WCK responds to flooding across the Brazilian state of Bahia
Extreme rainfall over the past several months left widespread damage across the Brazilian state of Bahia. The influx of water ruptured two dams, bringing severe flooding and displacing more than 60,000 people. One of the broken dams, in the municipality of Itambé, took out the community’s entire water system. The damage throughout the state is widespread, affecting over 100 towns—homes and critical infrastructure were left completely underwater.
Quickly building on our system of hiring local restaurants to cook for neighbors in need, the WCK Relief Team identified partners to begin preparing meals daily for affected families. With meals prepared by these local restaurants in hand, WCK’s Relief Team began by traveling to communities throughout the area to see how we could best assist.
After just over a week of being on the ground in Brazil, WCK is active in 10 cities and municipalities in the state of Bahia – llhéus, Itambé, Itapetinga, Dário Meira, Belo Campo, and Itabuna. To date, we have served more than 40,000 meals through 17 restaurant partners.
As always, we are using whatever means necessary to get meals to the people who need them. In Dário Meira, dinner is delivered from the back of our truck to families cleaning debris and salvaging anything they can from their homes.
Chef Carla owns one of the restaurants WCK is partnering with, helping us serve thousands of people in need. Each day, she cooks 500 fresh meals out of her kitchen. She and her all-female staff shared with us that they are happy to be able to support families impacted by the flooding – while also supporting their business, which has been suffering due to decreased traffic.
In Ilhéus, Chef Jeanie from Dona Restaurante made a traditional Quentinha – a hot meal to go – with meat, rice, and beans.
I always prepare meals with love—and I promise you can taste it in the food!
Jeanie
Chef, Dona Restaurante
For the indigenous Igalha community, the weeks of heavy rains have caused issues with water pollution, compounding the problems from flooded homes. In response, the WCK team is supporting Chief Sussuarana with the Tupinambá de Olivença territory in getting clean drinking water for families in addition to the nourishing meals we are bringing.
Although water is now receding as the weather has dried up, communities here have a long road to recovery. WCK will support our local partners in cooking fresh meals for families cleaning up after the rains for as long as we are needed.
For the most up-to-date information on our response in Brazil, follow WCK on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. You can support our efforts here.
