A helping hand.

• Author: Crowell, Dale
• Position: INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM

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When a devastating earthquake hit the central coast of Peru in August, the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) was ready to respond. Working with its corporate partners, the nonprofit agency--an affiliate of the Organization of American States (OAS)--delivered such items as tents, blankets, plastic sheeting, water purification supplies, building materials, food, medicines, and bottled water, within just days of the quake.

Some of the emergency supplies were already stocked in a warehouse in Miami, in preparation for the next natural disaster to hit Latin America or the Caribbean; in other cases, companies responded with new donations of food or money. Less than a week after the earthquake, which killed hundreds of people and left tens of thousands homeless, PADF had rallied cash or in-kind contributions worth more than US$130,000, significantly supplementing a US$25,000 donation from the OAS. The Citi Foundation provided emergency shelter packages, Chevron donated food, Aeropost International Services contributed warehouse space, and LANChile flew the supplies down to Peru. General Motors, International Services of Hope, Royal Caribbean Cruises, the Ricky Martin Foundation, and Feed the Children also made donations. With the help of the OAS country office based in Lima, the supplies were directed immediately to where they could help hundreds of homeless people in and around the hard-hit cities of Pisco and Ica.

The PADF Disaster Management Emergency Response Program is one example of how this OAS agency, founded 45 years ago, extends a helping hand to countries in need. Sometimes the disaster response has a longer-term focus. For example, in Jamaica, where Hurricane Dean caused large crop losses in August, PADF is working with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to provide seeds and equipment to farmers during the next planting season. Over the last two years, PADF has provided aid following other natural disasters in Bolivia, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Suriname. In coordination with the Inter-American Committee for Natural Disaster Reduction, it also encourages private support for disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts.

PADF has worked closely with the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA)--an organization representing more than 23,000 companies--to involve the private sector in long-term disaster...