My son, a young man from our church, and I were there when the eye of hurricane Sandy hit Cuba from 12am - 4:30am. On Wednesday night at around 11:30pm, Sandy was upgraded to category 3, with winds at 250km/hr.

The death toll and the devastation is great. The city of Santiago was completely destroyed. It was as if a hurricane, a tornado, and an earthquake took place, all three at the same time. Many pastoral families’ houses are on the ground. What’s worse is that the “bodegas” (where the government keeps food supplies) are destroyed and people have no food! In some bodegas the food (rice, beans, sugar, eggs, flour, etc.) got wet and went bad.

There is no electricity and whatever food supplies people had in their refrigerators has gone bad. Stores stay open for as long as you can imagine, with long lines gathered. As of Saturday there was no water or food relief.

Our brothers and sisters will need not just our prayers in the days ahead but also our financial support.

We invite you to join us in supplying aid to our brothers and sisters in Cuba as they try to survive this difficult time.

Your gift to the Camino Emergency Relief fund will help bring tangible assistance to families impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

Read More about Cuba’s condition here.