Food, Shelter Top Needs for Quake Survivors
As roads are repaired and communications restored, Catholic Relief Services, in coordination with its local Church partner, Caritas Peru, continues to deliver life-saving supplies to families affected by the worst earthquake to hit Peru in 30 years.
Last week's powerful 8.0-magnitude earthquake toppled homes, churches and buildings and was felt from the tremor's epicenter in the Department of Ica to the capital city Lima, over 100 miles away. More than 85,000 people are now homeless and 35,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged.
Neighborhoods in the town of Pisco took a severe blow from the earthquake. Photo by CRS staff
CRS, working closely with local church partner Caritas Peru, immediately responded by providing food, water, shelter, blankets, and cooking and hygiene kits to some 10,000 people in Ica, the region in Peru's southern desert that was hardest hit by the quake. Many of CRS staff in Peru and from across South America have supported this effort.
"The people most affected by the earthquake are some of the poorest to begin with," said Aaron Skrocki, CRS emergency coordinator in South America.
"The earthquake has taken what was already a difficult situation and made it worse. That is where Catholic Relief Services comes in. We are there to support the local Church helping people get back on their feet and regain their lives as quickly as possible," says Skrocki, also noting how the condition of roads hampered initial relief efforts.
"Right now we have to focus on the most immediate needs of the Peruvian people," said Brian Goonan, regional representative for South America. "Once the immediate needs are met, CRS' long-term response will include permanent shelters, continued access to clean water, infrastructure improvements and the recovery and rehabilitation of livelihoods."
Aaron Skrocki, CRS' emergency coordinator in South America, stands among rubble in Pisco, one of the hardest-hit areas in the Peru earthquake. Photo by CRS staff
Caritas has already set up its main centres of operations in Pisco, Cañete, Ica and Chinca, where hundreds of volunteers are helping with aid distributions and other activities.
CRS, in partnership with Caritas Peru, has been responding to natural disasters in Peru since 1954. In addition to emergency relief, the agency supports other programs such as working with street children, agriculture production and marketing, microfinance, citizen participation that help poor, marginalized communities become self-reliant.
CRS and Caritas Peru are members of Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. Caritas Internationalis is the official humanitarian agency of the global Catholic Church.
CRS has already committed an initial $100,000 and is seeking an additional $1.5 million to support Caritas Peru's response and reconstruction efforts. The appeal is part of a larger Caritas Confederation effort to raise $11 million for immediate relief and long-term recovery.
