A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday morning. The epicenter was located near Concepcion, nearly 200 miles south of Valparaíso, where Children International sponsors more than 17,000 children.

We do not have any reports of injuries to sponsored children or their families at this time. However, detailed reports from our staff on the ground are still forthcoming, as many communication and transportation lines are down. Infrastructure damage has been reported.

The Santiago airport is expected to be shut down for the next 24 hours.

It is Children International’s policy to contact sponsors when their sponsored child has been directly affected by a disaster.

We will provide updates here as we receive new information from our staff in the field.

Thank you for your support and concern.

Note: We will post updates to our website, www.children.org, as they become available. Please check back frequently.