Dear Echoers,

Unfortunately I have sad news from Sierra Leone. Due to incredibly high rainfall, Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone, has experienced severe flooding and resulting land slides. BBC reported that hundreds had been killed in one such landslide as houses were buried on the outskirts of the capital. The Red Cross estimates that nearly 3000 people have been left without homes as a result of the rain.

Thankfully, Esther is currently visiting family out of the country and is safe from the floods. However, she shared tragic stories from home where friends had sent images of those killed by the mud slides. I will not share those images with you. Needless to say, the damage to the city is devastating as seen in other images of the flooding and landslide below.

Esther is receiving spotty information from Freetown. So far, we don't have reports that staff or students of Esther's school, the Women in Action Development Project, have been injured. However, we have learned that much of Women in Action's supplies were damaged by flooding and that the first crops planted in the new farm field we purchased last month have been washed away.

School season begins soon at Women in Action, and this is not the start we want. Women in Action will definitely need support to get its footing again in the wake of this crisis. I'm asking for your help to literally weather this storm and see Women in Action through to the best start possible for this Fall school season. We made a huge leap forward in July with the farmland. Let's ensure this tragedy doesn't undo the progress we've made!

-Matthew

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