Recovering from the Disaster

Posted: 28 August 2007

As families struggle to survive in the rubble of their homes, Oxfam steps up its continuing response to the Peru earthquake.

It was a Friday full of expectation as the time scheduled for the Oxfam’s plane to land at Pisco´s airport was approaching. The plane brought some 40 tons of equipments to provide potable water, sanitation services, and shelter to 2,000 families, affected by the 15 August earthquake in Pisco, Peru. It was a cold, dark but dry evening when the plane finally arrived about 9:30 pm. The following hours were dedicated to unloading the cargo and transferring it to a secure warehouse, where it could be prepared for delivery.

The equipment was destined for two very poor rural communities--Humay and Independencia, located along the valley of the Pisco River, between 20 and 38 kilometres from the coast. The total population of these two rural districts amounts to 16,600 persons or 3,300 families. Forty percent of the families have houses that were severely damaged in the earthquake.

Maribel Sanchez, the communication officer who will be working with Oxfam’s team in Pisco, and I accompanied part of the Oxfam’s humanitarian team in a visit to two communities heavily affected by the earthquake. We saw the destruction caused by the quake, but also the strength of the people, who despite the unimaginable suffering they had just experienced, are moving forward with their lives.

First we stopped at the capital of the Independencia District, to visit a public school used by humanitarian groups for distributing aid. There was an organized line of people registered to receive family packages from the Red Cross, as well as hygiene kits, water buckets, and 1,000 blankets donated by Oxfam. We talked to the Red Cross local representative in order to figure out where else the aid was being distributed in the area and to whom. Just when we were leaving the school for our next visit, we saw how the blankets sent by Oxfam were very appreciated by the people, many of whom are sleeping outside in cold weather.

Our next stop was the San Jacinto community. Around 54 families live in this small village where most of the houses are now condemned. The inhabitants are living in improvised tents in the middle of the common square which is surrounded by the houses. As we arrived a group of women was preparing the communal lunch in the community cooking-pot. The smell of recently prepared brown beans and rice filled the town square.

We were welcomed by Julio Carbajal, one of the leaders of the community, who told us about their struggle to survive and reorganize their lives.

“We are lucky because all the houses were built just across from the town square, so we had time to escape. But most of the houses were destroyed. There are people who lost everything. Now we are trying to organize ourselves. We set up some tents to help families to protect themselves against the cold weather. Now we are concerned about disease, because we don’t have enough latrines and potable water. We also need to reinforce our tents so they can resist the heavy Paracas winds that hit our region this time of the year.”

Natividad Alejo, 59, was with her 13-year-old grandson at her house when the earthquake hit. She had time to escape just in time to see her home collapse. “I have lived in this house for so many years… The following day I entered the house to try to recover some of my belongings and suddenly a part of the structure fell on me and I broke my left arm. Now I am living with my husband and my daughter, who has just given birth, in a tent.”

Sergio Alvarez, Oxfam’s humanitarian officer, was one of the first to arrive in San Jacinto just a few hours after the earthquake. He was surprised by the community’s degree of organization.

“When I arrived here the situation was pretty bad, with most of the houses collapsed and people with no safe place to stay. Although not ideal, the tents were good enough to give the families some protection. Now they really need improvements in water and other basic sanitation services. We can also help improve the tents.”

We then went to Cabeza de Toro, where at least 300 out of the 500 families who live in the region were affected by the quake. Here the situation is a bit more complex since most of the inhabitants are farmers, especially of cotton, and live by themselves. Most of them used to get untreated water from irrigation channels. Juan Carlos Ruiz Munaya, who lost the house where he lived with his wife and 14-year-old daughter, showed us a tank containing a green liquid: the water his family and their animals are drinking.

Sergio Alvarez explains the risk that families like this are facing: “This water is clearly not appropriate for human consumption. It exposes the whole family to diseases. Only 10 percent of families in this region had access to piped water prior to the earthquake. Now the plan is to distribute water filters to improve water quality and train people how to use them and treat their water.”

After leaving Cabeza de Toro Maribel and I were on our way to one of the temporary shelters in the city of Pisco where Oxfam is considering providing potable water to the 3,000 people currently housed there. We were hit--and stopped--by the famous Paracas wind. It was a true dust and sand storm that covered everything, and made it difficult to keep our eyes open, and even to breathe. In a normal situation this seasonal phenomenon doesn’t represent a major problem. But now it is a new element of concern for people living in the shelters.