When a violent earthquake struck the town of Coronel in Chile, many families were made homeless. Some because their houses were damaged, many others because they were tenants, and were forced to move out as owners reclaimed their property having lost their main dwelling.
With no money and nowhere else to go, people had little option but to build makeshift shelters where they could.
And while buckets may not be the first thing people think of after an earthquake, Coronel's residents are glad that Oxfam did. In addition to demonstrating our expertise in providing sanitation and water after natural disasters, we distributed Oxfam buckets to families. Here Sanitago Anibarro, Oxfam's Public Health Engineer, demonstrates some of the features that make them special.
Oxfam buckets have taps to ensure that no water is wasted. They also have tight-fitting lids to make it easier to transport fresh water from communal tapstands, and to help keep it cleaner for longer. This can be vital to help prevent the spread of disease, an ever-present danger in emergency situations where hundreds of families are living together in a small area having been evacuated from their homes.
They may be small, but Oxfam buckets do a big job in helping to restore some sense of normality and ensuring that people stay healthy until they can move back home.