Peru Earthquake
Trip Start
May 18, 2007
1
43
Trip End
Jul 28, 2007
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Friday, August 17, 2007
Through Facebook and email, I've received several updates from Arequipa. Fortunately, the south of the country was not impacted. The earthquake was felt -- and all who wrote said that 2 minutes is a long time, when the earth is moving... -- but there was no observable damage in Arequipa (which is approximately 1000km south of Lima). The GVI volunteers and project manager (Carla) have been able to confirm that the school is in good shape and that the kids are safe and sound. School is re-opening today, which is fantastic news.
As for Ica and Pisco, which were hit very hard, the loss of life and extensive damage to housing are horrible, and will be difficult to overcome. The region will be crippled for years. The standard of living in those cities is not as high as in Lima or Arequipa, and buildings were not designed to withstand strong earthquakes of an 8.0 magnitude. Lima was damaged, but thanks to more recent earthquake-proof buildings, the damage was limited.
It's strange to think that I was in Lima exactly three weeks ago today. I was on the street where this video (see link below) was filmed, and walked past these exact buildings several times. As you can see, there doesn't appear to be any damage, but it's obvious that people were scared, spilling onto the streets and getting away from the buildings.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5TAKxtBpTgY
I'm trying to find a way of helping Peru right now. To be honest, I'd jump on a plane in an instant, if I thought I could go help and add value. But that's not realistic. So - I'm looking into which organization I believe can quickly bring tangible assistance to the people of Pisco, Ica, Chincha and other towns where the destruction was widespread, and the number of casualties the highest. Unlike other organizations which are now headed to Peru, CARE and Doctors without Borders ALREADY have a presence in the country, which makes them available right away to bring concrete help to victims of the earthquake.
G.A.P. (Great Adventure People, with whom I travelled through Peru in late May) also is well equipped to help, through its charitable foundation, the Planeterra Foundation. Any donation made through the Planeterra Foundation to the Canadian Red Cross will be matched by G.A.P. That means that for every $1 donated through Planeterra, G.A.P. will also donate $1. Double the help for Peru.
I'm including links to their respective websites, and I encourage you to visit those sites and read about their efforts. If you feel so inclined, please help the people of Peru.
CARE:
http://www.care.org/newsroom/articles/2007/08/20070816_peru_ earthquake_response.asp
Doctors without Borders (Medecins sans frontieres):
http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?objectid=742B CC55-15C5-F00A-25AE43DD43489C75&component=toolkit.articl e&method=full_html
G.A.P.
http://www.gapadventures.com/your_adventures/destination_upd ate#26
The Canadian government has pledged CD$2 Million in aid to Peru for the earthquake relief effort. In contrast, the US government has pledged US$100,000 for direct assistance (the US already has an aid program in place for Peru which could explain the small amount). Peru has made enormous progress in recent years, and its economy has been growing steadily and healthily. Sadly, it is not yet at a stage where the country can single-handedly recover from such a disaster. The people of Peru - people with whom I spent 6 weeks this summer - need the world's help....
