GHI’s project in Peru, in partnership with Stanford University, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and the Peruvian nonprofit Estratagia, aims to raise awareness of earthquake risk and develop a school retrofit plan that could be replicated locally. GHI and its project partners will retrofit a primary school in the village of Chocos in order to protect the building and the children and teachers within it when the next earthquake inevitably comes. The school building in Chocos is indicative of vulnerable schools throughout rural Peru. They are often made of adobe, a construction type known for undergoing sudden and catastrophic collapse in earthquakes.

During the project teachers in Chocos will be trained to explain earthquake risk and preparedness techniques to students and the wider community, and local builders will be taught earthquake-resistant construction techniques. The project emphasizes sustainability through local collaboration, training, and awareness-raising. The retrofit plan will be designed to be locally appropriate and as cost-effective as possible. GHI’s hope is that this project will encourage Chocos residents to start demanding earthquake-resistant construction in all types of buildings.

The project is made possible by the generosity of the Swiss Reinsurance Company, Thornton Tomasetti Foundation, and GHI’s Ohya Memorial Fund, which was created in memory of Mr. Satoru Ohya, a generous donor to GHI and a founding member of GHI’s Board of Trustees.