Moschetta: Brazil flood victims need our help

Rachel Dorroh • May 17, 2024
From a view above the Rio Grande do Sul cities of Novo Hamburgo and São Leopoldo, flooding on a wide scale is visible. Several buildings that look like apartments, offices, restaurants, and houses are covered in water. Additionally, many yards and roads are submerged. The upper portions of many buildings and the tops of many trees stand visible among the flooded area.
A photo of Union graduate student Mariane Tressoldi Moschetta wearing a blue and black patterned outfit. Behind her, a dirt road leading beyond some trees is visible.

Union graduate student Mariane Tressoldi Moschetta seeks support from her Bulldog family for her home state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Since the end of April, her community has faced torrential rains, flooding, a dam collapse, landslides, destruction of roads and bridges, and loss of power and clean water. Over 100 people in the area have been killed, many more have been inured, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes. As heavy rains continue, the situation is expected to worsen.


“This is the worst flood in the history of my state,” Mariane says. “The water has gotten as high as 108 feet, and people have lost their lives, their homes, their kids, and their parents. I do not know how long it will take for my home to recover from this tragedy.” 


Mariane and Union administration urge those who are able to donate to the Brazil Foundation’s Rio Grande do Sul Humanitarian Campaign at Donate now (Funds) | BrazilFoundation. The Foundation has a 24-year track record of strategic philanthropy in Brazil, and 100% of donations to the fund will go to flood relief.

 

“Union has been my home for the past six years, and I am hoping that my American family can help my Brazilian family,” Mariane says. “My way to help is by asking for donations.”
DONATE HERE

International students are a vital part of Union’s campus, representing 35 countries from around the world and making up almost 40% of the entire student body. When a crisis happens at home, they are affected here in Barbourville, as well. Our Bulldogs commit to serve others and use their educational experience to impact the well-being of their families and communities. 

Rescue workers in yellow helmets and bright orange safety gear walk a small boat full of civilians through muddy water as another rescue worker above the water against a railing looks on. They are being brought under a sheltered area, and in the background, a stone wall and red building are visible.
Only the roof of a large building remains above the dark brown floodwater, but part of it looks as though it is starting to submerge. Lush green trees border the floodwater in the background.
Rescue workers in yellow helmets and bright orange safety gear wade through water and flood debris. A purple house, metal debris, and lush green trees are visible in the background.
A group of men, some wearing life jackets, wade through bright brown floodwater tugging a boat forward. The boat appears to contain some rescue supplies, and a rescue worker in a yellow helmet and orange life jacket wades several feet to the side of them. Above the boat, a few green plants submerged in water are visible.

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