Background

In early 2001, two major earthquakes hit El Salvador. The first earthquake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, shook the Central American country on January 13. Then, on February 13, a 6.1 magnitude quake followed. Thousands of lives were lost and over 200,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. In response to these disasters, hundreds of volunteers from Tzu Chi Foundation headed to aid El Salvador.

Tzu Chi's International Relief work emphasizes direct assistance, priority, respect, timeliness, and practicality. Tzu Chi's El Salvador Project consists of both emergency relief and a long-term housing project. The goal is to help rebuild local communities.