Relief is in the cards: Women raise funds for Peru quake

PISCO, PERU — Earthquakes can claim lives, fell homes and level entire cities.

But even the largest catastrophes have limits to their power. They can't, by themselves, destroy a community's grit, hope and resourcefulness.

Residents of this fishing city situated along Peru's southern coast know more about quakes than they ever wanted. On Aug. 15, 2007, an 8.0-magnitude temblor all but destroyed Pisco. Hundreds were killed and thousands were left homeless. Ninety percent of the buildings in town were leveled or severely damaged.

For weeks, the eyes of the world's charitable organizations were focused on Pisco and its neighboring communities. Relief planes by the dozens arrived at the city's military base from around the world, including a supply-laden air shipment dispatched by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Such charitable gifts of food, clothing, water and medicine helped sustain Pisco in the weeks and months following the disaster. But residents here are a proud lot. They were eager to be self-reliant.

With support from a group of humanitarian-minded Utahns, an enterprising group of LDS women in Pisco are combining their personal skills with the region's abundant marine resources to earn a few, much-needed dollars.

Pisco resident Ana Zavala said the Relief Society sisters in Pisco were anxious to find ways to help support their families following the disaster.

"It was suggested that we make (greeting) cards and sell them," she said. But how to start? No one had much money following the quake and many of the members were dealing with two-headed challenges of unemployment and the costly task of rebuilding their lives.

"Then a sister arrived from the United States and brought us a gift," said Zavala. "It was a big box of materials to make cards. I had never told her anything about the project. We think it was the hand of the Lord helping us start the project."

Zavala and several other women from the Pisco Peru Stake Relief Society began making excursions to the nearby seashore to collect seaweed and other natural materials. The women then dried the marine items before cutting them into different shapes and designs. The materials were then crafted into a variety of colorful botanical designs and placed on the cover of greeting cards.

Each handmade card is one-of-a-kind and includes the story of the Pisco quake and its resourceful residents. The women augmented their inventory with greeting cards crafted with cross-stitch designs.