Another Eruption!

Volcanoes dot the landscape throughout Central America

The current seismic event is in little, beautiful and organized Costa Rica. The major eruption is just 50 km’s from San Jose, CR’s capital and largest city.

People are having to protect themselves from respiratory concerns and physical reactions to the ash.

The last few years have seemed particularly active around the Pacific Ring of Fire, but perhaps this is just perception due to our access to immediate information.

Central America is particularly exposed to Mother Nature. Flying into San Jose, one clearly sees both the Atlantic (Caribbean) and Pacific Ocean. The other countries to the north: Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are all heavily volcanic and equally exposed to hurricanes and the longer effects of El Niño.

As an added challenge, the largely religious and corrupt (excepting Costa Rica) countries, continue to experience significant population growth against a backdrop of weak infrastructure and deeply unequal economic development.

This does not mean I do not love Central America! Rather, the people of the region live in beautiful countries and work far too hard to build good and meaningful lives.

Costa Rica will quickly recover from this natural seismic event and will have to prepare for the next. Central America as a whole deserves our attention and support. May I suggest, rather than sending more missionaries, we could send financial support – or even better – go and visit the entire region! Tourism is one way to support local communities and empower local populations.

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