Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association relief news update from Brazil.     
At the end of December 2009, southern Brazil was swept by relentless rains,triggering landslides and floods and causing the loss of at least 85 lives.  In Rio Grande do Sul state,32 municipalities were affected and over 1,000 residents displaced. A bridge over the Jacuí River collapsed,resulting in at least seven fatalities and some who remained missing.
   
Supreme Master Ching Hai had quickly requested that our Association members go to help those most in need,saying funds were available if necessary, while conveying her deep condolences and prayers.
    
Our Association’s relief teams from Brazil and Paraguay went to the cities most affected, covering their own travel and related expenses of US$1,020 They first arrived in Agudo city where the Jacuí River bridge had collapsed and found families who were still praying that their missing relatives would be found.
    
The relief team offered financial assistance and comfort, while also providing informative SOS flyers.     
At that time officials approached, announcing that they had recovered the bodies of the victims,with the families expressing their gladness that their prayers had been answered with this closure.
   
Going to the city of Nova Palma, where a state of emergency had been declared when floods destroyed 12 bridges and 12 homes,the relief team visited six families who were in desperate situations,giving them cash contributions totaling approximately US$625.
   
The recipients were very happy and expressed their immense gratitude for Supreme Master Ching Hai’s help.    
We thank Supreme Master Ching Hai for her wholehearted care of the vulnerable and our Association’s relief team for their kind efforts.
    
Wishing the affected residents a smooth recovery to their regular lives as such weather extremities are eased through humanity’s transition to kinder,eco-stabilizing ways.