"Rebuilding Chile" Expo

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Explore Chile Build brought to us by Kallman

This week I attended the 1st US-Chile Expo, “Rebuilding Chile”, a true eye opener about Chile’s current state & the incredible support provided by the U.S. Various speeches mentioned Barack Obama & his direct calls to the government.

Kallman Worldwide, a leader in business show management, did a tremendous job in creating a forum for the Chile government & business officials to meet with U.S. suppliers as a tactic to have Chile gain insight on solutions to assist with its recovery & reconstruction projects. A wide array of American businesses attended & displayed their products & services to guests that included CNN, ambassadors, governors, mayors, ministry of defense & much more. Never have I been in a room full of such tremendous power.

Habitat for Humanity was right in the mix of these heavy hitters. A truly overwhelming experience for me being that it was my first time ever involved in an expo. After a full day of observing I managed to get over being shell-shocked when being left alone to man the booth as the Director of Resource Development did a tremendous job working the floor.

A few things I learned at the conference:

Current Situation & Identified Priorities
- Earthquakes magnitude was actually 8.8
- Earthquake & Tsunami destroyed big cities (Concepcion), hospitals, schools (including one of Chile’s top universities), bridges & historical/touristic places.
- Urgent need for medical equipment
- Military has designed 4 phases of recovery & reconstruction:
o (1) Everyone Under a Roof & (2) A Secure Winter
• These two phases are expected to continue through the month of August. Sheltering people from the cold is priority since we are in the middle of winter season that is horridly impacting children, families & seniors living in tents or out in the open.
o (3) Building Chile, September – November
• Focus is on rebuilding and reconstructing Chile to ensure the country is better prepared to sustain such catastrophes. Communication, military response, government processes, disaster relief & much more need to be improved along with the infrastructure.
o (4) Creating Conditions to Regain Normality
- Debates have taken place about who will be responsible to reconstruct the country during & after its stabilization process. Some governors mentioned that solving the issues at hand in the most cost effective & time efficient matter is what will remain as priority. If this means that a foreign company will reap profits from assisting in this process, then so be it.

Donations & sponsorships are not a common thing in Chile. Recently, the government established tax benefits to motivate Chilean based firms to get involved. However, it appears that it hasn’t been a huge motivational factor leaving Chile dependent on foreigners. National volunteering was not common either until the earthquake.

Fortunately, a few companies donated items that included lighting, homes & a $12K tent (benefitting the Muale region to protect citizens from the cold).

On that note, I leave you with a few photos & an interesting comment I heard at the expo.

“Many have claimed Chile to be the secret child of America. Chile is considered the 51st state, hence the red, white & blue flag with one star.”

Thoughts? Please feel free to share your comments or insights.