Bianca Machado and her friends have collected truckloads of supplies to help those in need, but are struggling to get the donations to Brazil.
COLORADO, USA — River flooding in Brazil is hitting near-record levels. At least 149 people have died in Rio Grande do Sul following weeks of unrelenting heavy rain and flooding.
More than 100 people are missing and another 500,000 have been forced to leave their homes.
That includes the mother of Bianca Machado, a Colorado woman watching the devastation from afar.
“My brother went with a friend to pick up my mom. In the 30 minutes that they were in my mom’s house, the flood, the water, was already approaching, so they had to flee immediately as well,” Machado said.
“I just had to sit here and watch this all unfold from a distance, which, it’s just such a powerless feeling that you have,” she said.
In a matter of days, that feeling would fade. Machado and her friends called out for donations of supplies for the people of southern Brazil. Colorado answered. The group has filled the warehouse area of Leo’s Flooring, another Brazilian business, with boxes of clothes, toiletries and toys for children.
“I look around this room and I see how much we’ve done for this community and how much we were able to still do, because we’re not done yet,” she said.
Machado now has to find a way to get the supplies to Brazil. Initially, an airline had offered to ship donations to Brazil from Florida, but they have since stopped.
“It is a matter of life and death situation. It’s getting really cold right now. People are in shelters. They don’t have much,'” she said. “Anyone who has the means to help us get all this stuff to Brazil, we would be so so appreciative of your help.”
Machado became a U.S. citizen earlier this week, and hopes to help her mother.
“So now that I got my U.S. citizenship I am able to apply for her green card and hopefully be able to bring her to stay with me,” she said.
Machado knows there’s still so much work to do, but she hopes the efforts being made in Colorado will make a difference.
“Just yesterday the river started to overflow again and the water is coming again and flooding,” she said. “It’s just crucial to have help [from] the community right now.”
If someone is interested in helping them with transportation, Machado can be reached at support.rs.brasil@gmail.com.
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