As rescuers continue to claw through mountains of rubble in, and around Mexico City looking for survivors of this week's big quake, a Santa Barbara County based group is gearing up for a different type of relief effort.
Direct Relief International has had ongoing programs in Mexico for the last three years. DRI is known for its efforts to get medicine, and medical supplies to disaster zones, and people in need around the world and here in the U-S.
The agency’s team was focused on Oaxaca, which was hit by a magnitude 8.1 quake September 7th when Tuesday’s temblor hit Mexico City.
Eddie Mendoza is Direct Relief’s Senior Manager in Mexico. He says DRI is now orchestrating relief efforts for the two parts of Mexico hard hit by quakes. Mendoza says the needs are very different. In Oaxaca, it’s items to prevent the outbreak of disease. In Mexico City, it’s helping supply people with chronic medical issues like diabetes with their medicine.
Mendoza says like with other disasters, like Hurricane Irma, DRI has set up specific ways people who want to help can be assured money will go specifically to those relief efforts, and not to some generic fund. The DRI official says they’re hoping to get their first shipment of supplies from DRI’s home base in Goleta in Mexico City Thursday.
Link to DRI: www.directrelief.org/2017/09/scenes-earthquake-damage-mexico-rescue
