In response to severe flooding in eastern Bolivia, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is providing emergency and long-term agricultural rehabilitation assistance to households affected by the disaster in the rural farming village of San Luis, approximately 10 miles from the town of Camargo in Chuquisaca, Bolivia.

In January, heavy rain caused extensive flooding in the eastern region, overflowing riverbeds, flooding villages, and destroying homes, buildings, and public infrastructure. Reports estimate that nearly 68,000 households were affected by the severe flooding across the country.

The floodwaters exacted a devastating toll on the agricultural lands near the small town of Camargo in southeastern Bolivia, leaving many of the area’s residents, who live in isolated farming villages, without means of supporting themselves and their families.

"The majority of the families affected live off of their land," said Daniel De Brun, country director for the ADRA Bolivia office. "Without the ability to grow their crops, they have no means to provide for themselves, and without a means to survive, many families are forced to migrate to other areas," explained De Brun. "ADRA is working to mitigate the disaster, and return families to their normal lives as quickly as possible."

The intervention will be carried out in three phases over nine months to aid the 75 households, or approximately 375 individuals, in San Luis village that were affected by the severe flooding. Hundreds more in the surrounding areas will also benefit from the rehabilitated farmlands.

The initial phase, which was completed in February, provided emergency assistance through the distribution of motor pumps, electric generators, wheelbarrows, shovels, and picks for each affected family to help drain flooded farmland.

In the second phase, running from March to July, ADRA will provide construction materials to help farmers reclaim farming soil, reconstruct terraces, and prevent the runoff of irrigation water.

ADRA will also provide farming essentials for many of the households in the third phase of the project, scheduled for August through October. Beneficiaries will receive seeds, seedlings, insecticides, and fertilizers to help recuperate the agricultural losses resulting from the flooding.

Beneficiary households in each community will be selected from those who have incurred the greatest loss of resources due to the flooding.

ADRA International, the ADRA South America office located in Brasilia, Brazil, and the Bolivia Union office of the Seventh-day Adventist Church are contributing funds to the project. Local communities, along with government offices, are also providing funding.

ADRA is present in 125 countries, providing community development and emergency management without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, or ethnicity.