooding is relatively rare.
Persistent rains in parts of Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua resulted in flooding. SOS Children's Village Rivas in Nicaragua, which had just been completed, was completely flooded. The four families already living at the new village temporarily moved to San Jorge, four kilometres away from Rivas. In the meantime, rains have eased off, which has made evaluation on the start of clean-up operations and scope of damage suffered possible.It is estimated that 4,000 people were affected in the country's north and on the Pacific coast.
SOS Children's Village Santa Ana, in Costa Rica, spent two days without drinking water supplies. The village in Tres Rios was partly submerged in water, and there was no outside telephone connection. When the rain fall reduced precautionary measures are taken in case there may be new flooding.
In Costa Rica, 14 people died in a landslide, two people drowned. Hundreds of houses in the regions on the Pacific coast were partly submerged in water; numerous roads were damaged and clogged by landslides, and the main route connecting the country's north and south was partly impassable, too.
About 55,000 people are affected by flooding in Honduras' south, about 15,000 of them had to be evacuated from their homes.
Guatemala has also seen damage to property given persistent, heavy rains; 1,440 people had to be moved to temporary shelters.
- Mary
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An SOS training farm in Belén, Paraguay that offers agricultural training with an emphasis on the practical to young people from the region.
The agricultural SOS Vocational Training Centre in Belén offers hands-on farming experience for young people. I have been finding out how this centre creates opportunities which boost the rural economy and allow young adults to remain in rural areas and be innovative.
The centre in Belén is operated as a working and training farm. It offers practical agricultural training to 48 young people who have completed their basic education. The training gives them the opportunity to acquire the necessary know-how to be able to one day farm independently.
This expertise increases the chances for a better future in their home villages and counteracts the rural exodus that has contributed to the growth of enormous slums on the outskirts of many big cities.
In addition to traditional subjects, students learn basic ecological values, ecological agriculture and its importance for mankind, as well as protection and renewal of natural energy resources. Twenty hectares of rain forest are also part of the SOS Vocational Training Centre Belén. Forest preservation, utilisation in accordance with the needs of nature and re-forestation are important subjects in the training farm's curriculum.
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