In early November, 2020, Hurricane Eta, a devastating Category 4 hurricane, wreaked havoc across parts of Central America. The fifth major hurricane of the extremely active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Eta originated from a vigorous tropical wave in the eastern Caribbean Sea in late October.
A little more than a week later, Hurricane Iota, a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane, appeared – causing severe damage to areas of Central America that were already devastated from the first hurricane.
“It was catastrophic – houses and complete neighborhoods had water all the way to the roofs of the houses. People were stranded on top of their roofs, begging for help. That’s what the impact was – people lost everything they had…they were wiped out,” said Miguel Soto, Texas Weifield Foreman. “People began seeking out temporary places to stay – like under bridges, and they had no food or clothing. They then began to try to get back to their homes by starting to clean up the streets.”
Miguel has family (including his father) who live in Honduras – an area hit especially hard. Miguel knew how hard it was to recover from destruction in a third world country and so, he and his wife started gathering and purchasing supplies to send – ranging from canned food, to diapers, to over-the-counter medications.
“That’s how I got the idea to bring the request to Weifield for donations,” said Miguel. “I was in a superintendent’s meeting and requested permission from management – and they said it was fine as helping those in need was part of Weifield’s PACT.”
Weifield contributed $2,500 in financial support and the Texas team started bringing in donations such as toys, blankets, clothing, medications, food, and more. Weifield’s Corporate office in Colorado also got involved – sending donations down to the Texas team, for Honduras.
“When we had everything gathered up, Weifield even paid the $800 shipping fee to send everything to Honduras,” said Miguel. “I was involved with three sets of donations, in total – for the first one that I started, I spent $1,000 of my own money and sent some boxes down. The second one involved my father working closely with 52 churches in the affected areas – they purchased food to give to local families. Before Christmas, Weifield’s donations were sent – including the funds and ten boxes of supplies. These pictures show us giving the items to the people living in the devastated areas.”
Miguel said he talks to his dad every day – and the recipients of the donations are very thankful.
“They were not expecting anything as a third world country – not expecting supplies to come from people so far away,” he said. “It means the world to me – makes my heart happy, that I work with individuals that care, at Weifield. For people to think alike right away and come together to give without hesitation or receiving anything….it’s amazing to me. I just want to say thank you with all my heart to everyone that helped to make this possible — God bless you.”
