We write this post to share news of the Colombia and Venezuela 2018 rainy season. This year marks the worst flooding in over 40 years! Many families have been displaced along such iconic rivers of the Rio Meta, Rio Atabapo, Rio Vita and of course down river on the Rio Orinoco. Over 4,000 people and nearly 1,300 families have been affected. While this number may seem small, many of these families are the same families that fish for our beloved fish species like Altum Angelfish, Panda Uaru, Blue Phantom Plecos and many more!
Our guide and exporter, Hernando Gil, notified our collecting group of the flooding a few weeks ago. It only seemed like the right thing to do to send funds to people of Colombia. So our entire group worked on pooling our money together to send down. Just this week, Hernando received the funds and will be looking to send some much needed supplies.
Colombia is more than just the fish we collect, it is also about the people. With our group heading to Puerto Carreno, where the Rio Meta and the Rio Orinoco meet, it is important to take care of the people that invite us into their great country. We wish we could do more to assist them and we will continue to look for ways to help. Hopefully things return back to normal for the people of Colombia. Until then, we will be thinking about them.
