Little Capes, Big Difference
Earlier this summer we visited a community called Guadalupe. It is a community of people who live each day with eyes toward the sky, looking for the dark clouds that bring rain, and with ears toward the volcano, listening for the rumble that could mean rock slide.
There is a warning system. When the siren blares, often in the night, the moms and dads gather their children and run for the safety of a nearby field - safe from the rocks but not from the rain. The leaders in the community had described the evacuation process, humbly asking us to help with "capitas." In the telling, it was hard for us to figure out exactly what was being asked of us because it seemed like maybe they needed wagons or strollers in which to pile the kids so they could run faster.
As we debriefed on our experience in Guadalupe, we double-checked our dictionary and realized that what they were asking for was "little capes" -- rain ponchos for the children! We took up a small offering among us to help with the capitas.
Yesterday I received an email from Pastora Guadalupe - the Lutheran Church pastor who is provided psycho-social care to the children, youth and adults in Comunidad Guadalupe. She wrote:
Also, I share with you the gratitude that the community leaders in the municipality of San Vicente express. They received the help and it was possible to purchase the little capes for the boys and girls who are evacuated during the intense rains in these communities.
There is a warning system. When the siren blares, often in the night, the moms and dads gather their children and run for the safety of a nearby field - safe from the rocks but not from the rain. The leaders in the community had described the evacuation process, humbly asking us to help with "capitas." In the telling, it was hard for us to figure out exactly what was being asked of us because it seemed like maybe they needed wagons or strollers in which to pile the kids so they could run faster.
As we debriefed on our experience in Guadalupe, we double-checked our dictionary and realized that what they were asking for was "little capes" -- rain ponchos for the children! We took up a small offering among us to help with the capitas.
Yesterday I received an email from Pastora Guadalupe - the Lutheran Church pastor who is provided psycho-social care to the children, youth and adults in Comunidad Guadalupe. She wrote:
Also, I share with you the gratitude that the community leaders in the municipality of San Vicente express. They received the help and it was possible to purchase the little capes for the boys and girls who are evacuated during the intense rains in these communities.
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