Since then they have carried in on their shoulders charcoal, water drums, clothes, and food, supplies donated by so many of the faithful throughout the country.
The donations go mainly to the communities of Cajón Achibueno and Ancoa, which were the most affected by the disaster.
The Catholic community of the Maule region is just one example of the many other priests, as well as men and women religious, who, along with groups of volunteers, are bringing help to the communities of the Linares foothills and the banks of the Perquilauquén River in the town of Parral.
Almost a month after the Maule River overflowed, aid is beginning to dwindle and television stations are no longer showing what families are experiencing.
The priests said they wish they could solve the problems of the isolation, cold, and loneliness that people are experiencing. However, they appreciate that they can at least “bring a little hope, a little shelter, a little company and the love of so many people whose help adds up bit by bit,” the Chilean Bishops’ Conference reported on its website.
The storm caused the two main rivers that flow through Santiago, the Mapocho and the Maipo, to overflow their banks and then moved south, where it caused flooding in several towns.