Day Three

Today we drove down the Pan-American Highway to a small town called Chincha. The road swept us across the dusty desert which was randomly scattered with rush-mat houses. Along the roadside were kennel-like boxes; shrines to those who had died in road accidents.

Peru is hit by frequent tremors, being situated on a key fault line. We have already been been told to crouch next to the life shaft where we are staying, should we be hit. In 2007 Chincha was hit by a larger earthquake, thought to be above 7.9 on the Richter scale.

The fact that there were few deaths meant that this earthquake was not covered a great deal by the press. I cannot remember hearing of it before today.

Visiting Chincha today, it was hard to believe that the earthquake shook the land three whole years ago. For the remains of many of the homes, it looked as if the quake may have hit only days previously. Mounds of ruble make the streets hard to navigate in some places, and red crosses spraypainted above doors (marking that the government deemed the house unsafe to live in) were still clearly visible.

We met families here who were shaken both physically and mentally by the earthquakes. Their homes had been destroyed and they had been left with next to nothing. With the help of BMS, some of these families now lived in newly built homes, with provision of sanitary facilities, that otherwise they may still have been waiting for. They were so grateful for the little that they did have. It made me appreciate how much I have.