All Hands and Hearts Monthly Update (Mexico) - August

MEXICO EARTHQUAKE UPDATE - MORELOS (August 2018)

DISASTER PROFILE The Central Mexico Earthquake struck on September 19, 2017. The 7.1 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage in the state of Morelos and the greater Mexico City area.

OUR WORK In partnership with Happy Hearts Fund Mexico and with support from donors, partners, and volunteers from around the world, All Hands and Hearts – Smart Response has run an impactful program in Mexico since February 26, 1018.

With the initial goal of rebuilding Narciso Mendoza Primary School underway, we are now able to expand our efforts to a second school and have begun work to rebuild Vicente Guerrero Primary School. Our work on the classrooms, computer rooms, multipurpose rooms, and bathrooms, will give students at both schools a safe, secure place to go to school every day.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES The walls are now standing on all all four structures at Narciso Mendoza Primary School! Volunteers have finished shoring the roofs and pouring roof slab on two of the two-classroom structures. They’re now underway plastering the interior and exterior walls. The classroom + bathroom building is on its way to having a roof, as formwork is being installed to pour strong roofbeams and roof shoring is underway. On the multipurpose room, compacting continues in preparation for pouring the floor slab. The rebuild at Vicente Guerrero Primary School is off to a running start. The foundation has been dug, and the ground-leveling concrete slab has been poured. On top of that, the horizontal rebar reinforcement that will keep the foundation resilient to seismic movement has been installed. Work continues on the school’s other classroom structures in need of repair to remove damaged, unsafe plastering and replace it with fresh plastering for strong, safe classroom walls.

Volunteers work alongside local workers to establish a steady foundation at Vicente Guerrero Primary School. On the left, concrete is poured into wheelbarrows, dispersed throughout the perimeter of where the structure will stand, and leveled. Once the concrete leveling is complete, rebar reinforces the base to restrict any future cracking and ensure resilience in the face of seismic movement.

OUR IMPACT

325

STUDENTS IMPACTED

13

CLASSROOMS IN PROGRESS

212

VOLUNTEERS

2,813

VOLUNTEER DAYS

Mi Casa, Tu Casa What began as local families welcoming All Hands and Hearts volunteers into their homes for dinner has evolved into cooking classes to learn traditional cuisine. Here, a community member teaches volunteers how to make tamales steamed in banana leaves.

Celebrations!

Kids feel the excitement of moving up to the next grade in school, as the whole community gathers for school performances and award ceremonies.

All Hands and Hearts staff and volunteers join the festivities at Narciso Mendoza and Vicente Guerrero.

OUR MISSION To effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters.

By listening to local people, and deploying a unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, we rebuild safe, resilient schools, homes and other community infrastructure.

OUR MEXICO PARTNERS

4 YEARS IN A ROW! Only 13% of charities have received at least 4 consecutive 4-star ratings. This means All Hands and Hearts outperforms most of the other 1.5 million charities in America in operational and financial efficiency.

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For additional information: Ethan C. Yake, Chief Partnership Officer ethan@allhandsandhearts.org or (518) 669-7147 www.allhandsandhearts.org