How to Help Rio Grande do Sul
Floodings in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, destroyed the homes of many families, and water levels surpassed 17 feet. These are some ways to help.
The southernmost state in Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, is known for their rivers that extend throughout the territory. Since April 28, with no predicted end by experts, the catastrophe has uprooted the lives of many who call the state home. Due to torrential rains and a lack of funding from the local government to create preventive measures, the state is going through the worst flood in the country’s history in recent years. To prevent people and animals from getting electrocuted in the water, the government cut the power lines, and that left locals without means to communicate with loved ones or to request help.
If you are in the New York region, the Bakers for Brazil, created by Brigadeiro Bakery, has gathered local Brazilian businesses to hold a bake sale. All the funds collected will go to help the people in RS. The event will also be a place to collect donations such as clothes, bedding, hygiene products, and blow-up mattresses to send them to Brazil.
In addition, there are thirteen donation places in Massachusetts. In Florida, there are many different places to donate, including the Azul check-in area at the FLL airport and the DUX Forwarding Corp. in Doral.
For those outside of those states who still want to contribute, Gisele Bündchen has partnered with the Brazil Foundation to collect funds to help people in need. The model is originally from Rio Grande do Sul and is an activist for environmental causes.
The state is home to 11 million Brazilians, and over 160 thousand have been relocated to shelters. It is hard to measure how many people have passed away from the tragedy since the water levels haven’t lowered to a safe depth to do searches. On a better note, the whole country has stopped helping the people in Rio Grande do Sul, and the efforts have already started to affect them.
More resources and ways to help the state can be found here.
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