Aid to our Peruvian brothers

Image via MSNBC

"It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen; that it the common right of humanity." -- Seneca the Elder

I don't like to toot my own horn (so to speak) but the following is a partial reproduction of a post I wrote up on The Latin Americanist yesterday calling for help for survivors of last week's quakes in Peru:

"You can help provide assistance to Peruvians in several ways:

• Several Peruvian Consulates in the U.S. have appealed for aid to quake victims. For instance, the Consulate in Miami has issued a comprehensive list of items for donation including clothes, medical equipment, batteries, cots, and medicine. Other consulates in areas such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta have their own suggestions on how to help and that information can be accessed here.
• A special bank account has been established for direct deposit donations for the recovery effort: “HSBC Bank, USA
  Account Name: Embassy of Peru - Sismo Peru 2007
  Account Number: 389060178
  Routing Number: 021001088”
• Lastly, several well-known international charities have also set up donation funds including the American Red Cross, Oxfam America, and CARE. (More charities donating to rescue efforts can be seen via the Charity Navigator site.)"

Blog Latina Viva has been thoughtful enough to reproduce that post as part of their call for assistance. I'm very thankful for that and hope others can heed their call.

The other day my mom, brothers, and I talked briefly on the destruction and devastation left behind by the earthquakes. We agreed that we will provide a small monetary donation to a well-known charity like Oxfam or the Red Cross. Though we're not completely sure how much it will be we hope that it will provide some tiny solace to those whose lives have been changed radically by the tremors.

It's the very least we can do.