As you know, Linda and I — along with our travelling companions Janine and Moroni — were caught up in the aftermath of the Chilean earthquake. While we are unhurt, being far from the epicentre near Concepcion, we are impacted by the damage to infrastructure and can’t escape the huge need faced by the Chilean people.

Puerto Varas, where we’ve passed the last four days since the earthquake, was relatively untouched. We experienced several minutes of tremors and there was some minor damage but the town’s transport, power and telecommunications were most impacted. That said, almost all shops were open that morning and full services resumed in the mid-afternoon.

We’re doing our best to find small ways to help during our remaining time in Chile, but we also have appointments to keep in Peru and must keep moving. Although we have time on our hands now, we’re also far away from the areas which could most use our help.

If you have the resources, please consider making a donation to one of the following organisations.

Local news reports are claiming the quake, at its strongest, was 800 times more fierce than the recent Haiitian earthquake. The government seems to be responding well to the crisis and, although the incumbent president is playing power games with the sitting government, it seems your donations will be brought to the areas of greatest need: water, food and accommodation for the two million or more displaced people; medical supplies for the injured; rebuilding vital infrastructure like power, water and telecommunications systems along with the highways and fallen bridges needed to transport food, gas and other supplies. Watching news reports on the ground and talking with local families, I’m sure your money won’t be wasted.

Click here to make a donation

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This article was written by Craig Martin

Podcaster and writer Craig Martin has been living on the road since leaving Auckland, New Zealand in February 2006. With a degree in Media Studies and English plus a penchant for Coleridge, he's still travelling. Craig podcasts at the Indie Travel Podcast and has penned several travel books for Indie Travel Media Ltd.