Natural disaster occurrences:

Peru has been ranked third globally in terms of risk to climate related disasters, being ranked in the top thirty countries for the last three decades and second in the last ranking for the Latin American region. There are concerns about the current and future impacts of climate change in Latin America in terms of vulnerability and these concerns aggravate the future panorama of Peru. Peru is also South America’s most water stressed with 70% of its population living in the coastal desert were only 2% of water resources are found. Here, river runoff coming from the Andes is crucial and this is due to seasonal glaciar melt, with the Andean region having lost 22% of its glacier area since 1970.

Earthquakes in Peru are also one of the most common occurrences as the country is located in a seismic zone. The interface between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates is located near the Peruvian coast. These plates are converging at a rate of 78 mm (3.1 in) per year. Thus, earthquakes occur as thrust faulting on the interface between the two plates. In the rural communities in southern Andes region, where poverty levels remain high, people are exposed to serious effect of recurrent natural disasters such as drought, frost, earthquakes, mudslides and forest fires. On April 2006, the Government of Japan and the United Nations (UN) decided to extend assistance totaling 1,576,484.62 US dollars through the Trust Fund for Human Security to a project entitled "Natural disasters in Peru: from Damage Limitation to Risk Management and Prevention". The plan aims at protecting and empowering people and communities in the region by supporting risk management efforts and raising awareness to disaster prevention.

The August 15, 2007 earthquake:
The region, where the South American plate collides with the Nazca plate, is one of the most seismically active regions of the world. In 1970, an earthquake triggered a landslide in the northern Peruvian Andes, burying the town of Yungay and killing 66,000 people. A 2001 earthquake that registered 8.1 on the Richter scale struck the lively city of Arequipa, popular with tourists, in southern Peru. On 15 August 2007, an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale hit off the Peruvian coast, with several aftershocks the following day. The earthquake caused severe damage particularly in the areas of Pisco, Chincha, Ica, and some departments of Lima and Huancavelica. Almost 600 people were killed, while an estimated 1,000 injured and over 70,000 families were affected. There was extensive damage to homes, schools, churches, roads and bridges, creating a consequent need for shelter, food, water, healthcare, sanitation and security. The Peruvian government declared a state of emergency and, with the support of the international community, led the response through the National Civil Defence System (Sistema Nacional de Defensa Civil – SINADECI).

Most of the relief was initially concentrated in Pisco, despite extensive damage and large-scale need in Chincha and other remote rural areas. More than 37,000 homes were destroyed. Officials estimate that 85 percent of central Pisco, where most homes in the region were constructed of adobe and incapable of withstanding the tremors, was destroyed. An initial well-coordinated, rapid and generous relief effort was brought by international NGOs such as Oxfam International, CARE, Action Against Hunger, the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières. UN agencies such as UNDP, WFP, UNICEF and OCHA also participated. Although, despite the large international presence and emergency relief provided to most of the population, not all areas received long-term support. President Alan García declared a state of emergency in the region and called for three days of national mourning. Aid poured in from the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia. The earthquake was the deadliest in Peru in nearly four decades and much more has still to be done in order to ensure long term recovery, reconstruction of schools, and capacity building provision to the population.

The effects on education yesterday and today:
Two months after the earthquake the Peruvian Civil defense established an aftermath damage assessment, reporting the numbers of homes, schools, and hospitals affected by the earthquake. Based on such data 60,519 houses were destroyed, 780 schools got damaged, and 103 hospital got affected by the earthquake. Of the 780 schools affected all over the Country, only 14% were rebuilt.

As of February 2009 - after 18 months from the devastating earthquake that affected the entire province of Pisco - of the 50 public schools’ partially destroyed by the magnitude-8 earthquake, only one has been fully rebuilt and has reopened on time for classes started on early March. Still, almost two years after the earthquake, more than 3,000 students in Pisco continue to study in pre-fabricated classroom modules and in classrooms declared as uninhabitable by Peru’s Civil Defense Institute. Although pre-fabricated classroom modules have been delivered to the area by the Peruvian government and by organizations such as Oxfam International - allowing students in primary, secondary, and adult education programs to attend class - there continues to be widespread fear for the safety of children attending damaged schools. Many parents say they would prefer their children miss an entire year than be injured or killed in an unsafe building.

After almost two years from the August 15, 2007 earthquake, the picture is mixed. The relief effort, involving NGOs as well as the authorities, was largely successful: the injured were swiftly evacuated, and there were no epidemics. Albeit with some delay, nearly all the homeless were temporarily housed in one-room huts with communal showers and kitchens, a handful opted to stay in tents. But reconstruction has been slow. Pisco is still a giant building site: new housing estates, roads, schools and hospitals are all going up, but not many have been completed.

According to Peru’s Ministry of Education, children in nearly 800 affected schools will most likely continue their studies in prefabricated classrooms erected near the damaged school buildings. More than 300 temporary classrooms were being installed in Pisco and three other urban areas devastated by the earthquake. More than 220,000 children in southern Peru are still waiting to have their schools safely reconstructed and leave pre-fabricated classroom modules. Getting back to school is one of the most effective ways for children to resume a sense of normality in their lives after a traumatic event. Such a fundamental goal can be achieved only by reconstructing safe earthquake-proof buildings, by providing valuable education, and by performing natural disasters drill exercises.

HHF SUPPORT AFTER THE 2007 EARTHQUAKE:

HHF is working in the Country of Peru through a joint venture, started in April 2008, with ING - AFP INTEGRA, one of the largest financial institutions with offices around the world. Together, we are building and rebuilding schools that have been seriously affected by the 2007 earthquake. Together we are:
- Opening three schools a year that have been affected by a natural disaster.
- Equipping each school with a state of the art HP technology computer lab.
- Developing businesses that will sustain the schools.

Last year, HHF and ING have:

• rebuilt part of the Villa Maria del Senor School in Lima, attended by 2,483 children
• reconstructed Petra Nemcova School (formerly the Grocio Prado School) in the Chincha Province, attended by 93 children
• rebuilt Ciudad Satellite School in the Chincha Province, attended by 113 children.

All schools have been also provided with fully equipped computer labs where children can practice on the use of technologies.

This year, HHF and ING are bringing further support by rebuilding three schools in the Ica province that were seriously affected by the 2007 earthquake and, for the past two years, forced children to attend classes in modular-container rooms.

WE ARE BULDING:

• Santa Rosa de Los Molinos School, to be completed in September 2009
• Francisco Perez Acampa School, to be completed in January 2010.
• Rosa de Santa Maria School, to be completed in April 2010.

All three schools will receive the generous donation of 10 new HP Technology (1 HP Touchsmart and 9 HP Pavilion) and one printer. Understanding the tremendous need still faced by many schools in Peru, HP technology is generously supporting HHF and ING in this project by bringing high IT technologies to children in desperate need.
Our support to the children and communities of Peru will continue through the reconstruction of disaster affected schools, the opening of businesses and the rise of micro-credit initiatives that will support the projects and improve the lives of children and surrounding communities.

References:

http://hdr.undp.org/en/humandev/reports/
http://www.bertelsmann-transformation-index.de/106.0.html?&L=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquakes_in_Peru
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peru#Government
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/HMYT-6P2QYQ?OpenDocument
http://www.peruviantimes.com/
http://www.indeci.gob.pe/estadisticas/estad_emerg.htm
http://www.oxfam.org/en/emergencies/peru/