MADRID, Spain, JAN. 17, 2001 (Zenit.org).- Just 24 hours after Caritas-El Salvador´s urgent call for help for earthquake victims, Caritas organizations around the world mobilized to assist the Central American nation.
By Tuesday, the Caritas of eight donor areas — Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Hong Kong and the United States — had allocated about $550,000 to El Salvador, from special emergency funds.
Caritas-Spain has set up a special telephone line (902-33-99-99) to report on the situation in El Salvador. More information may also be obtained from its Web page ( http://www.caritas-espa.org/elsalv.html ), including bank account numbers where donations may be sent. In just two days, Caritas-Spain collected $600,000 to help El Salvador, not including funds collected by 68 diocesan Caritas groups.
Meanwhile, the presidency of the Italian bishops´ conference has already decided to send $1.5 million. The U.S. Catholic Relief Services, comparable to Caritas in other countries, has sent $250,000 from its emergency funds.
The work of Caritas workers and volunteers covers all the country´s departments, although it is particularly intense in the dioceses of Santiago de Maria and Sonsonate. Reports indicated that between 80% and 90% of the homes have been destroyed in Santiago de Maria, while in Sonsonate some communities have lost 60% of their buildings.
