Peru earthquake
Save the Children is working to help families recover from the earthquake that struck Peru in August.
An 8.0-magnitude quake that struck Peru's southern coastline early on the evening of 15 August, left more than 100,000 people homeless, according to the country's National Civil Defense Institute.
Save the Children is ensuring that critical assistance, including food and items to make shelters is reaching families in Chincha Province, one of five provinces of the Ica Region in western Peru.
What we are doing
We've assisted over 50,000 people in Pueblo Nuevo, a district of Chincha Province with:
- Over 70 tons of rice
- 14,000 litres of cooking oil
- 54 tons of lentils
- 3,000 packets of biscuits
- 1,000 large containers of water.
We have also supplied 4,700 cooking sets, 540 toolkits to assist in the removal of rubble and 10 metric tons of plastic sheeting to families who lost their homes and goods in the quake. We also plan to distribute 190 kits to set up communal kitchens, which will benefit 2,300 families.
Finally, we're providing emotional-support programmes to help children and families recover from the disaster. To date, more than 1,600 people have participated in programmes, which are being conducted in Lima and Ica.
More help needed
As 90% of the homes in Pueblo Nuevo collapsed during the quake, thousands of children and their families are still homeless while they wait for them to be rebuilt. Officials have condemned most of the homes that remain as unsafe to be lived in.
But that's making little difference to mothers like Maria Milagros, who is trying to keep her child warm during Peru''s unrelenting cold weather. "It's too cold for my babies to be outside," says Maria, who still cares for her family during the day in her condemned home, despite its cracked walls. At bedtime, they cross the path to their rancho - a tiny, makeshift shelter of wooden poles, blue plastic and straw mats where they sleep at night.
Thousands of families like Maria's still need help to rebuild their lives.
Save the Children has worked in Peru since 1980 and will remain on the scene to sustain relief and initiate longer-term recovery programmes for children, including their quick return to school.
What you can do
Support our work by donating online via our secure webpages or call our donation hotline on 0800 8 148 148.
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