GUATEMALA HURRICANE RELIEF UPDATE MAY 2021
IMPACT OF HURRICANES ETA & IOTA Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
447
SCHOOLS AFFECTED
311,317
PEOPLE EVACUATED
83,540 8,964
HOMES DAMAGED HOMES AT RISK
Current Activities We’re delighted to announce that we will be opening a relief program in Guatemala at the end of the month! Thanks to the hard work and commitment of our Disaster Assessment Response Team (DART) and Program Development Team (PDT), who have been in Alta Verapaz since the end of January 2021, we’re well prepared and excited for the start of this new DM12 volunteer program on May 29. The program will focus on ground-up construction of a community center in Sesajal, San Pedro Carchá, with the associated water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) facilities, which include latrines, rainwater catchment and water storage. We will also construct additional rainwater catchment and storage stations in a nearby community of Seraxqen, Chisec, to increase access to clean water. Over the past month, the team has been finalizing the design, budget and construction schedule for the community center and water catchment stations, ensuring that input from the communities is prioritized. They have also secured our base of operations in Chisec.
Next Steps
In preparation for the volunteers arriving on May 29, the following activities will be taking place in the coming weeks: -
Base design and set up, including additional COVID-19 safety measures to reduce risks on base; Continued staff recruitment, training and onboarding; Reviewing health and safety protocols both on and off site; Procuring tools and materials; Coordinating with the local municipalities for approvals, materials and transport.
Photos: (top) 3D digital image of the new, proposed community center at Sesajal, thanks to donated software from Autodesk, (left) a map showing the Guatemalan region of Alta Verapaz (in red), with a zoom in on Chisec and Sesajal.
Learn about our programs at
allhandsandhearts.org
Disaster Profile In November 2020, Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota, both Category 4 storms, devastated communities across Central America. First, Hurricane Eta struck on November 3 and slowly moved across northern Nicaragua and into eastern Honduras, before continuing its path into northeastern Guatemala and the Caribbean on November 6. Just 15 miles away from Eta’s landfall, near Haulover, Iota then struck on November 17 and followed a similar path. Both storms led to significant flooding and landslides across the region, impacting millions of people. Alta Verapaz was one of the hardest hit regions in Guatemala. Sesajal and Seraxqen are suffering from a severe lack of suitable WaSH infrastructure, relying on water sources that were compromised by the floods after Eta and Iota.
Our Work All Hands and Hearts launched a remote assessment immediately after the Hurricanes in November 2020. Based on our findings and the varying COVID-19 situation in the region, we transitioned to a ground assessment in Guatemala at the end of January to explore how we could contribute to the recovery effort. Our relief program will focus on ground-up construction of a community center in Sesajal, San Pedro Carchá, with the associated WaSH facilities, including latrines, rainwater catchment and water storage. We will also construct additional rainwater catchment and storage stations in the nearby community of Seraxqen, Chisec, to increase access to clean water.
About All Hands and Hearts We effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. We communicate directly with local leaders and community members and then deploy our unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, helping to build safer, more resilient schools, homes and infrastructure. Photos: (top) the AHAH team doing a land assessment in Seraxqen, where we are building water catchment stations, (middle) a concrete water collection station that suffered damage from the Hurricanes, (bottom) some of the female leaders in Seraxqen during a community meeting with the AHAH team.
We have earned a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator for the seventh year in a row. This year only seven percent of rated nonprofits received this distinction for financial and operational efficiency.
info@allhandsandhearts.org