USAID/OFDA Thanks Volunteer Firefighters in Peru for
Their Assistance after Devastating Earthquake
(English * Español)
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USAID/Peru representative Larry Sacks, center
left, Carlos Córdova, Chief Commander of the
Peruvian Volunteer Firefighters Corps, center,
and USAID/OFDA Senior Regional Advisor Tim
Callaghan, center right, with representatives of
USAID/OFDA and regional firefighter brigades. |
January 2008
A senior representative of the U.S. Agency for
International Development’s Office of U.S.
Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA)
traveled to Peru in early December 2007 to
thank volunteer firefighters for their work
following a devastating earthquake there several
months earlier.
“The firefighters did a fantastic job,” said
Senior Regional Advisor Tim Callaghan, who
heads the USAID/OFDA Latin America and
Caribbean office in San José, Costa Rica.
The office has worked with the Peruvian Volunteer
Firefighters Corps since the late
1980s with specialized training and technical
assistance that has since been expanded to
firefighters in other Latin American countries.
However, the work of the Peruvian Volunteer
Firefighters Corps in building temporary
shelters for affected families following
the August 2007 earthquake marked the first
time firefighters have worked directly with
USAID/OFDA to provide humanitarian assistance
following a disaster.
When the magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck
the country on August 15, 2007, tens of
thousands of buildings crumbled throughout
southern Peru. The epicenter was located
near Pisco, a seaside city about 150 miles
south of Lima.
According to the Peruvian National Institute
of Civil Defense (INDECI), the earthquake
resulted in 519 deaths and severely damaged
or destroyed 93,708 homes.
Volunteer firefighters were the first to respond
to the tragedy, conducting searchand-
rescue activities, damage assessments
and needs analysis, and providing medical
assistance, potable water and shelter to
thousands of affected families.
“On behalf of the people of the United States,
through USAID/Peru and USAID/OFDA, I
would like to express our most sincere recognition
for the noble and arduous task undertaken
by each and every one of the volunteer
firefighters who participated in the rescue
activities and humanitarian assistance,
for your excellent work,” Callaghan said during
the December 11, 2007, ceremony in
Lima.
The Chief Commander of the Peruvian Volunteer
Firefighters Corps, members of the
Group for Search and Rescue in Collapsed
Structures and delegations of firefighter brigades
from the towns of Ica, Pisco, Chincha
and Cañete attended the ceremony, during
which Callaghan and USAID/Peru Mission
Disaster Relief Officer (MDRO) Larry Sacks
presented the Peruvian Volunteer Firefighters
Corps with a commemorative plaque in appreciation
of their hard work.
The joint USAID/OFDA and Peruvian Volunteer
Firefighters Corps training program was
launched in 1989. By 2000, the program included
eight USAID/OFDA courses as part of
the official training for volunteer firefighters
in Peru. Additionally, course instructors from
Peru have helped USAID/OFDA in the creation
of training programs for firefighters in
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,
Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela and Central
America.
“Even though they are not a paid cadre,
Peru’s volunteer firefighters are the most
consistent partner of USAID/OFDA’s Training
and Technical Assistance Program. They
call themselves “hijos de OFDA” (“sons of
OFDA”). They’ve institutionalized USAID/
OFDA training; it’s a fundamental part of being
a bombero in Peru,” said USAID/OFDA
Regional Advisor Phil Gelman, who helped
coordinate U.S. humanitarian assistance in
Peru following the earthquake.
Carlos Córdova, a Peru-based disaster expert
with the International Resources Group
(IRG), which implements the USAID/OFDA
Training and Technical Assistance Program
in Latin America and the Caribbean, agreed.
“The ceremony recognizes the overall accomplishments
of the firefighters. It’s important
to recognize this process of transforming
training into action. It’s rare that we measure
this type of process. Too often results are
measured in how many courses are provided, how many firefighters received training, etc.
It’s amazing to see how the firefighters applied
the training to save lives, calm victims,
coordinate with national and international
humanitarian organizations, assess damages,
and help communities organize themselves
after the earthquake,” Córdova said.
Because of the longstanding relationship between
USAID/OFDA and the Volunteer Firefighters,
it seemed logical to consider the firefighters
when selecting implementing partners
for the U.S. Government’s relief efforts
after the earthquake, which focused on two
main areas: shelter and water.
Because the Volunteer Firefighters had never
been funded by USAID/OFDA for response
work, the office decided to fund them
through grant agreements with humanitarian
organizations with which USAID/OFDA has
funding experience: CARE, Caritas and
World Vision. The agreements, signed about
a week after the earthquake, provided cash
and reinforced plastic sheeting to assist more
than 4,000 families in building temporary
shelters in Cañete, Chincha, Ica and Yauyos
provinces.
Each implementing partner agreed to channel
funds to the Volunteer Firefighters,
through a foundation called F&H Hope, to
support the construction of temporary shelters.
In all, 40 firefighters received a stipend
for a two-month period, as well as money to
cover logistical expenses.
“These are firefighters from the region, who
have themselves been affected. They are local
people working in their own communities to
resolve the problem. It’s a win-win situation,”
Gelman said.
Córdova agreed. “The firefighters are disciplined,
prepared, and know the community.
They have a very good public image – greater
than other organizations that serve the public.
Families respect their authority. That
helped the firefighters resolve conflicts and
foment cooperative work within the community.
For example, they didn’t help one family
make one shelter. Instead, they would help
groups of 10 families make 10 shelters together.
That was important in helping build
community,” he said.
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