Earthquake Response--La Colca, Arequipa, part 1

Photos:

*Looking down into the Colca Valley near Yanque

*Along the roadway to the Colca Valley. In the background is an active volcano with a plume rising

*Rob trying to blend in with the locals while waiting to unload the food boxes

*The Semi truck with food

*Getting ready to move the food to a smaller vehicle

*Transferring food from the Semi truck to smaller trucks to take to the earthquake sites

*Mary handing out food boxes and Rob carrying one...still trying to blend in (2 photos)

*A local radio station interviewed Rob about the donation
*Collage of Peruvian ladies

*Mamita" carrying her boxes up the hill, one at a time and the earthquake damage inside the "Mamita's" house (2 photos)

*Cute little girl resting on a food box

*Tents provided by the government to provide shelter in place of destroyed houses

*The children of Chivay

*Lady carrying the food boxes on her back in her cloth

Early in the morning of August 15th an earthquake registering 5.4 on the Richter Scale struck southern Peru with the epicenter near Yanque, Arequipa. More than 1,000 homes were destroyed. We were assigned to oversee the distribution of food and mattresses donated by the Church Humanitarian Aid Fund. We worked in coordination with the Regional Government of Arequipa.

We flew to Arequipa Tuesday night and were picked up at our hotel by officials from the Arequipa Regional Government at 6:00 a.m. to drive over the mountains (high point about 16,000 feet) to Chivay. We arrived in Chivay (elevation 12,000 feet), a provincial capital of Arequipa, early in the morning Wednesday and had to verify what food supplies had been sent in the semi-truck.

Once verified we began the process of unpacking the food boxes for delivery to affected communities. The food has been packaged so that the two boxes (A & B) provide the nutritional needs for 3-4 people for 15 days.

The Church donated enough food for 4,000 people for two weeks in this initial distribution.

Our official duties were to observe distribution, but we were happy to participate in any way we could to help, and not merely be passive observers. Passive observation is not one of our strong suits anyway, so we dove right in, always deferring to our partners in the regional government. We aren't running this operation, simply providing donations and logistical support as requested by them.

The municipalities had lists of affected families and the regional government used those lists to determine who would receive the supplies. The people presented their ID card to verify their identity, signed the delivery form, and placed a fingerprint to acknowledge receipt of donation. Then they received their two boxes of food. We first went two small communities near Chivay and assisted in delivering food to affected families.

Ichupampa

Photos:
*Collage of earthquake damage
*The rubble of what was once three houses
*Front end loader cleaning up rubble

The third place we went to deliver food was in Ichupampa, which was nearer the epicenter of the quake and the most severely affected by the quake and aftershocks of all the villages we visited.

Much of the town was obliterated. Front end loaders (big ones) were moving debris and clearing spaces for residents to put a tent where their home used to be. The quake came while the anniversary celebration was being held for Arequipa State, so most people were away from their homes when the quake struck and the homes collapsed. The total death toll was only 4 people according to Regional Government authorities.




While we were there in Ichupampa and I looked around us and thought, "We are standing amid the rubble of a town destroyed last week by an earthquake, a large fissure visible in the hillside above us, a smoking volcano in the distance. What could possibly go wrong?"

To be continued...