Last week, Brazil’s First Lady Rosângela Lula da Silva shared a heartwarming photo with missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, thanking them for their help in the relief efforts in southern Brazil.
On her Instagram page, she wrote: “I want to thank Azul [Airlines] and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who performed alongside FAB [Brazilian Air Force] and were able to get the donations we received to Canoas. ... There were mattresses, vacuum cleaners, toilet kits, blankets, among other items.”
Davis M. Smith, founder and former chairman of Cotopaxi and current president of the Brazil Recife North Mission, also shared the post on his LinkedIn page with additional context about the flooding in Brazil: “For those not familiar with the situation, flooding in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil has affected more than 1.45 million people spreading to 417 of the state’s 497 cities. 80% of the population is without running water, a week into the flooding.”
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Church News shared that Brazil’s first lady met with missionaries as they helped unload donations in the rain for flooding survivors. And since relief efforts began on May 7, the Church has donated 5,000-plus basic food baskets; 5,000-plus mattresses, pillows, bedding, and blankets; 48,000 liters of drinking water; 5,000 hygiene and cleaning kits; 400 water filters; and additional humanitarian funds throughout the region. Twenty-one Latter-day Saint meetinghouses are also being used as shelters for evacuated families.
You can read more about the Church’s participation in relief efforts here and see more photos in the carousel below.
