Sonia Silva has had a busy year. As the Assistant Country Director/Program for international relief organization CARE in El Salvador, Sonia has spent the year dealing with not one but two major earthquakes that have caused damage around the country.

Before accepting her current job with CARE, Sonia spent seven years working in El Salvador, five years with the United States Agency for International Development (US AID) there and two years with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In both organizations, Sonia helped manage programs in the fields of education, health, training, organizational development, and political issues related to elections and the Peace Accord from El Salvador's long civil war.

In her new job, Sonia is CARE's number two person in El Salvador. She, her director, and CARE's 180 staff members in El Salvador work with people in cities, towns, and rural areas throughout the country to help them live better lives. CARE has been working in El Salvador since 1956, though it suspended its programs there from 1980 through 1993 because of the country's civil war. During the war, CARE helped by providing a hospital for war victims. When the war ended, CARE staff returned to help people put their lives back together.

CARE staff members in El Salvador help rural people build safe water systems. They help people who lost their homes during the flooding that followed Hurricane Mitch in the late 1990s. They help farmers develop techniques that are better for the environment and the soil. They provide health care to children. And they help people who are returning home after the long war.

On Saturday, January 13th, Sonia was expecting a quiet day. Suddenly, she heard a rumbling noise. The floor started to shake and then roll. She heard crashing as nearby buildings swayed and fell. El Salvador was having an earthquake, a big one. Sonia knew instantly that CARE's help would be needed more than ever. But how big had the earthquake been? And what should she do next?

Download the case study to learn what Sonia does!