Catholic University officials counsel Peruvians traumatized by quake

Published: 2007-08-29

PISCO, Peru (CNS) -- Edgar Sanchez, 21, saw his home in the rural village of Independencia collapse during the earthquake, but even more traumatic was his mother's reaction. "She had a breakdown. She didn't even recognize me. She thought I was a delinquent," he said. With medical care, his mother is recovering. But her experience underscores the trauma suffered by thousands of people in towns on the coast of southern Peru affected by the magnitude 8 earthquake that struck Aug. 15. By the third day, a government mental health team had set up headquarters in the only undamaged wing of the local hospital, gathering data, counseling rescue teams and organizing services for the tent camps that were sprouting on school grounds and in vacant lots around the city. The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in Lima sent out an appeal for psychology professors and alumni to help. Organizers expected 40 or 50 volunteers, but got 180. Rotating teams worked in a tent camp of about 3,500 people on the grounds of the Pisco Athletic Social Club and another in the beachfront neighborhood of Pisco Playa.

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