Costa Rica finds U.S. ‘amigos’ to help quake recovery

U.S.-based nonprofit group Amigos of Costa Rica and its counterpart here, the Costa Rica-U.S.A. Foundation for Cooperation (CRUSA), have set up a relief fund to help this country´s recovery efforts after the Jan. 8 earthquake, which killed as many as 30 people, left hundreds more homeless and caused an estimated $100 million in damage.

Amigos set up a Web site, www.amigosofcostarica.org/earthquake, for its Costa Rica Earthquake Relief Fund as a way to raise awareness and money after the 6.2 magnitude quake´s impact. The site provides an online space in which to make tax-deductable donations from the United States to help Costa Rica´s recovery.

“While we understand that short-term needs such as rescue, food and shelter are being met through local organizations and targeted international assistance, it is anticipated that much more will be needed to ensure adequate follow-up care, environmental remediation, infrastructure repairs, and local economic adjustment and development,” Amigos of Costa Rica Executive Director David Schacht said in a statement earlier this month.

The charitable group CRUSA set up Amigos of Costa Rica in 2000 to function as its Washington, D.C. representative and fundraising arm.