Earthquake in Ecuador
Interview Gianfranco Dulanto, Director of ODP-Peru
Saturday, 18:58 local time, the earth is suddenly shaken by an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Ritcher scale that causes about 668 deaths, more than one million people affected directly and indirectly and the loss of approximately 35,000 homes and 700 schools. That April 16, 2016, Ecuador is ravaged by the worst earthquake in its history, which is still felt in now changed walls, families and memory.
The Society of Jesus, together with the rest of the Jesuit institutions (Fe y Alegría Ecuador (FyA), the Jesuit Refugee Service Ecuador (JRS), IRFEYAL, the Río Manta Foundation, Viviendas Hogar de Cristo and the Centro del Muchacho Trabajador (Working Boy Center), was involved from minute one in the damage assessment and in the search for responses to the crisis. Two years after the earthquake, we remember not only the disaster and its consequences, but also the work of rebuilding structures and lives.
Cities in the northwest coastal area suffered the greatest damage. The town of Pedernales, in the province of Manabi, was 80% destroyed. Some of the projects supported by Entreculturas, which has been supporting the work of the Jesuits in Ecuador for decades, were also located in affected cities such as Portoviejo, Chone, Manta, Bahía de Caráquez (all in the province of Manabí), Guayaquil (Guayas), Santo Domingo (in Santo Domingo de los Tsátilas) and Esmeraldas (on the northern border).
Initially, we initiated emergency discussions with our local partners and the development of an initial emergency plan. We also opened a fundraising channel to support the population most affected by the catastrophe through humanitarian aid of basic necessities: medicines, food, water, hygiene materials and other supplies.
During these two years, we have focused on therehabilitation of collapsed or damaged school infrastructure and the provision of emergency shelter and subsequent reconstruction of housing. In total, we have managed to recover 21 schools and educational units in the provinces of Manabí, Esmeraldas, Guayas, Pichincha and Los Ríos, directly benefiting more than 11,800 people, in addition to educational personnel, parents and parents and expanding the previous places. Reparations have also been accompanied by a psychosocial health program in each center, reaching more than 24,700 people. Through assessments and emotional support, strengthening the resilience of the educational community or the accompaniment of family members, we seek to alleviate the psychological damage and after-effects caused by the earthquake, while opening new and effective ways to heal internal wounds.
On the other hand, the search for quality and inclusive education continues. For this reason, we support different educational projects of Fe y Alegría (FyA), present since 1964, and of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), which was created in 2000 before the earthquake.
With the first, we serve children with special educational needs in basic education centers in Quito, Guayaquil and Santo Domingo. In addition, through the Job Training Centers in Guayaquil, Manta and Portoviejo, we promote the labor insertion of young people (adolescents between 15 and 18 years of age) who are attending high school in 19 educational centers of Fe y Alegría Ecuador. We also support Fe y Alegría Ecuador in projects to expand coverage and improve the educational offerings of its centers.
On the other hand, thanks to our work with JRS, we collaborate in the social integration of refugees in Esmeraldas and Pichincha and access to quality education for children and adolescents in a situation of human mobility in the city of Esmeraldas, as well as in projects in which we work on the different routes of vindication and access to rights of this displaced population.
The earthquake caught me at home, everything started to move, the windows and the floor creaked… we ran out into the street, it was very strong. People were in the street screaming, and it lasted about 2 minutes, which is a lot.
(Andrea Mora, SJR-Ecuador)
Fe y Alegría has 44 schools in the area and 21 of them are damaged, which means that 7,425 students are affected and unable to receive education.
(Víctor A. Molina, Fe y Alegría Ecuador)
