Only the roofs of the houses still protrude from the muddy brown floods. Roads have turned into rivers and hundreds of thousands of people are cut off from electricity and water supplies. The south of Brazil is experiencing the worst flooding in decades – and it continues to rain.
“The impact of the floods and the scale of the tragedy are devastating,” writes the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, on the online platform X. Food, clean water, clothing and hygiene products are urgently needed in the disaster area, as more than two million people have been affected and more than 600,000 have had to leave their homes.
The employees of Busch Brazil knew immediately: Something must be done. They bought around 400 liters of drinking water, 1000 hygiene products such as soap, toothpaste, shampoo and toilet paper, 300 kilograms of non-perishable food and 140 pieces of cleaning products such as washing powder or disinfectant worth 5,000 Brazilian real, the equivalent of around 900 Euro. The employees also collected clothing.
“What happened in the state of Rio Grande do Sul was a tragedy on a scale never seen before in Brazil. Many families lost everything they had: their homes, possessions, clothes, food. They need all the help they can get, as they are going through a time of great vulnerability and reconstruction. Our collection campaign is helping to cover immediate basic needs in these first moments as a sign of hope for better days to come,” explains Gustavo Nery, Head of Finance, Administration and HR.
The donations from Busch employees were brought to the disaster area on a trailer by the Jarinu Trade and Industry Association (ACIJA) together with other goods collected in the city of Jarinu, the town where the Brazilian sales company is located.
Rio Grande do Sul is Brazil’s southernmost state and one of the country’s most important agricultural regions. The disaster is also likely to have destroyed a large part of the harvest. The state is almost as big as Italy and lies on the border with Uruguay. It has a population of around 11.5 million.
The team from Busch Brazil donated water, food, and clothing as well as cleaning and hygiene products. Source: Busch Brazil.