Marie-Françoise Borel, IFRC, in Santiago
“The rains are coming and winter is just around the corner. We must do all we can to help the families who have lost their homes and their livelihoods get back to normal life,” said Bekele Geleta, secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), as he stepped out of the helicopter.
He was back in Santiago after a visit to Talca and Hualañe, in the Maule region, one of the areas most severely affected by the massive earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that devastated Chile’s central provinces on 27 February.
“These are strong, determined people – they are not begging for charity, they simply need a hand to complement their own energy and resilience in rebuilding their country and their lives,” noted the secretary general. “It is impressive to see how much has been accomplished in a very short time, but the damage is extensive and there remains much more to be done.”
Huge waves
“We also flew over the coastal zone where we saw houses and boats destroyed or washed away by the huge waves triggered by the earthquake,” said Xavier Castellanos, IFRC director of the Americas zone office, who accompanied the secretary general. “Only when the ongoing assessments have been completed will we know the full extent of the devastation.”
During his four-day official visit to Chile, Geleta met at length with the president of the Chilean Red Cross, Lorenza Donoso, to assess needs, capacities and how best to increase IFRC support for National Society activities to help people affected by the double disaster. “We will support the Chilean Red Cross for as long as it is needed, today in emergency assistance, and tomorrow in recovery programmes,” The secretary general said.
Geleta also met with national and regional authorities, including the outgoing President of Chile, Mrs. Michelle Bachelet, and several ministers from the newly-elected government, which takes office on 11 March. Discussions focused on needs and possible IFRC assistance in areas such as health, emergency and transitional shelter, water and sanitation, and psychological support.
Emergency appeal
A revised emergency appeal to support the Chilean Red Cross operation was announced by the secretary general on 9 March, in Santiago. The IFRC is now calling for 13 million Swiss francs (12.9 million US dolls/ 9.4 million euro) to fund health services for up to 90,000 people, shelter assistance for 10,000 families (50,000 people), relief items for 75,000 people as well as water and sanitation services for up to 10,000 people, for one year.
“It will take many months to rebuild destroyed or damaged hospitals in the affected provinces, and in the meantime, the health needs of the population in those regions must be met,” explained Castellanos.
“We will therefore focus our assistance on health care, including vital psychological support to help people traumatized by the loss of loved ones, of homes and of livelihoods.”
Additional water and sanitation services will be provided, especially in rural areas, as well as livelihoods support. Appeal funds will also be used to strengthen further the Chilean Red Cross, in particular to provide training for staff and volunteers.
Most vulnerable
“This provision is particularly important for the future,” underlined Geleta. “This extra support will allow it to increase its support to the most vulnerable groups in the population as well as develop its disaster preparedness programmes, in the tradition of this country, which has, over many years, invested in preparedness measures to mitigate the impact of the disasters which regularly strike Chile.”
The Chilean Red Cross continues to distribute food, hygiene articles and other relief items to survivors. “We currently have some 2,500 active volunteers in the country,” pointed out Lorenza Donoso, president of the Chilean Red Cross.
“Since the earthquake struck, we have received 30,000 new requests to become a Red Cross volunteer, so we are very hopeful that we will be able to recruit many more volunteers in the future,” she says.
In an informal address at the headquarters of the Chilean Red Cross, Geleta thanked volunteers and staff for their vital work, at the heart of communities and on the front line of crisis. “I would like to salute (your) courage, commitment and devotion to our humanitarian principles and values,” he said.