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Hurricane Hardship
For Migrants
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2005 will go down in history as one of the most active hurricane seasons ever. Migrant farm workers in Florida were among the first affected by Katrina when the fields flooded, leaving them without work. As Reed Galin reports, one church knew that it also left the workers without a way to feed their families. [Español] |
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SCRIPT:
(People distributing food)
“Over on that end someplace, okay.”
200 migrant families with children live in this labor camp south of Miami. They were some of the first people hit by Hurricane Katrina.
Romana Vallejo/Sister of Migrant Worker: “We survived Andrew. We were not prepared for this.”
Katrina dumped more than 20 inches of rain on South Florida before heading to the Gulf Coast.
Fred Grantham/Member, Cutler Ridge United Methodist Church:
“The result of that flooding is that the migrant farm worker is out of work. There is no work in flooded fields.”
Rebuilding will take time. They don’t know when they’ll have steady jobs again.
Romana Vallejo: “We talk to growers. They say there will be work for three, four weeks. After that, God provides for everybody.”
When Fred Grantham told fellow church members at Cutler Ridge United Methodist Church about the plight of their neighbors, they collected 400 pounds of beans and rice for them.
Fred Grantham: “It’s the carbs they got to have. Beans are the protein.”
Aracilia Carrillo/Migrant Worker: “A lot of the food went bad because there was no electricity for two to three days.”
Now thanks to the help of one church, these storm survivors can put food on their tables for at least a few more days.
Romana Vallejo: “They always come, thank God. They’re really nice people.”
TAG:
Migrant families are relying on the help of relatives and nearby churches for now. South Florida growers estimate that Hurricane Katrina cost them 400 million dollars in crop losses.
To contact Cutler Ridge United Methodist Church, call 305-235-6651.