Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association relief news update from Colombia. It has been a slow recovery process for the some 15,000 households in the south afflicted by the floods that began in May, with families mourning the loss of at least 18 loved ones, including children, due to deadly landslides.

(All in Spanish)
Father Edgar Gomez Salcedo – Pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary (M): Since the month of May, very strong flooding has occurred, where practically 90% of our villages, we actually have 20 villages, suffering very serious consequences; some of them were totally destroyed.

Lucero Samboni – Social manager of Curillo (F): There are many victims, and approximately 100 families have lost crops.

VOICE: Conveying her sympathies and sorrowful prayers, Supreme Master Ching Hai initially donated US$10,000, asking our nearby Association members to please go to help the most vulnerable areas. Our Association’s relief team from Colombia and Costa Rica first brought food supplies to 1,050 families in the hard-hit Caquetá Department. Supreme Master Ching Hai then donated an additional US$10,000, with the total US$20,000 able to acquire US$100,000 in emergency items if purchased in the United States, based on Colombia’s cost of living. Reimbursing the relief team’s travel expenses of over US$2,000, Supreme Master Ching Hai requested them to please see to any urgent family needs, as she stated, “Indeed their suffering is so vast, my heart aches for them.” Our Association’s relief team returned to the Caquetá region, bringing more much-needed food aid to 675 families, as they also sought to comfort families who had especially suffered loss.

Relief recipient (M): I want to thank the Master Ching Hai for all that she has given us. And so, I ask God to protect her and keep her in His Glory for all that she does.

Young child (M): Thanks for the cookies.

VOICE: A priest from a local Catholic church, Father Edgar Gomez Salcedo, also requested help for some extremely desperate families affected by the floods. However, as the area was inaccessible to visitors due to internal conflict in the region, he offered to distribute the donated supplies.

Father Edgar Gomez Salcedo – Pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary (M): It’s the time to thank Master Ching Hai for her collaboration that she has had with us. May God pay you, God continue to bless and may the work that you are doing worldwide be a work really to continue bringing light…

VOICE: Also expressing their thankfulness were local government officials who were touched that the relief team had returned a second time to their conflict-affected area, despite the risk due to its designation as a “red zone.”

Lucero Samboni – Social manager of Curillo (F): In this moment we are receiving support from Master Ching Hai, which is an aid that really we are in need of, and we give her gratitude immensely.

Lucas Trivino – Representative of Governor of Caquetá (M): This is the second time that Master Ching Hai has had a presence here. On behalf of the Governor Dr. German Medina, and my own family and all the communities, we thank you greatly and ask God to bless you and protect you. VOICE: We join in thanking Supreme Master Ching Hai for her unconditional aid to the vulnerable in Colombia, while also sending appreciation to our Association’s relief team for their caring efforts. Our prayers for the continued recovery of the flood affected, and that such extreme conditions may be eased through our more conscientious care for one another and the planet.