Rachel, a Planet Drum intern from 2012-13, happened to be visiting Ecuador when the earthquake hit. Heroically, she made the difficult decision to return to the area and assist in the recovery efforts. She has been working with the people in Canoa to rebuild ecologically, and of course, she has been promoting Planet Drum’s revegetation work.
Canoa was one of the places that was hit the hardest by the earthquake. The entire town was leveled and many people died. Nearly all of the survivors have been living in refugee camps ever since. Despite the horrors that they have experienced, and the difficulties that they face in rebuilding their lives and town, they are excited about the prospect of planting fruit trees for food and replanting hillsides for future erosion control.
With Rachel’s direction, one of the camps has already begun to plant Planet Drum fruit trees with local and international volunteers working together.
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