Living in the shadow of a volcano
With the eruption of Mount Tungurahua, thousands of poor farmers saw their livelihoods smothered in a blanket of ash
By Michael Hiebert
October/November 2006
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In Ecuador, Canada and elsewhere, people have responded as Mount Tungurahua erupts, devastating lives and livelihoods of rural communities.
On August 16, 2006, a cloud of ash several kilometres high spewed out of the mouth of Mount Tungurahua. The grey ash blanketed rural communities on the mountainside as well as in the city of Riobamba 30 kilometres west as the crow flies. In several mountainside communities, the ash layer was a few inches thick, destroying thousands of hectares of crops, causing hundreds of roofs to collapse and forcing the evacuation of more than 5,000 people. This recent eruption follows another in 1996 that devastated these same mountainside communities, many of whom were still working to return to normal since the last eruption.
The devastation caused by this recent disaster is being measured in the tens of millions of dollars. The loss of this year's crop and thousands of grazing animals will force already poor people into an even deeper state of poverty. Being poor makes recovering from a crisis like this difficult. Having little to start with and far less in savings or reserves, the people are trapped in a devastating cycle of poverty from which it is near impossible to escape.
For the thousands of people who evacuated the region, an even larger number stayed put because there was no benefit in leaving. Although it is difficult to rebuild their lives after losing land, home and livestock, the option to stay seems better than going to a city like Riobamba where their rural farming skills are not needed by an urban economy.
In the face of this disaster, in Ecuador and Canada the response has been phenomenal. Here in Riobamba and around the country, many are looking for ways to help. Concerned people have come to our neighbourhood asking for non-perishable food or clothing to give to those affected. A variety of mission groups here in Chimborazo Province are also gathering food and other necessities. Campesinos (peasant farmers) from other parts of the province and the country are sending forage into the region to feed those farm animals that still remain.
It is amazing to be here in Riobamba and witness the concern that people have for their neighbour. Please pray that the people may return to their homes and start a new life in the shadow of Tungarahua.
Scarboro lay missioner Mike Hiebert has been in Ecuador, his first overseas mission placement, since 2004.
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