Ricardo woke up suddenly. The winds and the rain were pounding everything, making a terrible noise.

"Get up, Ricardo!" called his mother as she woke his younger brothers and sisters. They got out just in time! That night Ricardo's family and every other family in Los Corralitos (Los Core-ah-lee-tose), Honduras, lost everything they owned to mudslides and flooding caused by Hurricane Mitch. Now what would the 309 people who lived there do? For days they lived outside in the rain.

Photo: Christian Commission for Development

Many got sick from living outside, so CWS also sent nurses and doctors on the trucks. To help people stay healthy, Church World Service distributed Hygiene Kits with soap, toothpaste, bandages - simple items we take for granted in our houses, but they make a big difference!

Little by little, the people rebuilt their village. "But we have a new name," said Ricardo. "It's Nuevo Corralito (New-ay-vo Core-ah-lee-toe) now." The children have gone back to school. With a lot of hard work by the people of Nuevo Corralito and the generous help of communities in the USA who contributed through CWS, hope is growing in their village.

By having kits ready before a disaster, CWS was ready to help when the need arose.

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