You might already know from CNN, Fox or another news source, that Chile suffered a huge earthquake this morning. On the heels of Haiti’s disaster, this is almost too much to comprehend. Many SOS staff from the region are deployed to SOS Haiti, and we are now figuring out how to best allocate our resources to assist in both countries.
SOS has 14 Children’s Villages in Chile with four located in the most severely impacted areas. SOS has had a presence in the Concepcion area of Chile since 1965.
Our teams are collecting all available information about the status of each SOS child in Chile, especially in the area around Concepcion, where the damage has been the greatest. A series of fires have broken out in Concepcion that are of concern.
The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, declared several areas of the country, including Concepcion and other coastal cities, catastrophe zones. The magnitude 8.8 earthquake is expected to cause tsunamis across the Pacific, with the potential to impact California and Hawaii.
Our four Villages in the greater Concepcion area are ready to immediately provide temporary shelter for unaccompanied children and to support reunification with families. Our focus, as always, is ensuring the safety and security of the children.
If you are currently sponsoring a child in Chile, please rest assured that we will provide detail and updates as soon as we have more information from staff on the ground.
Heather Paul
Executive Director
SOS Children’s Villages – USA
P.S. Visit our web site for more information on SOS Children’s Villages in Chile. To help mobilize resources for disaster situations in Chile, Haiti and around the world, please sponsor disaster orphans now.
FORBIDDEN FAMILY 