FOOD AND NON-FOOD DISTRIBUTION
AMURTEL, based in the AMSAI school in Boudon, works in 19 of the spontaneous camps that have sprung up in the Bourdon Valley district. Each family is provided with food stock for two weeks thereby reducing the time they have to wait in line. Each family also receive non-food items such as water purifying tablets, tarps, tents, clothing and hygienic kits. AMURTEL are also providing latrines and site management for 10 camps. Close to 20,000 people are benefited on a regular basis from these programs.
In Delmas, AMURT, based in the AMSAI school, ran a community kitchen that provided hot meals in the first two weeks after the disaster for 200 vulnerable children in the immediate vicinity. Distribution of non-food items like tarps and bedding to local community near the center continues.
AMURT is part of a coalition of local NGOs that serves close to 100,000 people by utilizing community organizers and linking them with humanitarian supplies directly. This system of community power is rapidly becoming the most effective way of ensuring food and other goods now being distributed by the large international agencies reach all in need, especially the most vulnerable.
HEALTH
AMURT’s medical team based in Delmas provided urgent care in the first two weeks after the earthquake for up to 100 people a day. The team also networked with multiple international teams to provide urgent care to many of the spontaneous camps, occupying any open space in the capital city. A homeopathic clinic was established in the AMURT center in Delmas this week and now serves scores of people daily.
AMURTEL established a permanent clinic at the Boudon center two days after the earthquake and partnering with the Chilean embassy, sent out mobile medical teams for the first two weeks, going to areas that had not received any medical attention. Medical teams are still going out to areas identified by their community outreach teams as needed, and the clinic continues to see up to 50 patients a day. To date over 1000 people have received medical care.
CHILD PROTECTION
AMURT & AMURTEL has developed a very strong Child Protection strategy in close cooperation with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Kinder Not Hilfe (KNH) and Save the Children. Save the Children just completed a training of 5 organizations in trauma counseling for children affected by disasters at the AMURTEL center in Boudon. 10 members of AMURT & AMURTEL took this training and will begin working on Child Protection programs from February 8.
AMURT & AMURTEL has entered in to an agreement with CRS and KNH to start up 10 Integrated Healing and Education Centers (IHECs) benefiting several thousand children throughout the capital area.
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