Disaster Response Ecuador Project #23918

World Vision Ecuador Earthquake Response

by World Vision

Project Report | Mar 10, 2017
Providing Clean Water to 50 Schools in Ecuador

By Bernadette Martin | Project Manager

Wendy enjoys clean water now

Background

An earthquake of 7.8 magnitude on the Richter scale hit Ecuador’s coastal region on April 16th, 2016, at 6:58 PM local time. The earthquake caused significant damage in six provinces, including Manabí, Esmeraldas, Santa Elena, Guayas, Santo Domingo, and Los Ríos. Manabí was the most affected province, with 40% of its population affected by the earthquake. According to initial evaluations by the UN, more than 720,000 people were in need of humanitarian assistance across the country.

On April 17th, the day following the earthquake, World Vision began responding to the disaster and established emergency coordination mechanisms with local government authorities. Our existing relationships with local emergency management, as well as our long-term, established presence in the affected cantons, enabled us to respond efficiently and effectively. As a result, we were able to deliver life-saving assistance in the first days and weeks after the earthquake.

World Vision’s response strategy focused on meeting basic needs of the affected population, prioritizing shelter, WASH, and distribution of NFI (non-food items). We also ensured the provision of psychosocial support and protection for children affected by the earthquake. Water supply infrastructure in particular was highly impacted by the earthquake, and many schools lost access to clean and safe water sources as a result. The cantons of Pichincha, Portoviejo, Santa Ana, Campozano, and Flavio Alfaro in particular had many educational centers that lacked access to clean and safe drinking water following the earthquake.

With the support of GlobalGiving Foundation, World Vision was able to provide access to safe water for 50 educational centers in five cantons affected by the earthquake in Manabí province: Pichincha, Portoviejo, Santa Ana, Campozano, and Flavio Alfaro.

Project Activities:

1. Provide water tanks and filters to 50 educational centers

2. Train children and school personnel on the importance of consuming purified water.

3. Train educational center staff on the use and maintenance of tanks and filters.

World Vision is a member of the Humanitarian Country Team and maintains an MOU with the National Secretary of Disaster Management, as well as the Technical Secretary for International Cooperation, which oversees international NGO operations in Ecuador. We have also coordinated very closely with COE (the local emergency operations committees) and OCHA, both at the national and local level.

This project in particular involved significant coordination with the Ministry of Public Health, in order to facilitate campaigns on clean water awareness in the educational centers.

Wendy's story

Wendy is twelve years old and lives with her parents and four brothers in a small, remote community in the Santa Ana canton of Manabí province. Livelihoods in the community primarily come from agriculture and livestock.

In this small community, people sometimes rely on the river or wells for drinking water. Unfortunately, this can cause people in the community, especially children, to fall ill.

Wendy told us, “At school, I have realized that many of my friends get sick a lot. They often do not come to class, or sometimes in the classroom they come down with stomach aches. The teacher has to call their parents so that they can come and take them to the doctor. My mom and teachers say it is because of the water. This has happened to me too.”

After the earthquake of April 16th, 2016, the situation got worse. The availability of purified water in local shops significantly decreased, and the river became even more contaminated due to landslides and mud as a result of the earthquake and the many aftershocks. Heavy rain and flooding also made the water even more dirty, so families struggled even more to access clean water.

Therefore, potable, purified water became an urgent priority for these remote communities. World Vision, through support from GlobalGiving, was able to provide water tanks (1100 L capacity) and water purifiers in schools in communities like Wendy’s.

The benefits provided by the tanks and filters were numerous. Wendy, who now has a tank and filters in her school, says, “We now have delicious water from these tanks, and we can take it directly out without having to boil it or do anything to it. What I like most is that, since it’s very hot and the sun is very strong, my friends and I can run to drink straight out of the tank and the water is so fresh!”

Wendy, who sat with her teacher as she told us her story, says good-bye with a big smile on her face. Her teacher also expresses her gratitude for the project.

Water tanks arriving at a school

Training sessions on water hygiene at school

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Dec 12, 2016
Providing clean water to school children

By Bernadette Martin | Project Manager

School kids receiving the water tank

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck northern Ecuador on April 16th, causing significant damage to communities in 6 provinces, Manabí, Esmeraldas, Santa Elena, Guayas, Santo Domingo and Los Ríos. Of these, Manabí was the most affected, with 40% of its population impacted. Initial assessments indicate that roughly 720,000 people were in need of humanitarian assistance.

World Vision staff identified the need for new water tanks and purification filters in multiple schools in Manabí province (cantons of Pichincha, Portoviejo, Santa Ana, Campozano, Flavio Alfaro). With support from a GlobalGiving grant, World Vision has been able to install 50 water tanks in order to ensure clean water suitable for consumption. Each 1000-liter tank provides clean water for 100 people. This project complements other Water, Sanitation and Hygiene activities, such as the distribution of hygiene kits and purification tablets, in the target area.

Project Objective

To provide water tanks and purification filters to 50 education centers in Manabí province (Pichincha, Santa Ana, Campozano, Flavio Alfaro cantons) to ensure access to clean and safe water for school children affected by the earthquake.

Activities Accomplished to Date

•Field visits to communities and education centers and schools to discuss needs and priorities

•Selection of beneficiary schools and education centers

•Purchase of 50 Rotoplas water tanks (1,000 L capacity) and 100 Sawyer water filters

•Delivery/installation of water tanks and filters to target schools

•Establishment of agreements with local authorities for the maintenance and care of the tanks and filters

Remaining Activities

•Final community awareness raising session on importance of consumption of purified water

We’ll be providing a final report on this specific project in the next couple of months.

Training on use and maintenance of the tanks

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Sep 16, 2016
100 Days on - Ecuador Earthquake Response

By Bernadette Martin | Project Manager

Playing in our Child-Friendly Space

In only 50 seconds, the lives of thousands of Ecuadorians changed. On April 16, 2016, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck northern Ecuador. After hundreds of aftershocks finally ended, more than 650 lives were lost, 16,000 people were severely injured, and 30,000 families lost their homes.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator described Ecuador’s earthquake as the largest disaster in the Latin America region since the Haiti earthquake in 2010. “It was a truly terrifying event felt across the country,” says World Vision’s national director in Ecuador José Luis Ochoa. Widespread destruction occurred across northwestern Ecuador. Water systems, health facilities, roads, businesses, and schools were destroyed. Thousands of families crowded into temporary shelters as officials worried about disease outbreaks and food shortages.

THANK YOU

Through your incredible generosity, World Vision began responding to the urgent needs of children and families soon after the earthquake struck Ecuador. The response team worked tirelessly to save lives, reduce suffering, and enable the long-term recovery of children, their families, and communities.

World Vision primarily focused relief efforts on people living in shelters and the severely impacted, rural areas where we already had a long-standing presence from ongoing community development work.

Because children are especially vulnerable following a disaster event, focused attention was given to their physical, psychosocial, and protection needs. Other beneficiaries included those who lost their homes, pregnant and lactating women, women-headed households, elderly, people with disabilities, and those who lost family members.

100 DAYS OF HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Throughout the 100 days following the earthquake, your support provided emergency supplies, shelter, and food to vulnerable and hurting families.

Your support also provided services that protect children and help them heal from their trauma. Your gift, combined with the financial support from other donors, reached a total of 47,919 people with emergency support:

2,906 families received hygiene kits
2,113 families received kits to create temporary shelters
1,946 families received water purifying supplies
1,769 children were cared for in 16 Child-Friendly Spaces
1,511 families received cooking kits
425 community volunteers, teachers, and government leaders were trained on how to support children’s psychological recovery
52 people received home repair materials and tools
24 families received water tanks (1,000-liter capacity)

READY TO RESPOND

World Vision is committed to long-term sustainable development in the communities where we work in nearly 100 countries worldwide. Often, we are the first on the scene of a disaster and the last to leave.

Thanks to the support of compassionate donors, World Vision has been working in Ecuador since 1979. Due to our reputation for commitment and excellence, World Vision became the only NGO member of the Comite de Operaciones de Emergencia (COE), the Government of Ecuador’s coordinating body for this earthquake response.

This family received a water tank

A safe place to play

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