Without a Home, Without Food, Without a Voice
By Ian McGroarty

I can write about the statistics. Those that say 80% of the houses in the Province of Urubamba were destroyed, but one can learn the numbers easily. I can explain what is happening with the 1500 tourists in Machu Picchu, their evacuation, but the news is already saturated with that story. What is missing, and what is most important, is the voice of the affected Peruvians. What are they doing? What do they need? What happened?
Through my work in community development with Nexos Voluntarios, I have had the oppor- tunity to speak with many people in the Sacred Valley and their stories are always similar. At about two in the morning, the river reached and entered their houses. They rushed to grab their children and, if they were lucky, a few small items that

they could carry. They had to flee from the water, leaving their homes, farmlands, and all their pos- sessions. Still, days later, they tell it with a sense of disbelief in their eyes. They are left with nothing, and the story doesn’t end there.
As the water recedes, a new flood of debris, mud, and dark blue Civil Defense tents appears. Plazas, fields, and other open spaces fill with people looking for food, water, clothes, and a place to sleep. Others, with better luck or more resources, work with their local municipalities or as inde- pendent volunteers to help with the distribu- tion of alimentation and clothing, the salvage of building materials from what were once houses, or with the coordination of aid. The central gov- ernment has almost no presence. Up to the 29th of January, it was busy sending helicopters for the tourists in Machu Picchu while their citizens, those who already were living in poverty, fight to reconstruct all that they have lost. The same can be said for the international news. But still, there is hope.]

In spite of all that has happened- the flood, destruction, loss- the people of the Sacred Valley remain strong, ready to help and move forward. It is this same strength that allowed the spirit of the Incas to survive here, in the sierra. The ferocity of the conquistadores, the racism, oppression, terrorism, and even the influence of other coun- tries could not erase the culture of the people. Here it remains. Their dress, music, language, and dances still exist. Without food, security, housing, one can still see people working together, some- times laughing- surviving. This is to have hope. All they need is some help.

Urubamba after the floods
NeVo is collecting donations of non-perishable foods, clothing, and money. If you would like to help, please contact Ian directly at imcgroarty@nexosvoluntarios.org.

Background:
On the morning of January 25, 2010, due to unprecedented heavy rainfall, rivers and lakes of the Sacred Valley began to overflow and flood nearby towns. By January 26, the Federal government, with Supreme Decree Nº 015-2010-PCM, had declared a state of emergency in the provinces of Calca, Quispicanchis, Cusco, Urubamba, La Convención, Anta, Canas, Canchis, Paucartambo, Acomayo and Paruro in the department of Cusco, as well as in the entire department of Apurímac, for a duration of 60 days. 

80 percent of the homes in the Sacred Valley have been destroyed.  Many victims affected by the flooding are still living in tents beside the rubble of their homes, in the local school, or in parks. The only remaining connection to Cusco is the bridge in Urubamba. Since the major, original flooding, there has been accumulative damage on a daily basis due to continued flooding and landslides.

Despite lack of support from the Federal government, local Municipal governments and other organizations are doing what they can to alleviate the situation of the vicitms and coordinate assistance efforts, but the existing resources are not sufficient to address the entire problem.

Statistics:
The following towns are only a sample of those affected by the flooding.

Needs:
Reconstruction of housing in safe locations: Many flood victims are still living in poor quality tents that leak rain and don’t allow the inhabitants to protect themselves from the cold at night. To avoid the repetition of this type of damage in future years, it is necessary to rebuild homes in safe areas.
Public infrastructure: There has been severe damage to public infrastructure in the affected towns, but a lack of economic and physical resources (such as machinery) inhibit the reparation of these damages. Streets, schools, bridges, health centers, water and sewage systems, and telephone, radio and internet services have been affected.

Rubble and debris clean-up: The majority of the homes destroyed were made of adobe, and have been transformed into piles of mud, wood, and roofs. Abandonded goods have also created large quantities of garbage in the affected towns.

Disease prevention and health campaigns: In towns like Urubamba and Yucay, more than 100 victims are living in tents in temporary campsites, without sufficient space and hygiene facilities. For this reason, doctors fear outbreaks of disease.

Central coordination: There are numerous private organizations helping the affected towns, along with the Municipalities of the different regions. However, there is no common effort and no common information center to coordinate assistance, and as a result the aid of Municipalities and other organizations is uneven distributed.  A strong central entity is needed to coordinate among all the Municipalities, and organizations.

Food and clean water:  Though victims displaced from their homes now have food, the populations in communities where it is difficult to access the Municipality, either because of the destruction of rural roads or because of distance, have difficulty accessing clean water. Communties not reached by private donations have even greater difficulties. Many affected zones have lost at least part of their water system; in Taray, for example, 80% of their clean water comes from private donations.
Clothing: The victims had to flee their homes with only the clothes on their backs. There are still communities in which people do not have enough clothing, sometimes for a particular age or sex (for example, there is generally enough clothing for women, but there is a huge lack of children’s clothing).

School supplies: Due to damages to schools and homes, many students do not have school supplies or the resources to buy them.

Machinery: Machinery is very useful, not only in cleaning up affected towns and fixing infastructure, but also in preventing future disasters of this measure. Qoya is a perfect example; a year before the flooding, Qoya purchased a excavating backhoe, and they used it during the flooding to maintain the towns infrastructure and build blockade walls to stop the water. Qoya has only 175 vicitms, while the other towns mentioned have between  500 and 1000 victims.

Conclusion:
Though each affected town is different, their needs are generally the same. Private donations provide support in the form of food, clothing, and school supplies. However, support from the Federal government is necessary to carry out reconstruction initiatives in terms of both coordination, machinery, etc. As shown by statistics, much assistance is still needed, especially in the long term. Municipal governments and other organizations do not have the ability to rebuild when it comes to public services and infrastructure, and they therefore require the assistance of the Federal government or international organizations.

i. Centro de Operaciones de Emergencia, Center for Emergency Operations
ii. Centro de Operaciones de Emergencia Provincial, Center for Provincial Emergency Operations