(ANS – San Pedro Carchá) – Last weekend the Salesian Mission in Altaverapaz, a parish with 250,000  inhabitants of the Q’eqchi race, was involved in an operation to offer assistance to people living in a mountainous area of the parish of La Tinta, who had suffered serious damage cause by recent floods.

Bishop Rodolfo Valenzuela of the diocese of Verapaz, Cobán, asked the whole diocese to help the stricken families who had lost almost everything in the disaster. Four villages were affected and they remain isolated. With the help of the Salesian Missions Office in New Rochelle, the local Salesians were able to respond to the emergency by donating a large quantity of rice enriched with protein. They were the first to reach the place.

The journey to get there was difficult because the usual path was wiped out by landslides from the mountain.  On behalf of the Salesians in the mission, Fr Vittorio Castagna reached the villages of Kaqiha’ and Samiha after a journey of 4 hours by car and 3 hours on foot. He was met by a scene of total devastation.

The many families affected accepted the help with great joy and Fr Castagna was welcomed as a blessing from God.

 “Unfortunately these people are forgotten by the international media. Only the Catholic Church takes care of them,” says Fr Castagna. The priest is also a father to them and in many cases, the only one who can help in times of emergency. Through the good work of Jessica O’Connor and Fr Mark Hyde, SDB, of the Salesian Missions Office in New Rochelle, the Salesians were able to give practical assistance which benefitted at least 50 families affected by the landslides.

The Salesians who work with the indigenous Q’eqchi people often have to face situations of real need and various social problems in order to help the people. The presence of Don Bosco in these lands is, for the local people, a sign of God’s Providence. They have a great love for Don Bosco and there is not a single village where he is not recognized as the father and friend of the young.

Published  07/08/2013