Peru members rebuilding from earthquake

Oscar Nilton Velasquez Monterola and his family have lived in a wooden shelter since an earthquake hit Peru's central coast more than a year ago.

\"(Our shelter) lacks all the basic services,\" Velasquez Monterola of Chincha, south of Lima, said of where he, his wife and baby live. \"Presently the economy is very difficult (where) we lack the bare necessities and the means to buy building materials to fix our property.\"

The pace of rebuilding the earthquake-affected cities along the central coast of Peru since the earthquake has been grindingly slow because of a variety of issues including a scarcity of skilled laborers.

Velasquez Monterola is planning to help in the construction of his own home, using skills from vocational training sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through the Perpetual Education Fund.

He joined other LDS members who met six nights a week for four hours to train and certify in up to four disciplines of construction including electricity and bricklaying.

In December, 64 graduated from the electricity course and on Jan. 19, about 45 will start a bricklaying class, according to Doug Earl, a service missionary in the disaster area.

Those who complete the training would not only work on their homes but also have the marketable skills in construction that may lead to a steady income.

\"To see the needs of my baby and not be able to provide accordingly gives me stress, anxiety and pain in my heart,\" Velasquez Monterola said. \"After I am done with the four courses, I hope many doors will open for me so our financial doom will be solved.\"

Earl said the students are learning how to build a houses designed to withstand an earthquake through the cooperative venture between the church and SENCICO, a leading technical government-run school in Lima, Peru.

\"The government has been very accommodating to us,\" Earl said. \"They’re packing all their stuff and bringing their people to our place.\"

The classes were taught in three earthquake-devastated areas: Canete, Chincha, and Pisco, which was the hardest hit, said Earl. The 8.0-magnitude earthquake leveled most of the port city.

\"They have a super attitude, working all day long and willing to work at night,\" Earl said of the students. \"They’re coming together as a community.\"