Save the Children increases the humanitarian response in Amazonas

The same area that was shaken last November suffered another 6.8 earthquake this month.

Peru, February 21, 2022. This month a new earthquake of 6.8 degrees shook Amazonas in the same area affected by the 7.5 magnitude tremor of last November, which left dozens of families homeless. Families were displaced to a camp that days later was suddenly destroyed by a mudslide and flash flood that made them lose everything, causing a strong emotional impact on the affected families. An estimated 900 families remain extremely vulnerable due to the repeated  natural disasters in these areas.

Rosa, a 12-year girl from the region of Amazonas says: “the truth is that everything happened very quickly, all of Pueblo Nuevo has collapsed and there is nothing left. Not everyone has been able to get their things out, just like my family they have been able to get some clothes, all because the road has been destroyed, it has gone into the river. We can’t study anymore, we can’t do anything, we don’t have books, we don’t have tables to sit”.

About 46% of the population in the affected area were already living in poverty before the latest events. Faced with this complicated panorama, Save the Children reinforces its commitment to continue bringing humanitarian aid to this area through its humanitarian response program in Amazonas, with the support of Start Fund. Save the Children is the only humanitarian organization that has provided money transfers to the families in need and is the only organization remaining in the area giving support to the affected families.

Verónica Valdivieso, Perú Country Director for Save the Children, remarked that: “The purpose of our intervention in Amazonas is to address the most urgent and unmet needs of the population. Some of the actions we are implementing are the transfer of cash to affected families; procurement and distribution of urgent water and sanitation infrastructure; friendly spaces in shelters and psychosocial support for children; advice to the Emergency Education Bureau to ensure school rehabilitation and continuity of learning, procurement and immediate distribution of non-food items, as well as the implementation of safe spaces for nursing mothers”.

Save the Children programs provide a response to the needs of the families in the area through cash transfers designed to meet the urgent and unmet needs of 440 affected families who desperately need funds to buy food and other critical necessities.  The objective is to ensure they have the basic means of survival.

With no showers or sinks available and camps that do not have a supply of running water, there is a high risk of health and protection issues for children living in these conditions. Save the Children´s WASH initiatives include the provision of 5 camps with water tanks, showers and toilet blocks that will address the needs of the most vulnerable populations of this tropical zone that includes a Chachapoya ancestral population at about 3,000 meters altitude at Jalca Grande. This help will mitigate the needs while the government establishes the recovery process of homes, land, road, health centers, school infrastructure and other material belongings of the affected people.

Child protection and prevention of gender-based violence is part of Save the Children´s response in these areas.  Field promoters will identify and select a total of 100 local actors to carry out the identification of potential risks within the shelters and implement risk mitigation measures, working in partnership with municipalities and civil society organizations.