Stories from August 14th: Rica and Ricardo

On August 14th, Rica Jossaint and her family were up early. As Rica prepared food, her husband and children worked on chores and cared for the animals. Rica recalls sitting in the doorway with her youngest daughter Djoumia, who had just woken up, when the earthquake struck. 

As soon as the shaking started, her entire family rushed outside. Rica grabbed Djoumia, while her eldest son, Roodens, grabbed his grandfather, who is blind. Ricardo Marius and Roodnyal, their middle child, were able to run out from the middle rooms of the house. Everything was falling and they felt the shaking of the ground, both inside and on the road. It was loud, scary, jarring – but when the shaking stopped, they were all safe.

After exchanging hugs, tears, and prayers of gratitude, Rica and her family went back to look at the ruins of their home. Their house and the church next door were severely damaged. Ricardo and Rica began checking on people right away, and members from their church community came together to help.

As leaders, Ricardo and Rica know that members of their community are relying on them. They feel the burdens of their neighbors’ problems, and their biggest concern for the community is shelter. “Help where possible, specifically to figure out housing. It is the biggest problem.”

Update: Thanks to your support, Rica and Ricardo have made progress on a provisional housing structure and have also been able to provide dedicated support to members of their small community.