UCC Ecuador earthquake response

by Carol Fouke-Mpoyo | published on Jan 30, 2017

Click the headline for a summary, updated in April 2017, of the April 2016 Ecuador earthquakes disaster and what United Church of Christ Disaster Ministries is doing to help relief and recovery. The page includes an Ecuador earthquake bulletin insert, materials for children, a youth activity and a bookmark.

April 16, 2016, earthquake 7.8 on the Richter scale, with subsequent aftershocks and quakes, just weeks after severe floods (in January 2016).

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Ecuador Earthquake Materials for Children

Ecuador Bookmark – OGHS

Tabletop Town – Ecuador Earthquake Youth Activity

Ecuador Earthquake Recovery Bulletin Insert

663 died
6,274 were injured
28,827 were displaced to shelters
Half a million people were directly affected

166 schools were affected with medium or severe damage
90 percent of houses were affected

– Sources: Secretary of Risk Management, via FEDICE, May 2016; ACT Alliance Ecuador Earthquake Appeal, May 25, 2016

Deadliest quake to hit the small South American country in decades. A state of emergency was declared in all of Ecuador’s six coastal provinces. Hotels turned to rubble and roads and bridges collapsed, as did hundreds of homes and a shopping center.

UCC Disaster Ministries’ Response:

The United Church of Christ One Great Hour of Sharing and The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Week of Compassion issued a joint special appeal for $500,000 for Ecuador earthquake relief and recovery.

In the year following the earthquake, UCC Disaster Ministries sent nearly $18,000 ($17,931) to help survivors get through the initial emergency and take steps to long-term recovery.

UCC Disaster Ministries’ support helped 6,000 families in two provinces with Food Security, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), Community Based Psychological Support, and Non-Food Items.

It also is helping 30 families in Sua, Esmeraldes, Ecuador, re-establish livelihoods following the January floods and April earthquakes. Microloans of $300 per family funded purchase of “inputs” ranging from chickens to pots and pans, from foodstuffs for catering to clothing for resale at a profit, and from business equipment to taxi repairs. (Pictured here: Microloan recipient Lucy R. prepares food for sale.) Small monthly interest payments cover the expenses of the community kitchen and support a cooperative.

That work is being coordinated by FEDICE (“Faith Says”), a Global Ministries bilateral partner in Ecuador.

“I fully expect that we will be engaged for the long term … in Ecuador, where there has been significant damage throughout the country,” said UCC Disaster Ministries Executive Zach Wolgemuth.