The Snoqualmie Sister Cities Association is collecting disaster-relief donations for Snoqualmie’s sister city of Chaclacayo, Peru. That city has been hit with floods and mudslides since January and recently, two main bridges and railroad tracks have collapsed into the river. Many homes along the river have been destroyed.
Tina McCollum, chairperson of Snoqualmie Sister Cities Association, said no lives had been lost and there were no missing people, but most of the poorer residents of the city have had their homes damaged.
A group of eight Mount Si High School students, two parents, Spanish teacher Jenny Foster, and McCollum will be traveling to Peru on April 7, as part of sister city travel program. The students will go to Cusco from April 7 through 11 for agricultural, archaeological and textile tours of Machu Picchu. On April 12 they will travel to Chaclacayo, bringing as many donations as they can to the people living there.
“The 12th is when we arrive in Chaclacayo and we stay there until the 15th,” McCollum said. “The kids will get a real big experience on what a natural disaster really looks like.”
The students will be staying in sister city-approved homes that are safe and have water and electricity.
To prepare for their trip, the Sister Cities Association will be accepting donations; people can drop off their donations at Snoqualmie City Hall until Friday, March 31. Items that are in high demand include emergency thermal blankets, protective gloves, dehydrated food, diapers, socks, and powdered baby food and nutritional formulas. Monetary donations will also be accepted and will be used to buy more supplies and food once the group arrives in Peru.
Checks can be made out to Snoqualmie Sister Cities Association and mailed to P.O. Box 994, Snoqualmie, WA 98065, with “Disaster Relief” in the memo line, McCollum said. All donations, physical products and checks can be brought to the second floor of city hall at 38624 SE River Street.
For more information, contact Tina McCollum at valent6222@aol.com or call (253) 468-9744.
A bridge in Chaclacayo is left broken and twisted because of heavy flooding. (Courtesy Photo)
A firefighter pulls a small dog from the River as part of the city’s restoration efforts. (Courtesy Photo)
