Digging Deep for Quake Aid

Moved by the devastation in El Salvador, leaders of a predominantly Korean church in Los Angeles have donated about $3 million in medicine and other supplies to victims of last week’s 7.6 magnitude earthquake.

The Oriental Mission Church, on the western edge of Koreatown, will formally present its gift today to the Salvadoran government and the nonprofit El Rescate community organization, which will transport the goods to El Salvador later this week.

The antibiotics, vitamins, blankets and pain relievers now sit in boxes in a warehouse in Bell.

The gesture could be the start of a friendship between members of the Christian church of about 5,000 mostly Korean parishioners and Central Americans in and around Koreatown, leaders of both groups said.

“We want to make a small campaign to know everybody and get more involved in the community,” said Daniel Lee, a church pastor who handles philanthropic efforts for Oriental Mission. “This is only the beginning.”

With members throughout Southern California and sister churches worldwide, Oriental Mission is used to reaching out to others in need, Lee said.

The church normally keeps emergency supplies for families suffering in North Korea, leaders said. But as part of its missionary efforts, Oriental Mission often offers aid to other countries.

In 1999, the church sent thousands of dollars and supplies to victims of Hurricane Mitch in Central America and survivors of an earthquake in Turkey that killed more than 700 there.

News images of the crumbled villages in El Salvador, and the stories of thousands left without food or shelter last week, moved the members of the 30-year-old church to make its greatest financial commitment ever outside of Korea, Oriental Mission Pastor Jae R. Whang said.

“We’ve never done something like this before,” he said.

Contacting the Salvadoran Consulate, church leaders learned that El Rescate, based in Pico-Union, was among several Central American groups scrambling to find assistance on behalf of families in Southern California mourning the tragedy in their homeland.

About 1.2 million Central Americans live in Southern California, more than half of whom are from El Salvador.

Richard Mendez, executive director of El Rescate, said local relief efforts, though spirited, have been difficult in an immigrant community still rooted in the working class.

“This is great,” Mendez said of the donation. “It almost sounded too good to be true. All this medicine could be sent to do some real good.”

El Rescate plans to send the medicine and supplies to rural areas that other relief efforts haven’t reached, Mendez said.

News of the donation spread throughout the local Central American community Monday night, as a contingent of community leaders prepared to fly to El Salvador with Los Angeles City Councilman Nick Pacheco.

The delegation hopes to further assess the needs there before recommending that the city also donate money, supplies and manpower.

“We want [officials] to see for themselves what it’s like down there so they can be more passionate about providing relief,” said Carlos Vaquerano, who heads the Salvadoran American Legal Education Fund.

But Lee said his congregation doesn’t need to see. They and the people of El Salvador, he said, “are connected together.”