wfn.org | ADRA Assists Colombia Earthquake Victims

["Christian B. Schäffler" <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

February 7, 1999
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

ADRA Assists Colombia Earthquake Victims

Bogota, Columbia. [APD/ADRA] Following the earthquake 
that flattened 20 towns and villages in five provinces 
in western Colombia, the Adventist Development and 
Relief Agency (ADRA) is collecting and delivering 
relief materials in-country and assisting in damage 
assessments.

The day after the earthquake, ADRA Colombia staff and 
volunteers delivered more than 100 baskets of food to 
families in Calarca, reports Ivonne Urueña, national 
relief co-ordinator for ADRA Colombia. Each basket 
contained enough food to feed a six-member family for 
one week. ADRA International has made an initial 
commitment of US$10,000 and ADRA Canada of US$5,000 
for additional relief efforts.

Carlos Pinto, youth leader and the person in charge of 
ADRA rescue teams, says of the damage, "No one can 
imagine the sadness we are seeing here. Radio and TV 
stations cannot depict the reality of the 
devastation." The earthquake, measuring 6.0 on the 
Richter scale, is reportedly the worst natural 
disaster to hit Colombia since 1985, when an avalanche 
and mudslide buried approximately 25,000 people.

ADRA and GARSA (a Seventh-day Adventist rescue and 
relief group) rescue team members today continue 
working with the Red Cross in assessing damage in the 
areas most affected by the earthquake. 

"ADRA Colombia decided to provide assistance where 
most organisations are not able to reach, avoiding an 
overlap of relief efforts," explains Pinto. "So many 
roads are buried or have disappeared. The only way to 
reach some of the affected areas is by motorcycle or 
plane." Army personnel are flying most planes going 
into these areas since the control tower at the major 
airport in Armenia was damaged by the earthquake. 

Jaime Piña, ADRA director for the Pacific region, is 
helping with the damage assessment and working with 
Quindío Governor Henry Gomez Tabares to find a 
location between Bogota, the capital, and Calarca for 
warehousing ADRA's relief materials. This temporary 
location will hold items such as food, water, warm 
clothes, blankets, kitchen items and provisional items 
such as plastic sheeting, tents and mattresses that 
ADRA is collecting from its regional office warehouses 
throughout the country.

ADRA's medical centres in Cali and Ibague, the cities 
nearest to hard-hit Armenia, are ready to offer 
assistance to those injured by the earthquake. A group 
of ADRA volunteers from Venezuela and Peru are 
standing by to offer assistance where needed.

ADRA Colombia is running continuous micro-enterprise 
programs throughout the country. Some of its 
beneficiaries are reportedly in the disaster area. 
ADRA Colombia also operates a program to help 
displaced victims in violence, funded by ADRA Spain. 
[99/05/02]