Earthquake in Guatemala

At 1:30 am local time on 14 June, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook Guatemala. The highlands in the western part of the country were the most severely affected, including the states of Quetzaltenango, San Marcos, Solola and Huehuetenango. 

According to local news reports, at least five people lost their lives.* Please join us in praying for those who have suffered loss. 

The impact on Compassion-supported children has been minimal due to precautionary measures taken by project staff. Our Guatemala Country Director, Jose Carlos Prem, explains, “About six years ago the church partners and Compassion Guatemala prepared an Emergency Response Plan and yesterday we activated it. The result was that the majority of the church partners were able to inform us that the beneficiaries and the staff were fine in the following hours of the earthquake. Even though it was a strong earthquake, the reports show that there were only minor damages to churches and the homes of beneficiaries. Thank you for your concern and we ask you to keep praying for all the children in the country.”

Jose and his team ask us to specifically pray for:

• Families who have suffered damage to their homes.
• Sponsored child, Iraida, her single mother, her grandmother and her three siblings. Their project is giving them assistance and helping them rebuild their home as one of the walls was destroyed during the earthquake.
• Bethania Church of Coatepeque. During the earthquake part of their ceiling fell, windows broke and one of the church walls cracked. They are grateful that it was only material loss and no one from the project was hurt.

_{*Abc news}