Like Eight Days of Hope, Samaritan's Purse rushed to Kentucky when the flood waters began to recede and discovered the damage, including home foundations and portions of streets that were swept away. The flood displaced many homeowners and left an imprint of death and destruction.
"It's a lot of individuals who maybe don't have the resources to do the work themselves, or even the support to have other people helping them -- so a lot of elderly individuals who don't necessarily have a support system," reports Samaritan's Purse spokeswoman Karissa Ryan. "When the flooding is as widespread as it was, those resources are going to have a hard time meeting the needs of every single person."
Recovery, she says, will take time, perhaps even years for some structures. But of greater concern to the evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization are the survivors.
"There are still homeowners that are experiencing the shock of what has happened, but it's hard for them to even wrap their minds around how to begin the process of cleanup," Ryan shares. "There's also people that have moved into more of that anger stage of grief, and some that are just grieving."
Some of the crews will be working in the area through October. Ryan says Samaritan's Purse is always looking for volunteers to help with the physical work, but they are also calling on the Body of Christ to pray for the situation, the ongoing restoration effort, and for the hearts and minds of the survivors.
