A TAVISTOCK resident who spent four months as a volunteer in Ica in Peru earlier this year is appealing for people to donate to the earthquake disaster funds. The area of Ica was hit by a major earthquake last week and Patrick Regan said the district was ?in dire need of help?. ?I saw how bad conditions were in the first place, so cannot even imagine how difficult they are now,? he said. Patrick said the issue was of ?great importance? to him and he hoped it was possible to ?make a difference?. ?When I was there I worked in a primary school that had six grades of kids but only one teacher and two classrooms. ?The school, as were the children?s homes, were built on what were essentially giant mounds of dirt, not exactly earthquake-proof. ?The children?s homes consisted of one room with one bed for the whole family to share; sometimes the roof was simply a sheet of tin with rocks on top to keep it down,? Patrick said. Pisco and Ica, which are poorer than the Arequipa area, were badly hit by the earthquake, and Patrick said he ?couldn?t even imagine? the conditions they were living in now. The main earthquake appeals covering the area include Save the Children, to whom people can donate online at http://www.savethechildren.org.uk">www.savethechildren.org.uk, Oxfam, Christian Aid and the Salvation Army.
