Since January 13, El Salvador has suffered three earthquakes measuring 5.9 or higher on the Richter scale, and over 5,200 tremors. Small towns outside the capital city of San Salvador, where most of the buildings are still made of adobe, have been hardest hit. Nearly 1,000 people have died, and over 100,000 have been left homeless or lost their livelihood. Roads and water supplies have also been seriously affected. Volunteers from Family communities in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua teamed up to bring aid and comfort to the survivors.
We visited a number of shelters, including some in remote areas. One was in the town of Santa Elena, where 90% of the houses had been demolished by quakes. Many of the survivors there were still in shock. Everywhere we went, our puppet show and songs brightened people's day with a message of love and hope. We also comforted and prayed with over 5,000 people personally. People thanked us over and over for coming and caring. At the time of this writing, we are still working in El Salvador, as the need is so great.
Originally Published in 2001.