Techies bring more aid to Earthquake zone
Some good news from Pisco – site of some of the worst damage from last week's earthquake in Peru which killed 500 people and left 200,000 homeless. We covered the work of telecom engineer charity Telecoms Sans Frontieres earlier this week which is tasked with re-connecting communications links in disaster zones.
TSF have released some more information on how the project is progressing and some touching pictures showing the importance of their work which allows disaster victims to contact friends and loved ones.
TSF's Oisin Walton writes: "Our humanitarian calling operations for survivors of the quake continue in Pisco to allow people to call their loved-ones outside the affected area and abroad. Already more than 600 affected families have been able to make a call.
On Friday, a TSF team is travelling to a mountainous region situated at 4 500 meters altitude and uncovered by traditional communication networks. Our team will enable civilians living in this remote region affected by the quake to give news on the situation and request personalized assistance.
Since TSF deployed from its Americas base in Nicaragua, only 24 hours after the disaster, 17 aid agencies such as the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination teams (UNDAC), the World Food Programme, the International Federation of the Red Cross, Oxfam or Médecins du Monde Spain used TSF’s two communication centres in Pisco."
