Earthquake Chile: Malteser International plans support for at least one year

Santiago de Chile/Cologne. Four weeks after the devastating earthquake and the following tsunami in Chile Malteser International, the relief service of the Order of Malta for worldwide humanitarian aid, is preparing further relief activities for at least one year. In Chépica, a village with 140,000 inhabitants located 180 km south of Concepción, Malteser International supports small-scale enterprises in the reconstruction of buildings and workshops. “Particularly important to Malteser International is also the psychosocial care for children as more than 70 % of them – due to fear - didn’t return to school after the quake,” Kathrin Meier, Chile expert of Malteser International explains. Maite, a psychologist of the Chilean relief service “Auxilio Maltés”, will provide psychological care for them during the next two months. Furthermore, a counselling service for people with chronic respiratory diseases will be set up and equipped in a community centre.

Chile Blog Kathrin Meier: March 14th

We are sitting in the dark at the moment – according to the radio a power outage hit the whole country. Online mobile phones work.

Some people are rushing on the street because the earthquake 2 weeks before was also preceded by a power failure. But thank god there has been no strong aftershock this time.

 

I just hear my heighbour complaining: "Another quake and I’m going to leave this country.”

Meanwhile, we make ourselves comfortable with candlelight and wait. Probably until tomorrow ...

Chile Blog Kathrin Meier: March 11th

Today we have been in the village Chèpica. Its centre and outskirts have been largely destroyed. On the way there, we were surprised by a new earthquake, but thank God nothing happened to us.

Chile Blog Kathrin Meier: March 8-10th

Santiago de Chile, March 10, 10.11 a.m. (local time)

 

Today I met Ricardo Torro Dowling, volunteer from Auxilio Maltés. I was deeply touched by this meeting: He is the son of a Chilean general who was stationed in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, at the time of the earthquake. His mother died in the quake. Despite his grief and the painful memories that the earthquake in Chile causes in him he is working night and day to help the people in his country. For me he is a hero whose support is touching me a lot - as well as others.

 

Earthquake Chile: “An entire village disappeared in the sea”/50,000 Euros for emergency aid

Santiago/Cologne. “I saw how an entire village due to a wave disappeared in the sea only 45 minutes after the earthquake”, an eye witness reports from Concepción. Malteser International, the relief service of the Order of Malta for worldwide humanitarian aid, is in close contact with the Embassy of the Order of Malta in Santiago and the Chilean Malteser relief service “Auxilio Maltés” and assesses the situation in order to prepare supporting relief activities. According to local Malteser experts, the emergency relief will mainly be provided by the Chilean government and civil society structures. In the following rehabilitation and reconstruction phase, however, support of international non-governmental organisations will be needed. Then, the rehabilitation of kindergartens, schools, health centres and old people’s homes in the up to 95 percent damaged poorer areas will have to be the focus of aid. Malteser International will therefore concentrate on these tasks.