After days in heavy rains, the capixabas of Espírito Santo in Brazil still feel ripples of the damage caused by the storms. For this reason, a group of volunteers came together to assist survivors of the flooding in Serra, Grande Vitória. They are organized from various social fronts in the Eldorado region who decided to mobilize themselves to distribute clothes, shoes, food, and in some cases even furniture and appliances.

The collaboration included the Club of the Third Age, the Seventh-day Adventist Church (IASD), Pastoral da Criança, and the Neighborhood Association, and resulted in actions developed over the space of a week to assist those most affected. The movement began on Thursday, March 11, with the distribution of soup to about 50 families.

“The rain has seriously affected our region, so we decided to mobilize to assist people affected by the floods,” explains Giuliano Lacerda, one of the volunteers. “We joined forces and obtained many donations. We hope that this help can alleviate the damage caused in the past few days.”

On Saturday, March 13, a support event delivered more than 300 lunch boxes made available by the city hall, in addition to 50 basic baskets collected with donations. The mobilization also provided hundreds of pieces of clothing and shoes, and items such as a stove, refrigerator, beds, and mattress. Copies of the book “A Maior Esperança” were also distributed. The book is about how to regain hope even in the midst of crises.

Ana Ventura, leader of Pastoral da Criança, explains that due to the work carried out continuously with the community, they were sought out by the affected families. And in this way, the need arose to mobilize to support their community.

This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site