(OSV News): Soon after the aerial images recorded the devastation caused by wildfires in the province of Valparaíso and other regions of south-central Chile since February 2, local authorities and international agencies have multiplied their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the communities where fatalities, missing persons and material losses increase with each passing day.
“The damage has been, first, in human lives, and so far, we have 131 official victims,” Lorenzo Figueroa, director of Caritas Chile said. He explained that the number of missing persons is undetermined, as is the extent of the material losses.
“There is talk of up to 20,000 houses affected,” Figueroa said, who added that psychological damage also is a determining factor during and after these emergencies.
“It is part of our protocol at Caritas because our principle of humanitarian action is integral and includes the mental health dimension,” he said. “We have advanced in this process, where the help of CRS [Catholic Relief Services] has been key to defining paths so that no relevant aspect is left out.”
Caritas Chile also has the support of organisations such as the Chilean College of Psychologists and other governmental public health entities, he said.
Figueroa highlighted the community’s participation in the recovery and assistance efforts amid this natural and human tragedy. “Their knowledge, their experience. They know their territory and are active protagonists,” he explained. “These are skills that remain. Because when we leave, the community is no longer the same because they remain organised” in the recovery and in the face of future emergencies.
“We have from rural camps to middle-sector populations and in a topography that is complex like the Valparaíso region,” explained Figueroa. In Valparaíso alone, there are more than 40 hills, he added, “so coordination is the key.”
Caritas Chile is coordinating with the neighbourhood councils, communities, churches, parishes, and municipalities in the affected areas. It has set up collection centers in parishes, sports clubs and neighborhood councils to help those who lost their homes.
