MEXICO EARTHQUAKE RELIEF UPDATE JUNE 2021
TOTAL PROGRAM IMPACT
247 55 3,828 2
STUDENTS IMPACTED VOLUNTEERS VOLUNTEER DAYS SCHOOLS IN PROGRESS
Current Activities After some delays caused by lightning storms and a period of quarantine due to a potential COVID-19 case, all volunteers and staff have received negative antigen test results and are pulling together to ensure we meet our program deadline. At Paulo Freire Secondary School, the doors and windows have been installed, and interior and exterior painting is ongoing with some beautiful murals taking shape. Plastering and retrofitting work continues at Vicente Guerrero Primary School. Off site, the team welcomed a community member and his daughters to the program base to share their experiences and play a game of Loteria (Mexican bingo) with everyone. They also successfully organized community volunteer days at both school sites and held their first in-person Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) session at Paulo Freire Secondary School. All interactions with the community are carefully planned respecting COVID-19 protocols.
Community Stories As part of our engagement with the local community, the team tasked some of the school children with creating a drawing in answer to the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Take a look at some of their pictures here.
Photos: (top & left) exterior painting at Paulo Freire Secondary School.
Learn about our programs at
allhandsandhearts.org
Disaster Profile In September 2017, one of the most lethal earthquakes in Mexican history hit close to the southern state of Chiapas, with a devastating magnitude of 8.2. Just 12 days later and a few hundred miles away, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake rocked central Mexico, toppling buildings, breaking gas mains, knocking out electricity and sparking fires across the city and other towns in central Mexico.
Our Work Our efforts in Mexico began in March 2018 in El Jicarero, Morelos, where we partnered with Happy Hearts Fund (now All Hands and Hearts Mexico) to reconstruct and retrofit two primary schools. Since then, we’ve run two volunteer programs in Oaxaca and have rebuilt another four schools, including playgrounds, libraries and WaSH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) facilities. In addition to our construction work on the schools, our teams collaborate with local partners to identify Renewal Projects with an aim to build community resilience. To date, we’ve implemented a community Disaster Risk Reduction Training program, reactivated a community waste management system and piloted an agricultural education program. In 2021, we’re excited to be working on Paulo Freire Secondary School and Vicente Guerrero Primary School in Oaxaca.
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. We have earned a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator for the seventh year in a row. This year only seven percent of rated non-profits received this distinction for financial and operational efficiency. Photos: (top) exterior painting at Paulo Freire Secondary School, (middle) volunteers celebrating Mothers Day! (bottom) progress at Vicente Guerrero Primary School.
Our Partners
info@allhandsandhearts.org (508) 758-8211