Tents: a blessing for quake-affected children in Chile

March 11, 2010

Photos and story by Heidi Isaza, World Vision U.S.

"We didn't have a tent. We were sleeping outside, under the stars. We have a mattress, but we were wet from the frost in the mornings," said Ana Maria Flores, mother of two, as she pointed to a mattress leaning against the fence outside of the home they share with her in-laws.

Ana Maria and her two children, Luis, 6, and Manuel, 4, were not camping for fun, but because their house suffered serious structural damage after the 8.8-magnitude earthquake on Feb. 27 in southern Chile. "[Our house] is bad. We can't live in it," she said.

'As a mother, I was desperate'

Ana Maria's house was built on stilts on uneven ground that moved out from under it, leaving the whole house leaning down the hill. "It's dangerous to be inside. We could be flattened because the aftershocks are so strong," she said.

"As a mother, I was desperate. I was praying that nothing would happen to my children, because as a mother you worry about your children," she said.

Ana Maria is not alone. Nearly 5,000 houses were destroyed or suffered structural damages that made them unusable. About 1,000 of these houses belong to sponsored children, says Lina Rodriguez, World Vision's area development manager for the area. With winter just a couple of months away, people were beginning to worry.

"The rainy season is about to start; that is our biggest concern. Where are these families going to live?" asked Lina.

'This is a blessing from God'

This week, World Vision distributed the first 300 tents, thanks to a generous donation from DFID, to the sponsored children most affected by the earthquake. "To be able to have these 300 tents will improve the critical conditions in which these children are living," Lina said.

Ana Maria was one of the first recipients of the tents. "I never expected that it would be today. Thank God it is already here and set up. I am really excited. I thought it would be a small tent, but it looks like it is immense. Our whole family will fit," she said with a smile, admiring the 12-by-12-foot tent.

"This is a blessing from God and a surprise for the kids," she added.

For Ana Maria, this is a first step in their recovery. "The most important thing is that we have somewhere to sleep now," she said. "Thank you to everyone who helped us be able to have this."

Learn more

Join the conversation about Chile. World Vision has a variety of social media outlets by which you can not only receive the latest updates on our relief response, but engage in dialogue with our staff members and other World Vision supporters.

Three ways you can help

Please pray that World Vision's Child-Friendly Spaces in Chile will help bring a sense of normalcy, safety, and stability in the midst of an environment where they have experienced extreme trauma. Pray that the efforts of our staff members there will help begin the process of emotional healing for children in greatest need.

Donate now to World Vision's Chile Earthquake Relief Fund. Your gift will help our teams deliver assistance to quake survivors in desperate need, including emergency food, clean water, and family survival kits.

Sponsor a child in Chile. Your love and support for a child in need will provide basic essentials and help him or her be better equipped to cope with present and future disasters, like the recent quake.

Haiti: Keeping promises in a challenging context

By John Kisimir, World Vision international relief communications

Most humanitarian organizations are used to supporting major relief and development interventions in rural areas. Haiti is different.

The devastated city of Port-au-Prince spans an urban environment of suburbs and slums. Professionals who lost homes and jobs. Families who lost a loved one they depended on. Criminals who mugged and stole even before the earthquake. And unaffected people who pose as victims to receive free stuff -- sad but true.

It is a rare moment where aid agencies have embraced the support of the military in providing armed protection at aid distributions -- an interesting combination of compassion and hard knuckles.

The right expertise

If you want to know how this combination is working, meet Dr. Debebe Dawit, a veteran aid worker for World Vision. His experience includes massive humanitarian interventions like the Asian tsunami, Pakistan, the Southern Africa food crisis, and Rwanda.

He comes to Haiti with a heart and expertise to move things fast. Yet he sees the risks behind every makeshift camp in the city. Life is hard, and residents are restless from all the suffering. Anything done wrong can cause distress and possibly a riot.

He woke me up at 5:00 a.m. to visit one camp to provide tents -- arriving early to ensure that those who live in the camp get the help they need.

Distributions at dawn

With World Vision staff and United Nations peacekeepers, we arrived at the sleepy camp. Some residents were sleeping in cars, while those who slept under the stars had started to stir.

The peacekeepers took positions. Leaders of the camp were quickly located. Sleepy camp residents started to come out, holding coupons that were given a few days ago. The elderly, the disabled, and the sick got into line first. The young and the strong jostled at the end of a growing line.

A truck carrying the tents arrived. Hawk-eyed Dawit was busy giving instructions. The soldiers were on guard, stopping those without coupons from getting into line. Often there were scuffles and arguments, but the tension subsided once the beneficiaries realized that the process of sharing resources was transparent.

Keeping promises

"It is human nature to have conflict when in distress, but my job is to make sure that those who deserve help get it," Dawit says. "I must also keep the promise of that person who gave a one-dollar donation to Haiti."

Since the earthquake struck, World Vision, with the support of the World Food Programme, has given food aid to more than 864,000 people. Non-food items including 2,500 tents, 9,400 blankets, 11,400 cooking sets, and 5,200 mosquito nets have reached 65,000 people in the camps to make life just a little bearable.

Learn more

Join the conversation about Haiti. World Vision has a variety of social media outlets by which you can not only receive the latest updates on our relief response, but engage in dialogue with our staff members and other World Vision supporters.

Two ways you can help

Please continue to pray for those left devastated by the quake disaster in Haiti, especially those who have been forced to flee their homes and now lack basic essentials. Pray for the efforts of World Vision and other relief organizations to bring not just physical assistance and protection, but emotional comfort and healing for those who have been hit hardest by this tragedy.

Donate now to support World Vision's Haiti earthquake relief efforts. World Vision has created a series of funds to which you can make a donation to support immediate and long-term needs of quake survivors in Haiti. Our teams were in Haiti for more than 30 years before the quake struck; with the help of our supporters, we'll be there for many more years to come.

Donated medicine arrives just in time

By Kari Costanza, World Vision U.S.

At the Kizi Health Center in Gasorwe, Burundi, a World Vision truck has just arrived with a two-month supply of medicines provided by generous donors in the United States -- items from pharmaceutical companies.

"We need it very urgently," says Felicitie, 26, who runs the health center. She is delighted with the arrival of these life-saving supplies.

"There was no [oral rehydration solution] before World Vision came today," she says, holding packets of the precious mixture. "We ran out four months ago."

Her only surviving child

Joselyn Genzahayo, 25, waits patiently on a bench with a line of other mothers. She needs medicine for her 20-month-old son, Iranyitse, who has had diarrhea for three days.

He also has a terrible cough and has been having trouble breathing. It took three hours for Joselyn to carry her son to the clinic.

Joselyn has already lost three children -- two sons and a daughter -- all of whom died at 8 months of age. "I brought them all to the health center, but they could do nothing," she says. Iranyitse is her only surviving child.

'Water for life'

Joselyn and her baby are invited to the examining room. Nurse Simon Ntibatingeso, 22, diagnoses Iranyitse with severe diarrhea.

Simon picks up a packet of oral rehydration solution and gives Joselyn directions on how to administer it to her son over the next 24 hours.

"We call [the oral rehydration solution] 'water for life' because it can stop diarrhea, and that means it can save lives," Simon explains.

He also gives Joselyn deworming medicine and amoxicillin for Iranyitse.

No longer empty-handed

Joselyn straps little Iranyitse to her back. It's now 1:00 p.m., and she'll be home by 4:00 p.m. Getting medicine has taken 10 hours.

Thankfully, because she was here when World Vision delivered a shipment of medicine, she didn't go home empty-handed, and her only surviving child has a second chance.

Two ways you can help

Thank God for the companies that donate life-saving medicines and supplies, and for World Vision's distribution network. Pray that God would encourage health workers like Felicitie and Simon, who work tirelessly to help children like Iranyitse.

Donate now to help provide basic medicines and supplies. When coupled with government grants, your gift multiplies 15 times in impact to help provide basic items that can save children's lives.

Pakistan attack on World Vision staff brutal and senseless

March 10, 2010

World Vision today is mourning the brutal and senseless deaths of six members of our staff in the Mansehra district of Pakistan, following an unprovoked attack by gunmen.

We have confirmed that the gunmen entered our office compound, threw grenades, opened fire on staff inside the office, and left the compound after exploding a homemade bomb. The compound is located about 40 miles north of Mansehra town.

In addition to those killed, eight employees were hospitalized with injuries. Four of them were released from the hospital, while another four remain hospitalized in critical-but-stable condition.

No threatening letters were received prior to the attack. World Vision's relief and development work in Pakistan is conducted by local citizens, and local leaders have strongly condemned the attack. World Vision sees the attack not only as an attack on its own local staff, but on the Pakistani people themselves.

All of World Vision's operations in the country have been suspended for the time being.

World Vision remembers those staff who have died as dedicated people seeking to improve the lives of people affected by poverty and disasters.

Since 1992, World Vision has primarily focused on relief interventions in Pakistan. The work expanded in 2001, when we began collaborating with other aid groups in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Punjab Province with emergency relief assistance and community development initiatives. After the devastating October 2005 earthquake, World Vision expanded its operations in Pakistan.

How you can help

Please pray for World Vision's staff members in Pakistan, and the friends and loved ones of those who were attacked. Pray for God's protection on our workers there, and pray that our relief and development efforts in this country can continue soon.

World Vision opens children's centers in response to Chile quake

March 11, 2010

World Vision has opened a new children's center in Dichato, Chile, which was devastated by the Feb. 27 deadly earthquake and tsunamis.

The children's centers, called Child-Friendly-Spaces, are areas set up in tents, schools, churches, and other structures where children can enjoy activities such as arts, crafts, music, and drama, which provide them with some of the structure and safety that they lose following disasters. In addition, there are opportunities for them to talk to peers and psychologists to begin emotional healing after their frightening experiences.

Quake leaves emotional wounds

"I get scared at night," said 7-year-old Millaray.

"At night I dream only bad things," said 10-year-old Matias. "Sometimes I see that the earth is opening and we all fall in a hole. Many bad things. That my mom and dad die."

"The children don't understand what's happening. They cry. They suffer," says Paz Romina Castillo Aviles, a fourth-grade teacher from Dichato. "They've lost their homes, and their parents are facing a lot of stress because of what they are living through right now."

Aviles is now leading activities at the Child-Friendly Space in Dichato. World Vision provided materials, space, and training. Trained community members like Aviles provide the professional support.

'A new normal'

"Even though you see them laughing and smiling, they are dealing with the trauma of what it means to have lost their homes," said Aviles. "What kids need most right now is a distraction.

"This is significant, because it helps them forget what they have gone through. They have fun and they begin to feel that this is normal -- a new normal," she said.

Each Child-Friendly Space accommodates about 100 kids. There are more than 1,000 children up to the age of 18 living in Dichato. About 300 of them are between 1 and 5 years old. The remaining 700 are between 6 and 18 years old.

World Vision has been working in Chile for some 30 years and had more than 100 staff on the ground before the quake hit, many of whom lived and worked in areas close to the quake epicenter. Our teams have worked extensively around the city of Concepcion, as well as in the capital of Santiago.

Learn more

Join the conversation about Chile. World Vision has a variety of social media outlets by which you can not only receive the latest updates on our relief response, but engage in dialogue with our staff members and other World Vision supporters.

Three ways you can help

Please pray that World Vision's Child-Friendly Spaces in Chile will help bring a sense of normalcy, safety, and stability in the midst of an environment where they have experienced extreme trauma. Pray that the efforts of our staff members there will help begin the process of emotional healing for children in greatest need.

Donate now to World Vision's Chile Earthquake Relief Fund. Your gift will help our teams deliver assistance to quake survivors in desperate need, including emergency food, clean water, and family survival kits.

Sponsor a child in Chile. Your love and support for a child in need will provide basic essentials and help him or her be better equipped to cope with present and future disasters, like the recent quake.

Students intercede for Haiti through nationwide prayer gatherings

March 2010

By Brittany Peters and Shawna Templeton, World Vision U.S.

In response to the tragic quake in Haiti, World Vision ACT:S -- the campus activism network -- called on campus leaders to mobilize their communities to pray for those affected by the devastation. Across the country, more than 200 groups responded.

Another form of advocacy

World Vision's advocacy advisor, James Pedrick, says that when the images from Haiti flashed onto computer and television screens, he knew they had to do something.

"Even though the images and media made the need so visible and apparent, we felt really far removed, unsure of what we could do to help," Pedrick explains. "But when there is such an immediate, urgent need visible for the whole world to see, one of the most powerful things we can do is pray.

"We know that prayer is the ultimate form of advocacy, speaking to our Lord and Savior on behalf of those in need," Pedrick continues. "We felt it was important to assemble prayer gatherings so that students involved with World Vision ACT:S could mobilize others to turn to our Lord and to Scripture during this time of uncertainty."

ACT:S supplied participating groups with posters, flyers, Scripture, prayer points, and the names of some of World Vision's Haitian staff for which to pray. ACT:S also provided regular updates, stories, and videos on its Web site for students to circulate within their community.

"We were so encouraged by the outpouring of response," says Pedrick.

A heart for the world

Groups were urged to be creative in how they conducted their gatherings. Many campuses held fundraisers in conjunction with their prayer time. One group, InterVarsity of California State University (CSU), San Marcos, held a prayer gathering and concert.

At the event, students had the opportunity to watch a video about World Vision's relief efforts in Haiti and hear from a member of the World Vision ACT:S staff. Then students were ushered into a time of silence and encouraged to pray for those affected by the quake and those providing relief aid.

Two campus bands also performed during the event, and a few students sold handmade bracelets. The proceeds from the bracelets and the concert are being donated to World Vision's relief efforts in Haiti.

"The student-led event was a significant testament to what is possible when students decide to step out in faith and take action," says Tyler Allred, InterVarsity staff member at CSU San Marcos. "This was largely an effort of our student leaders stepping up and planning this event. We have been instilling in students a heart for the world, so when the earthquake hit and we saw the devastation, we knew we had to do something."

Three ways you can help

Continue to pray for the people of Haiti. Pray for long-term reconstruction, and pray that children are prioritized and protected in the recovery process.

Speak out for Haiti's children. Send a message to President Obama, and ask him to prioritize the needs of children in the Haiti reconstruction process.

Donate now to support World Vision's Haiti earthquake relief efforts. World Vision has created a series of funds to which you can make a donation to support immediate and long-term needs of quake survivors in Haiti. Our teams were in Haiti for more than 30 years before the quake struck; with the help of our supporters, we'll be there for many more years to come.

World Vision assesses damage in small towns in Chile, works to rush relief supplies to 25,000 survivors

Photos by World Vision staff.

UPDATE: On March 7, World Vision opened a new children's center in Dichato, Chile, which was devastated by the Feb. 27 deadly earthquake and tsunamis.

The children's centers, called Child-Friendly-Spaces, are areas set up in tents, schools, churches, and other structures where children can enjoy activities such as arts, crafts, music, and drama, which provide them with some of the structure and safety that they lose following disasters. There are also opportunities for them to talk to peers and psychologists to begin emotional healing after their frightening experiences.

Meanwhile, whole towns are "completely destroyed" or have "totally disappeared" following the deadly 8.8-magnitude earthquake, report World Vision's teams, following assessments of the humanitarian needs in small towns and outlying areas. World Vision is working to distribute relief items to 25,000 survivors, but faces logistical challenges as roads remain impassable.

Assessment teams report that many people continue to live on the streets and in tents. In coastal cities, tsunamis have sent many people into the hills and away from their towns. Aftershocks continue to threaten structures and fray nerves. And supplies are low nearly everywhere.

'I've never seen anything like this'

After being struck by three tsunami waves, the city of Coliumo, 70 miles from Concepcion, has "totally disappeared," reported World Vision assessment team member Paula Saez.

A Chilean national, Saez recently returned from Haiti, where she served in the early stages of World Vision's relief response to the Jan. 12 earthquake there.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Saez, arriving in Dichato, a tourist and fishing town 40 miles north of Concepcion. "This town was completely destroyed. A tsunami hit here after the quake, and there are boats sitting in the middle of the city. The earthquake damaged some things, but the sea took everything away. You can see chairs, tables, even a house floating in the sea."

In Dichato, World Vision staff members report that food, clean water, and medical supplies are virtually depleted. In Coronel, 20 miles south of Concepcion, World Vision estimates that food supplies will last one more week. And in Lota, some 25 miles south of Concepcion, residents have access to clean water for only one hour per day.

Relief efforts to intensify

Our staff members will continue to conduct assessments of more small towns while relief teams work to bring supplies, particularly food and water, to underserved communities. Damaged roads into these cities make access impossible except via helicopter or small plane, so logistics continue to pose challenges.

We are working to bring relief supplies to 25,000 families in Lota and Coronel, and to additional families in Dichato. Our teams have already distributed water in Telmuco and are working to bring in additional supplies from Santiago and from our relief warehouse in La Paz, Bolivia.

World Vision has been working in Chile for 30 years and had more than 100 staff members on the ground before the quake hit, many of whom lived and worked in areas close to the epicenter. We have worked extensively in the south of Concepcion as well as in the capital of Santiago. Our teams began distributing blankets and water containers nearly immediately following the quake.

Three ways you can help

Please pray for the children, families, and communities devastated by the earthquake in Chile, and for the efforts of relief teams like World Vision to bring critical, life-saving assistance in the aftermath. Check back for further updates as they become available.

Donate now to World Vision's Chile Earthquake Relief Fund. Your gift will help our teams deliver assistance to quake survivors in desperate need, including emergency food, clean water, and family survival kits.

Sponsor a child in Chile. Your love and support for a child in need will provide basic essentials and help him or her be better equipped to cope with present and future disasters, like the recent quake.

Children remain fearful after earthquake and tsunami in Chile

March 11, 2010

Photos and story by Heidi Isaza, World Vision U.S.

Like many other 10-year-old girls, Rachell Albonoz's favorite color is pink. Before the big earthquake shook Chile on Feb. 27, 2010, Rachell was a happy child. She lived in a house near the beach with her parents, aunts, and cousins in a town she liked -- Dichato, Chile. "It was nice. It had houses and stores," she said.

Everything changed, however, with the earthquake and then the tsunami.

"I was sleeping, when all of a sudden I felt the window start to move. I jumped out of bed," remembers Rachell. "Then the police came by and told us to leave quickly. 'Leave because the ocean is going to come,' they said. Then, we saw the wave coming. It was following us up the hill."

'The ocean took everything'

Rachell didn't watch as the sea spilled over the shore and her house, but she has seen the effects. "The ocean took everything, all of our things," she says. "I felt bad when we went down and saw where our house had been."

Rachell and her family slept under the stars for three days before seeking shelter in a preschool, which has been converted into a shelter for 17 families. They need a roof over their heads. Locals fear that the March rains could start early.

"I miss my bed," says Rachell. "I used to feel relaxed, but here I don't feel relaxed because I am squished when I sleep together with my mom and dad and cousins," she says.

Reliving a nightmare

Worst of all, Rachell has to constantly relive what she felt and saw that night, every time there is a strong aftershock. "Yesterday there was a strong [aftershock]. I started to scream. We had to get dressed and go outside again," she says.

"I don't want to be in Dichato anymore, because I am scared. I am scared that there will be another earthquake," she says. Rachell and many other children in Chile need help processing what happened, what they saw, and how they feel, to help them feel safe again.

A sense of normalcy

Just after World Vision met Rachell, a group of Chilean teens came to the preschool. They played games and sang songs with the kids for nearly an hour -- probably one of the best hours Rachell has had in the last week. She could simply be a kid again.

That is exactly what World Vision's Child-Friendly Spaces are designed to do -- provide a safe, structured environment where kids can be kids and they can begin to process all they have seen and feel in a healthy way. The first Child-Friendly Space opened recently in Dichato, just blocks from the preschool where Rachell and her family are living.

Learn more

Join the conversation about Chile. World Vision has a variety of social media outlets by which you can not only receive the latest updates on our relief response, but engage in dialogue with our staff members and other World Vision supporters.

Three ways you can help

Please continue to keep in prayer the quake-affected children of Chile, like 10-year-old Rachell. Pray for those who are suffering from emotional trauma in the wake of the disaster, and pray that World Vision's Child-Friendly Spaces will help bring healing to the children who need it most.

Donate now to World Vision's Chile Earthquake Relief Fund. Your gift will help our teams deliver assistance to quake survivors in desperate need, including emergency food, clean water, and family survival kits.

Sponsor a child in Chile. Your love and support for a child in need will provide basic essentials and help him or her be better equipped to cope with present and future disasters, like the recent quake.

Tents: a blessing for quake-affected children in Chile

March 11, 2010

Photos and story by Heidi Isaza, World Vision U.S.

"We didn't have a tent. We were sleeping outside, under the stars. We have a mattress, but we were wet from the frost in the mornings," said Ana Maria Flores, mother of two, as she pointed to a mattress leaning against the fence outside of the home they share with her in-laws.

Ana Maria and her two children, Luis, 6, and Manuel, 4, were not camping for fun, but because their house suffered serious structural damage after the 8.8-magnitude earthquake on Feb. 27 in southern Chile. "[Our house] is bad. We can't live in it," she said.

'As a mother, I was desperate'

Ana Maria's house was built on stilts on uneven ground that moved out from under it, leaving the whole house leaning down the hill. "It's dangerous to be inside. We could be flattened because the aftershocks are so strong," she said.

"As a mother, I was desperate. I was praying that nothing would happen to my children, because as a mother you worry about your children," she said.

Ana Maria is not alone. Nearly 5,000 houses were destroyed or suffered structural damages that made them unusable. About 1,000 of these houses belong to sponsored children, says Lina Rodriguez, World Vision's area development manager for the area. With winter just a couple of months away, people were beginning to worry.

"The rainy season is about to start; that is our biggest concern. Where are these families going to live?" asked Lina.

'This is a blessing from God'

This week, World Vision distributed the first 300 tents, thanks to a generous donation from DFID, to the sponsored children most affected by the earthquake. "To be able to have these 300 tents will improve the critical conditions in which these children are living," Lina said.

Ana Maria was one of the first recipients of the tents. "I never expected that it would be today. Thank God it is already here and set up. I am really excited. I thought it would be a small tent, but it looks like it is immense. Our whole family will fit," she said with a smile, admiring the 12-by-12-foot tent.

"This is a blessing from God and a surprise for the kids," she added.

For Ana Maria, this is a first step in their recovery. "The most important thing is that we have somewhere to sleep now," she said. "Thank you to everyone who helped us be able to have this."

Learn more

Join the conversation about Chile. World Vision has a variety of social media outlets by which you can not only receive the latest updates on our relief response, but engage in dialogue with our staff members and other World Vision supporters.

Three ways you can help

Please pray that World Vision's Child-Friendly Spaces in Chile will help bring a sense of normalcy, safety, and stability in the midst of an environment where they have experienced extreme trauma. Pray that the efforts of our staff members there will help begin the process of emotional healing for children in greatest need.

Donate now to World Vision's Chile Earthquake Relief Fund. Your gift will help our teams deliver assistance to quake survivors in desperate need, including emergency food, clean water, and family survival kits.

Sponsor a child in Chile. Your love and support for a child in need will provide basic essentials and help him or her be better equipped to cope with present and future disasters, like the recent quake.

Sponsored children in Chile look forward to a brighter future after enormous earthquake

March 8, 2010

Photos and story by Heidi Isaza, World Vision U.S.

Summer vacations were coming to an end in Chile. Constanza Quiroga, 8, a sponsored child, and her parents and sister, Milena, 15, also sponsored, had stayed out late Friday night.

"That night I came home. I was going to go to bed when [the shaking] started. It was slow at first. Then, it got much stronger," Constanza remembers.

Earthquakes are nothing new for Chile or for these children. "I thought it was like the other [earthquakes] before, when all of a sudden the computer screen fell and my mom and dad started screaming," remembers Melina, who shares a room with her younger sister.

'It felt like the earth was going to open'

When the girls heard their parents screaming, they tried to get out of their room but couldn't. "We couldn't open the door," remembers Constanza. Eventually, their dad was able to make it to their room and get their door open. The whole family ran to get out of the house.

"We went to the top of the hill," says Constanza. "It felt like the earth was going to open."

Constanza, Milena, and their parents waited with other people from their community. "It was still shaking, and we were nervous because there were light poles and cables," remembers Milena.

Daylight reveals devastation

When the shaking finally stopped and the sun came up, Constanza and Milena went with their parents to see their house, or what was left of it. They found it knocked completely off its foundation, with big gaps between the walls and where the floors joined together. Worst of all, however, was that the house had moved. Their land was no longer flat. Now, their house was leaning down a hill.

"When I came to see my house, I was very sad. I didn't think it would be like that," remembers Constanza, her voice trembling. "[I thought], this isn't my house, and I cried a lot."

Constanza and Milena shared a room they had decorated together. Milena made Hello Kitty drawings for her sister, and they hung them on the wall. Their room was just the way they liked it. "It was pretty," remembers Constanza. "It had my jewels and carpet. Now, it's ugly. It is all broken up, and it doesn't have any of the things I like."

Constanza also carried an extra burden: "I felt bad because [my sponsor] had sent money to be able to build my room," she says.

'I thank God that we are all alive'

Today, Constanza, Milena, and their parents are all sleeping together in a tent with other families from the neighborhood whose houses were also damaged or destroyed in the Feb. 27 earthquake.

"Many houses fell here," says Constanza. "Some people died, and some people are living in tents. But [in my family] we are all fine. And that is what is most important.

"I dream that this city can be fixed and that I can have a house again," adds Constanza. "I thank God that we are all alive. Maybe God allowed this to happen so I can have a better house, a prettier house."

Relief items, Child-Friendly Spaces

World Vision is working hard to help the survivors of the earthquake in Chile. On the day our staff members visited Constanza, World Vision provided food and water to 5,000 people in Lota. Some 1,000 blankets and diapers were also distributed. And, with the rainy season on its way, World Vision will be distributing 1,000 tents to families who have lost everything.

Equally important for children like Constanza -- who relive the memory of this terrible day because of constant aftershocks of up to 7.0 on the Richter scale -- World Vision is establishing Child-Friendly Spaces in Lota, Coronel, and Dichato, providing children with a safe place to go during the day. These are places to play, to do arts and crafts, to return to a bit of routine, and to process what happened with their peers and psychologists to help them deal with the trauma they are facing.

Learn more

Join the conversation about Chile. World Vision has a variety of social media outlets by which you can not only receive the latest updates on our relief response, but engage in dialogue with our staff members and other World Vision supporters.

Three ways you can help

Please continue to keep the people of Chile in your prayers, especially survivors like Constanza, Milena, and their parents, who have lost their homes and are experiencing severe emotional trauma. Please also pray for our staff members, as they work to bring relief and comfort to those who are suffering, particularly vulnerable children.

Donate now to World Vision's Chile Earthquake Relief Fund. Your gift will help our teams deliver assistance to quake survivors in desperate need, including emergency food, clean water, and family survival kits.

Sponsor a child in Chile. Your love and support for a child in need will provide basic essentials and help him or her be better equipped to cope with present and future disasters, like the recent quake.

'We didn't know what was happening'

March 5, 2010

By Heidi Isaza, World Vision U.S.

"I was at home with my two children," Eldemira Fonseca Chavez remembers. "At the time of the earthquake, we didn't know what was happening. We didn't know what it was.

"The whole house had fallen down and my daughter was trapped," she shared. "The only thing I wanted was to be able to get out with my kids -- nothing else."

Her daughter, Ninoska, 18, almost didn't make it out. "When I opened my eyes, I saw the wall leaning over me. I don't know how, but I was able to get out [of my bed]," remembers Ninoska. During the earthquake, her family's house had split in half, and her bedroom was in the part of the house that had fallen down the hill.

"I couldn't hear my mom or my brother, so I started yelling," she remembers. Her mom tried to open the door to her room, but it was stuck. "I tried to open the door, but I couldn't. After a few minutes, I sat down with my Bible and I told my mom to leave, that I wasn't important and I sat, waiting for the wall to fall on me," she adds.

"I thought I was going to stay there, because there wasn't any way out."

Tragedy, hardship, and hope

Finally, after a few minutes, Eldemira came back with her brother, and they were able to get Ninoska out of her room. But the difficulties had just begun for Eldemira and her children. "I went to my parents' house, and they told me something had happened to my sister. I went to see her. She was dead," she said, through tears.

Today, Eldemira, Ninoska, and her son, Juan Sebastian, 11, a sponsored child, are living in a tent with her parents, siblings, and cousins. "It's not comfortable," shared Ninoska. "But the truth is, I am happy even though I don't have a house and my aunt died, because my mom is alive, my brother is alive, and my dad is alive. For me, that is the most important."

Running out of food

Eldemira couldn't agree more. At the same time, however, as a mother she can't help but think about the practical things, like what she is going to give her children to eat. She was able to go buy three 50 kilo bags of flour before the stores ran out of food. The 150 kilos would be a lot of food if she were just feeding her children and immediate family -- but she's not. "There are many neighbors who don't have anything," she says. "So, we have been giving them a little so they can make some bread."

But Eldemira is starting to worry because her supply is running out. She doesn't have any money to buy food, and even if she did, there are no stores to buy from. "We have only 50 kilos [of flour] left for 50 families," she said, unsure how long their supplies will last.

One thing that has helped Eldemira is to know that she is not alone. "Maria, [the local World Vision program manager], has been here with us," she says, noting that this has helped a lot.

'A walking miracle'

World Vision is in the process of distributing supplies to quake survivors and setting up Child-Friendly Spaces for children like Juan Sebastian, 11, who, according to his mom, hasn't been the same since the earthquake. "He's alright sometimes," she shares. "He plays. But, when night comes, he gets depressed and goes to bed."

In the middle of this tragedy, however, there are some bright spots for Eldemira and her family. Four days after the quake, they celebrated Juan Sebastian's 11th birthday. They didn't have a cake or 11 candles, but that didn't stop them from finding something positive to focus on. "We only had one candle," says Eldemira with a small smile, "so we blew [the one candle] out 11 times."

And Ninoska, a former sponsored child, says her faith has been strengthened by this terrible experience. "I tell my friends, 'Look at me, because what you are looking at is a walking miracle.' That's what I believe."

Learn more

Join the conversation about Chile. World Vision has a variety of social media outlets by which you can not only receive the latest updates on our relief response, but engage in dialogue with our staff members and other World Vision supporters.

Three ways you can help

Please continue to keep the people of Chile in your prayers, especially survivors like Eldemira and her family, who have lost their homes and are now running critically low on basic essentials like food. Please also pray for our staff members, as they work to bring relief and comfort to those who are suffering.

Donate now to World Vision's Chile Earthquake Relief Fund. Your gift will help our teams deliver assistance to quake survivors in desperate need, including emergency food, clean water, and family survival kits.

Sponsor a child in Chile. Your love and support for a child in need will provide basic essentials and help him or her be better equipped to cope with present and future disasters, like the recent quake.

Going against the tide

March 4, 2010

First-hand account by Heidi Isaza, World Vision U.S.

Amid the constant hum and buzz of helicopters and airplanes coming and going, I made it to Concepcion, Chile, near the epicenter of where the earthquake hit. It was a short ride from Santiago on a small airplane packed with blankets, diapers, milk, juice, and other urgently needed supplies.

It wasn't until we arrived at Concepcion's small but busy airport that I realized how strange our situation is as aid workers.

When I got off the plane with another World Vision colleague, it dawned on me that we were two of the only people trying to get into Concepcion -- everyone else was trying to get out. We were like fish swimming upstream. At the airport's exit, I walked through a crowd of adults carrying what they could and kids holding teddy bears, dolls, and even a little boy with a stuffed Mickey Mouse.

I wasn't on the ground for more than an hour before I felt the first aftershock -- the first big earthquake I have ever been in. We were sitting outside the airport when the ground started to sway back and forth, back and forth. The movements were small at first, then increased in size. I looked in my Chilean colleagues' eyes -- the tension was visible, no one said anything until the swaying stopped.

It didn't last more than a minute. When the earth stopped moving, everyone took a deep breath and went back to their duties -- until the tsunami warning started going off. Some people started running, saying, "Alerta de tsunami!"

After a few minutes, it was determined that we were safe, but there was some uncertainty as to the well-being of our colleagues who had gone to costal zones -- the hardest-hit areas. Later, it was confirmed that they too were safe. And everyone else went about the task of getting supplies to the survivors.

It might have been my imagination or the fact that I had just arrived, but it appeared that the line to leave Concepcion doubled in size after the aftershock.

For me, it is a privilege to be a fish swimming up this stream -- especially when I know there are others even further up who need help to survive.

Learn more

Join the conversation about Chile. World Vision has a variety of social media outlets by which you can not only receive the latest updates on our relief response, but engage in dialogue with our staff members and other World Vision supporters.

Three ways you can help

Please continue to keep the people of Chile in your prayers, especially those who have lost loved ones in the quake and now are living without basic necessities. Please also pray for our staff members, as they work to bring relief and comfort to those who are suffering.

Donate now to World Vision's Chile Earthquake Relief Fund. Your gift will help our teams deliver assistance to quake survivors in desperate need, including emergency food, clean water, and family survival kits.

Sponsor a child in Chile. Your love and support for a child in need will provide basic essentials and help him or her be better equipped to cope with present and future disasters, like the recent quake.

http://donate.worldvision.org/OA_HTML/xxwvibeCZzpEntry.jsp?go=item&item=1753164§ion=10324&funnel=dn

Sponsored child joins relief effort

Story by James Addis. Photos by Jon Warren.

Sponsored child Leonel Novas, 17, was thrilled to discover he can play a role in World Vision's relief efforts following the Haiti quake.

Leonel lives in the Dominican Republic, near the border with Haiti, and is the child of a Haitian mother and Dominican father. Immediately following the quake, thousands of injured people took rides on crowded public transport to Jimani -- a Dominican border town -- to seek treatment in hospitals there.

The hospitals opened their doors to the wounded. But doctors, who arrived from all over the world in response to the emergency, could seldom speak the Creole language of their patients and families.

A unique opportunity to serve

Leonel accepted an invitation to a join a team of three World Vision translators to meet the communications needs. He says when he arrived at the Good Samaritan Hospital, about 300 patients had turned up at a facility designed to accommodate 60. Those seeking treatment, often with horrific injuries, lay in the hallways and were later placed in large tents on the hospital grounds.

He says doctors and patients were trying to communicate by hand signals, which simply added to the chaos and confusion. "I am able to make sure the doctors get the right message from the patients," he says.

Leonel says that he is also able to reassure family members of the wounded by relaying to them doctors' assessments and treatment plans.

'I feel deeply touched by their pain'

At the same time, he finds the work emotionally challenging.

"I remember a little girl who had to have both her feet amputated. She cried and cried throughout the night," he says.

Leonel says he can identify with many of the suffering because he has also survived a natural disaster. In 2004, his home was destroyed when flooding swept through Jimani, killing several members of his family and dozens of his fellow sponsored children. He found temporary shelter in the home of a local pastor, and World Vision provided his family with food and clothing in the immediate aftermath.

"I feel deeply touched by their pain," he says of the quake survivors. "I feel I need to help, just as I was helped back in 2004."

A divine calling

He believes God also prepared him for his role. Having lived all his life in the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic, his Creole language skills had suffered. However, he had been practicing the language recently with a friend.

Leonel says that in addition to helping him during the flooding disaster of 2004, World Vision has been instrumental in helping him progress at school, providing access to computers and school supplies. He is now in the 11th grade and hopes to go on to study languages and computer science.

In addition to providing translators to Jimani hospitals, World Vision is providing doctors, nurses, food, water, and tents.

Learn more

Join the conversation about Haiti. World Vision has a variety of social media outlets by which you can not only receive the latest updates on our relief response, but engage in dialogue with our staff members and other World Vision supporters.

Two ways you can help

Thank God for instilling in Leonel the gift of language translation, and for preparing him emotionallly and intellectually for such a role. Pray that his contribution to the relief effort would continue to impact suffering quake survivors in a unique and positive way.

Donate now to support World Vision's Haiti earthquake relief efforts. World Vision has created a series of funds to which you can make a donation to support immediate and long-term needs of quake survivors in Haiti. Our teams were in Haiti for more than 30 years before the quake struck; with the help of our supporters, we'll be there for many more years to come.