Supporting Chile Earthquake Relief

On Saturday, February
27, a 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit the country of Chile, and
was followed by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake aftershock on
Wednesday. Official estimates report the number of fatalities at
279, and the number of displaced persons at 2 million. In the city
of Concepción, one of the hardest hit areas, much of the
population remains without water, electricity and gasoline, and
does not have reliable access to telephone and Internet services.
The Chilean government has declared the country a State of
Catastrophe and is responding with first-stage humanitarian
assistance and recovery efforts.


Catherine Bragg, the deputy head of humanitarian relief at
the United
Nations, said that Chile was probably the
best-prepared country in Latin America for such a disaster and as a
result has required relatively little aid from the
international community. Still, she said, “No matter how
prepared you are, there are going to be repercussions from
something as big as
this.”


If you are interested in supporting local organizations in Chile,
we recommend making a grant to The Resource
Foundation (TRF), which is working with the
following three organizations to provide support for
earthquake victims and rebuilding efforts:

Fundación Origen, TRF’s Chilean affiliate, sustained heavy damage to its structure, as did its students and their families’ homes.
Origen's teachers are visiting students' families to assess their
needs, and the school has launched a campaign to assist affected
families. Origen also plans to extend assistance to rural areas of
Chile's Maule region, one of the country's most affected regions
due to its proximity to the earthquake’s epicenter.
Maule’s 13,000 residents have lost most of their belongings
and many continue searching for their loved ones. They are
struggling to gain access to basic needs like food and water.
Origen is already supporting them with food, milk for children,
diapers, blankets, clothing and other basic
supplies. 


Fundación Santa Clara, one
of The Resource Foundation’s Chilean associates, is a
nonprofit organization that provides care and attention to
HIV-positive children, youth and families, in order to facilitate
their transition into mainstream society. Santa Clara has
reported that many of its wards' families have been severely
affected by the earthquake. Further assessments are being conducted
for the development of assistance and relief
efforts. 


Un Techo para mi País is a
Chilean nonprofit founded in 1997 and present in 14 countries of
Latin America that works to provide housing solutions and
facilitate social inclusion and empowerment to low-income families.
Un Techo began relief and reconstruction efforts immediately after
the earthquake in order to provide shelter to affected families. To
date, it has built 300 houses in the Maule region for earthquake
victims and continues to build more each day as funds become
available.


Gifts should be payable to The Resource Foundation
but can be specified for one of the groups above. Below we've
also provided a list from the Council on
Foundations of international organizations also
working on the grounds in Chile.



If you would like to make a gift from your fund, please log onto
DonorCentral via www.cfgreateratlanta.org or
contact your philanthropic advsior: Audrey, Rob, Erin or Barrett at
404-688-5525.

• AmeriCares is sending a rapid response team to help provide disaster relief in Chile. Medicine, medical
  supplies and other humanitarian aid are being readied for immediate
  shipment. Since 1989, AmeriCares has delivered over $16 million in
  medical and humanitarian donations to
  Chile. 
• Doctors Without Borders/Médecins San Frontières (MSF) has sent the first
  members of an exploratory team and workers to Santiago in order to
  assess the needs of victims. MSF is already in contact with Chilean
  government authorities to coordinate the relief
  effort. 
• Oxfam International sent a team of water engineers and logisticians from Colombia and senior humanitarian staff from
  its center in Mexico. 
• The Red Cross made an initial $50,000 pledge from its International Response
  Fund. 
• Salvation Army International emergency services were
  immediately mobilized to provide support and comfort in Chile.
  International financial assistance is already on the way from
  headquarters in London; The Salvation Army Chile Earthquake
  Emergency Relief Appeal has also been
  established. 
• Save the Children is sending an emergency assessment team to Chile.  
• WorldVision immediately began distributing hundreds of blankets and water to Santiago's earthquake survivors,
  preparing to start an extensive response in the hardest-hit areas
  south of the capital. World Vision flew a team of six relief and
  logistics experts from Santiago to Concepcion to assess the
  severity of the damage. The team will also open a second operations
  center in the south to coordinate with World Vision's relief teams
  in Santiago.