We are Sean and Sonda Gifford, and we are moving to Chile!  We will be relocating, with our four children, to Santiago, Chile in August 2011.  We will be involved in several projects, about which you will find details in previous and subsequent posts, to provide relief to earthquake and tsunami victims in several Chilean cities.  We would love for you to look around our blog and get to know more about us and our heart for missions.   We would also love for you to send us your prayers and support as we work to spread the Gospel by being the hands and feet of Christ to the people of Chile.  You can learn more about us by clicking on the “About” tab above, and you can learn more about some of the places we will be working by scrolling through our posts below.  If you are interested in partnering with us, you can do so by clicking on the “donation page” link to the right.  There you will also find more information about Global Infusion, the non-profit umbrella organization to which you can make a one-time or monthly recurring tax-deductible contribution in our name.  With your support, we can reach the lost, feed the hungry and care for the orphans, widows and other earthquake and tsunami victims of Chile.

In 2010, a devastating earthquake shook the entire country of Chile.  Concepcion, which was at the epicenter, was totally devastated.  The high-rise apartment pictured above broke at its foundation and toppled like a domino onto its side.  At least 8 people perished in this building alone, which is actually amazing considering the destruction.   Over a year later, it still lays on its side.  Click on the video below to find out more about the damage in Concepcion.

Shortly after the 2010 Chilean earthquake, several towns on the coast of Chile, like Talcahuano,were destroyed by a tsunami.  Thousands of families lost everything and were forced to relocate to temporary camps consisting of plywood “homes,” where they still live over a year later.   These tiny plywood structures are often home to more than one family each, and have no running water.  Dozens of families will often share a single bathroom facility and water source.  Women are frequently subjected to violence on their way to and from the facility to collect water.  These housing structures have no insulation, and the residents here, many of them children, are now  entering in to their second winter in the camp without heat.  Go inside one of these “homes” and learn more about the Talcahuano temporary camp by clicking on the video below.

Just outside of Santiago is a small community called Rancagua.  Many parts of this community were destroyed by the 2010 Chilean earthquake and entire housing complexes were condemned.  Most of the people who lived in these apartments relocated to temporary housing.  Sadly,  in most cases, this temporary housing is worse than the condemned buildings from which they moved.  Due to the poor conditions of the temporary camps, some still choose to live in these apartments which had been their homes, hoping to rebuild.  However, they have little means of doing so.  They are still asking the government more than a year later ” Where are the subsidies promised?”  The video below tells one man’s story.

Colegio Resurreccion is an oasis for children in Rancagua, Chile.  This private Christian  school provides an education, clothing and hot meals to students who live in poverty.  This school is an alternative to the the violent, drug-ridden public schools for the children in this neighborhood.  Colegio Resurreccion needs your help.  Before the 2010 earthquake, it was in the process of expanding in order to accommodate more children.  Now over a year later, the school is facing a governmental shut down if construction is not finished by October of this year.  Your support of our work in Chile will help fund construction, and help protect the fragile lives of young children in Rancagua.  Click on the video below to learn more about this project.