Jewish Agency volunteers help Mexico recover from earthquake

Volunteers from the Jewish Agency for Israel have mobilized in two Mexican communities to help residents recover from a major earthquake earlier this month.

At least 96 people died in the 8.1 magnitude quake that struck off the southern Pacific coast on September 7. The Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas were hardest hit.

The Jewish Agency’s Project TEN program, an international development program that operates volunteer centers in developing areas around the world, has sent nine volunteers — eight Israeli and one British, two doctors and two staff members — to work with the Oaxaca community.

The volunteers packed and distributed about 1,000 food parcels, clean water and early childhood packages consisting of diapers, milk substitutes and other necessities. The doctors treated injured residents, including many children.

Project TEN already had a center located in Oaxaca opened in 2013.

In the days following the earthquake, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it would provide aid to Oaxaca and Chiapas in conjunction with the International Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Embassy in Mexico.