SHARE_Letter

Dear Friends of El Salvador,

On January 13th, just over two years after Hurricane Mitch wreaked havoc throughout Central America, disaster struck again. An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale leveled El Salvador in a matter of a few minutes. The death toll as of January 18 is over 700 people. Thousands are still missing, buried in rubble and mud. Rescue crews work tirelessly through the night, searching for one more miracle, one more person who has hung on. Forty-five thousand people have been evacuated and are struggling to survive in the streets and makeshift shelters.
The shock and feelings of overwhelming loss have left people feeling extremely vulnerable. These feelings are all too familiar for a country that has undergone a twelve year civil war, a devastating earthquake in 1986 and the horrors of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. This recent tragedy is triggering post-traumatic memories as thousands are once again left with nothing.

The SHARE Foundation has immediately responded to the relief needs. We are in the midst of deciphering with our partners in effected communities the details of both short and long-term plans for relief and reconstruction. The realm of our response could include water, corrugated tin and other temporary housing materials, food, and medicine in communities in San Vicente and Usulutan where we have a history of work. We are exploring working with the Archdiocese of San Salvador to respond to the needs of the Santa Tecla communities which were buried by the landslide. Our response will also include emergency operational funding for the CDMs (municipal development committees which are partnerships between municipal governments and local NGOs). These funds will allow the CDMs to assess the damage within the municipalities and to coordinate the relief efforts throughout their region. Among many others, we will also fund a project in which engineers will evaluate the damage to the flood prevention system in the Lower Lempa as well as the damage to roads, bridges and basic infrastructure throughout the region. This expertise will allow our partners to advocate for structurally sound, long-term reconstruction.

As you know, this "natural" disaster has once again, just as Hurricane Mitch did, shed light on the much deeper and older disaster of poverty. Sub-standard housing, poor infrastructure, the lack of zoning laws and urban planning as well as the lack of just economic and agricultural policies are just a few of the reasons that this disaster is so far reaching. The SHARE Foundation will continue to advocate and support the communities as they struggle to see that the long-term reconstruction process will address the structural causes of poverty which only compound this "natural" disaster.

We will also accompany the Salvadoran grassroots as they struggle to see that relief is not politicized in the way that it was after Hurricane Mitch. It will take a major push from the organized communities to ensure that the Salvadoran government?s recent privatization of the relief effort will not leave poor, rural communities once again ignored.

We invite you to make a donation to help the people of El Salvador in this emergency. With your support the people of El Salvador will rebuild once again. Please send checks to the SHARE Foundation/earthquake relief at 598 Bosworth St. #1, San Francisco, CA 94131.

Yours in Solidarity,

Jose Artiga

Executive Director