The Chilean branch of the charity Aid to the Church in Need reported that the refugees have found shelter in three chapels in Alto Hospicio, one of the poorest quarters of Iquique, some 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) north of Santiago.
The chapels were built as part of the campaign Capillas para Chile (Chapels for Chile), a project launched by Germany-based Aid to the Church in Need.
Ulrich Kny, head of Aid to the Church in Need’s Latin America II section, stated today: «Thanks to our benefactors’ generosity and the close cooperation with the local bishop, ACN was able to construct chapels stable enough to resist the earthquake, which reached 7.9 on the Richter scale.»
