Hurricane Otto hit the northern part of Costa Rica, Upala was one of the most affected places, there was serious damage to the population, people died and complete property lost was reported for most families. The Church of the Nazarene in the center of the city reported that all of the families in their congregation suffered damages in their homes and there are people still in shelters. The sanctuary and the parsonage were also seriously affected.
The report received today by the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM) Coordinator of the of Costa Rica North District, Angie Carvajal, told us that people are already searching for their houses, cleaning and seeing what things can recovered. The electricity and water were restored and different entities are distributing food, the lines are long to receive food and our brothers have been hungry.
The church is mobilizing in different ways to help. On Saturday, pastors and some members of the Ciudad Quezada, El pier, Los Chiles and Tres y Tres churches came to clean the sanctuary and 3 houses, including the parsonage and the house of Estefanía Amador, North District Global Mission coordinator, which was one of the most affected houses. The group cleaned until after midnight. Sister Angie says it was a very beautiful gesture from the churches because some of them were also affected by the hurricane and they are very humble and low-income people.
On Sunday, the Central District joined the support, collecting basic necessities. Today, Central District NCM Coordinator, Pastor Guiselle Abarca, is transferring the collected material to the Poás Church of the Nazarene , which is functioning as a collection center for all the northern churches that are collaborating and are also collecting offerings.
On Tuesday, the NCM Coordinator for the Northern District plans to travel with a group to do a damage assessment. On Friday, a group of Liberia’s churches will distribute bags with food and will help to clean houses.
Also, the Poas church has sent a help committee to the Poás Municipal Commission. The young people are volunteering to help classify and collect supplies.
Source: Angie Carvajal, NCM Coordinator, CR North District
