La Paz, Bolivia (February 14, 2008) — Save the Children is working to meet the survival and protection needs of children in Bolivia, where unusually heavy flooding has affected more than 55,000 families. The situation is expected to worsen over the coming weeks.

Floodwaters have impacted lowland communities in six of Bolivia's nine departments: Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando La Paz and Chuquisaca. Families have lost homes, crops and livestock, and they are now living in shelters. Clean water is in short supply. In addition, more than 300 schools have been damaged or destroyed.   

"The displacement of thousands of families is extremely hard on children," said Gary Shaye, Save the Children's Bolivia country director. "They are extremely vulnerable. Children have lost all that is familiar to them and are now living in camps where crowding, sanitation and shelter issues affect their health and well-being."

Save the Children has distributed a dozen 1,000-liter water tanks to provide clean water for approximately 1,260 families. The agency has provided blankets, medicine, mattresses and water cans to 300 families in Yapaquani and Puerto Villaroel, and it has distributed food and medicine in affected areas. In addition, Save the Children is providing latrines for rural and urban shelters, and is helping to vaccinate farm animals brought to the camps.

The agency also is assessing the needs of children and families in shelters in Trinidad, capital of the department of Beni. The city, nearly cut off by flood waters, hosts 16 urban and six rural camps for displaced families.

Save the Children, which has been in Bolivia since 1986, works in all of Bolivia's departments and provides programs focusing on health, education, hunger and malnutrition, emergency preparedness and child protection. The agency responds quickly to emergencies, prioritizing the unique needs of children.

Save the Children's ability to respond quickly to emergencies like this and other future emergencies where significant numbers of children are at risk greatly depends on our available resources. By contributing to the Children's Emergency Fund, you enable us to prepare for and respond immediately to children and families who urgently need our help when disasters strike.

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