Kim Delp, missionary, treats a child.

PEDERNALES, ECUADOR (May 4, 2016) – Although news outlets have largely moved on from covering the deadly earthquake that struck this area on April 16, the Covenant Church of Ecuador (Iglesia del Pacto Evangelico Ecuador, or IPEE) expects to provide medical care, shelter, and basic supplies to survivors beyond the foreseeable future, Covenant missionaries Joel and Kim Delp reported on their blog.

The Delps wrote that staff from a new medical clinic launched by the Santiago Partnership, a ministry that includes IPEE, have continued to treated numerous patients.

Also noting that young people have played key roles in assisting survivors, the Delps wrote, “The Youth of the Covenant’s Northern Coast conference is doing the heavy lifting in distributing the relief to those in need, while goods are sent from Covenant churches all over the country. It has been amazing to see the unity and solidarity as we work together to do something to help out.”

According to government reports so far, 659 people were killed and 27,732 injured by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The town of Pedernales was the one of the hardest hit, with 80 percent of the community destroyed.

Some 70 people are being housed at the IPEE campground in Santo Domingo, and the denomination has coordinated a rotating schedule of people from churches in various districts from Ecuador to come and provide assistance in the form of counseling, pastoral care, recreation, job skills training, medical care, and music, said Kim Delp.

“The goal is to have the temporary residents take ownership of the space and time there to coordinate their meals and cleaning,” Kim said. Staff from the Cayambe Clinic, which opened April 1, have been providing medical care. (Read more about the new clinic.)

The Delps have posted numerous photos and are providing continual updates on their blog.

Those who would like to make a donation toward relief efforts in Ecuador can go to the Covenant World Relief giving site. Also, checks designated for “Ecuador Earthquake Relief” can be mailed to: Covenant World Relief, 8303 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631.