At the end of May the state of Pernambuco in Brazil, especially the Metropolitan Region of Recife, was hit by heavy rains that caused flooding, landslides and, consequently, homeless families and even deaths. In Pernambuco more than 119,000 people have had to leave their homes and more than 9,000 people are living in shelters. The number of deaths is already around 129, according to the public authorities.
The municipalities that make up the Metropolitan Region of Recife are marked by rivers and bridges that connect one city to another, one neighborhood to another, as well as being surrounded by hills on their outskirts. Combined with other factors, the result ends with an accumulation of water and frequent flooding. However, the heavy rains this year have caused unusually large amounts of damage that the population has not experienced for decades.
Within this context there are 4 SCJ parishes of the BRE Province: Nossa Senhora do Rosário Parish in Recife; São Pio X Parish and Sagrado Coração de Jesus Parish in Camaragibe; and Nossa Senhora de Fátima Parish in Paulista.
These parishes immediately started campaigns to collect food, clothes, cleaning and personal hygiene products to be delivered to the people affected by the heavy rains.
In the Parish of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, in Recife/PE, for example, more than 4,000 thousand meals (breakfast, lunch or dinner) have already been delivered. About 30 volunteers take turns producing the meals, assembling cleaning kits, sorting clothes and delivering the meals. The parish priest, Fr. Francisco Sales, scj, together with some lay people, made visits to the most affected places in the neighborhood, having seen the harsh reality that many parishioners are living.
The weather in Recife continues to oscillate, with frequent warnings of heavy rains. Many of the people who have left their homes have not yet been able to return, because they are still covered in mud and in imminent danger of new floods. Fear has been a constant companion of these people, who with each heavy rainfall are terrified of reliving the suffering of waking up in the middle of the night with water inside their homes.
In solidarity with the suffering of these brothers and sisters, the BRE Province has launched the “Coração Solidário” (Solidary Heart) campaign, inviting the whole SCJ Family to make a contribution by donating directly to the Provincial House or by bank transfer.
Check out the video of the campaign below
Pope Francis prays for victims
