Restoring the dignity of earthquake victims

An MSF team assists people affected by the Peruvian earthquake in the town of Guadelupe - © David Levene

In order to respond to the massive and varied needs of those who survived the earthquake, Médecins Sans Frontières developed an approach that integrated medical help, psychosocial support, and improvement of living conditions.

On August 15, 2007, a violent earthquake (7.9 on the Richter scale) devastated the Peruvian coast. Tremors that lasted more than two minutes killed 600 people and destroyed large areas of the provinces of Pisco, Ica, and Chincha, located south of the capital Lima.

The first Médecins Sans Frontières team started offering assistance to the survivors less than 48 hours after the quake. The city of Pisco was particularly severely hit and received massive international aid. Médecins Sans Frontières therefore decided to concentrate its efforts on rural areas to the east of Pisco.

"Many locations like San Clemente, Humay, Independencia and Huancano – among others – had been less covered by aid organisations," explains Franz Luef, emergency coordinator. "Some towns had even been virtually forgotten, such as Guadalupe and San Juan Bautista in Ica province. For Médecins Sans Frontières it was a priority to assist the people living in these places."

At its height Médecins Sans Frontières' team in the affected area comprised 55 Peruvian and international staff. The team set up temporary clinics in many communities and supported 30 health centres with drugs and epidemiological surveillance. Médecins Sans Frontières also started up a centre offering post-trauma and post-operative care in Pisco.

The quake completely shattered the lives of tens of thousands of people. "It was terrible, horrible," remembers Flavio Donayre Castillo, an inhabitant of the town of Guadalupe. "Children, mothers, everyone was shocked by the quake. It’s awful. Sincerely, even now, we are permanently afraid. Everyone is nervous about the slightest thing, the smallest sound - when there's a gust of wind at night, people rush into the street."

To offer psychological support to the victims, a Médecins Sans Frontières team made up of eight psychologists organised psycho-educative group sessions – called ‘charlas’ – as well as individual consultations.

“We are trying to explain to people that loss of appetite, anxiety, nausea and difficulty sleeping are natural reactions to such an extremely unusual event," says Carmen Martinez, head of Médecins Sans Frontières' mental health programme. "Many of these people have lost loved ones, their whole lives have come crashing down. They have so much to mourn… And then there's the worry about tomorrow, will there be another quake?"

Over a three week period Médecins Sans Frontières worked with Clowns Without Borders, who put on street plays to help children overcome the psychological consequences of the quake. In total more than 8,000 people have benefited from Médecins Sans Frontières' psychosocial programme.

This programme ran alongside the provision of medical care and the distribution of blankets, cooking utensils and hygiene items. The aim is to restore acceptable living conditions for the people affected by the quake. The Médecins Sans Frontières logistical team has distributed around 10,000 blankets and ‘hygiene kits’ – consisting of soap, towels, and other hygiene apparatus. Médecins Sans Frontières also gave 1,500 families material to build temporary shelters, and distributed over 2,000 jerry cans. In total, more than 60 tons of medical and non-medical material were flown into the region.

"Even in places where survivors have access to water, they do not live in the same hygiene conditions as before the quake," explains David Weatherill, water and sanitation engineer. "They live outside and their washing facilities have been destroyed. Peoples’ daily habits are disrupted and their behaviour has become disturbed. We have put in place about 50 latrines and showers, and we have created a ‘Centre of well-being’ in Guadalupe, where people can come and wash themselves, collect drinking water, and learn some simple guidelines for good hygiene.”

Thanks to all these efforts, but also to the passing of time, an increasing number of people are starting to recover from the experience that shook their lives on the evening of 15th August. Médecins Sans Frontières' mental health team has observed increasing levels of emotional stability and recuperation among the population.

Médecins Sans Frontières will continue to work in the quake zone until the end of November, and will then hand over all activities to other agencies and to the local authorities, who now need urgently to present a plan for reconstruction. Only then will the people living in and around Pisco be able to look to the future.