It's been just over one month since Cyclone Idai made landfall in the coastal city of Beira in Mozambique, which suffered some of the worst impacts from the storm. Idai has affected nearly 3 million people in the region and claimed more than 1,000 lives across Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, making it the third-deadliest tropical cyclone on record in the Southern Hemisphere. Widespread severe flooding has displaced at least 500,000 people and has provided a vector for outbreaks of cholera, with more than 2,400 cases already confirmed.

We're proud to report that our nonprofit partners have responded swiftly to help those in need—as did GlobalGivers like you, who've generously given to our Cyclone Idai Relief Fund. Thanks to that support, we've been able to send an emergency round of funding to our partners on the ground. Here's how your donation is helping survivors of Cyclone Idai:

• The Waqful Waqifin Foundation (which in Hausa means “Gift of the Givers”) deployed 40 water rescue specialists using boats and helicopters to Beira, where roads into the city were washed away. They have rescued 2,100 people trapped by floodwaters, and have identified another 4,500 people in need of assistance. Their relief teams are providing food, water, medical care, shelter, and blankets to those in need, and they're supplying 1.4 tons of medical supplies.
• ActionAid's local offices and community partners coordinated on immediate relief efforts to some of the areas most affected by Idai, including Mocuba and Lugela, Mozambique; Chimanimani, Zimbabwe; and Nsanje, Malawi. Their team has been working to meet the most urgent needs of survivors, including food, fuel, hygiene supplies, school books, mosquito nets, and tents.
• World Central Kitchen's Chef Relief Team arrived in Beira shortly after Idai passed through the city, and quickly found a kitchen in an event space that could be cleaned, repaired, and used to cook. By mobilizing the local community, their team was able to quickly get the kitchen up and running, delivering hundreds of meals on their first day open. By day two, their team was serving thousands, and they're committed to remaining in Beira as long as there are survivors in need.
• When Idai took down large swaths of the power grid in Mozambique, millions were in need of fuel. Teams from Fuel Relief Fund are on the ground there, providing free fuel to affected families in need, as well as first responders, hospitals, and water treatment plants.
• In heavily-damaged Manicaland Province, along Zimbabwe's eastern border with Mozambique, your donation is helping Kidzcan Children's Cancer Relief ensure that families of their cancer patients are able to travel safely to receive their chemotherapy treatments and secure a steady supply of needed medicines.
• IsraAID's Emergency Response Team has deployed to Mozambique, where they're distributing emergency supplies, providing psychosocial care to survivors coping with the trauma of the storm, and assessing the immediate and ongoing water, sanitation, and hygiene needs of affected communities.
• Afrilanthropy is working with a local partner to deliver emergency supplies to first responders in Beira, supplying them with food, water, clothing, and cleaning and hygiene supplies.

Thank you again for your generous support of this relief fund and for making the smart choice to donate cash after a natural disaster like Cyclone Idai— it has been proven to be more effective than donating physical goods.

We look forward to sharing more stories of progress from our partners in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe in the months to come.

With gratitude,
Will + the GlobalGiving Team

In our final update on the Guatemala Volcano Relief Fund, we're proud to share stories of progress made by our partners who've been helping communities recover since Volcán de Fuego's eruption last June.

In Valle de las Flores, where Habitat for Humanity Guatemala has been building homes for families affected by the disaster, it's been an exciting last few months. The first set of 16 new houses were completed in December, and Habitat's team organized a joyful, emotional ceremony where their partner families received the keys to their new homes. The organization plans to finish building 42 new homes in Valle de las Flores by the middle of April.

Since Volcán de Fuego remains an active volcano, it's important to ensure nearby communities are prepared to withstand future eruptions. To that end, Long Way Home recently completed construction of a sustainably-sourced disaster relief shelter in Alotenango. Built in partnership with PuraVida Atitlan, the Carpinteros Alotenango, and the municipality of Alotenango, the shelter was constructed from eco-bricks composed entirely of recycled waste materials like plastic water bottles and bags and is powered by solar panels on its roof. When not in use as a refuge from future disasters, the facility will be used as a communal space for children from a nearby refugee camp to engage in arts and music programs.  

Long Way Home has also partnered with Rekko, an Italian NGO that has been providing healthcare to rural Guatemalans since 1998, to build a clinic in San Antonio Sibija for families who’ve been relocated due to the eruption. They’re using the same eco-brick construction for the clinic and will be developing a disaster preparedness plan with residents from the village and surrounding area.

IsraAid has also been focused on disaster preparedness, and have been partnering with local agencies to develop programs to bolster communities' readiness for future disasters. After their team recently completed a disaster risk reduction training for 30 teachers from Escuintla, Marleny, a teacher from Cañaveral Primary School, shared that, "Now I feel more prepared to face situations that beforehand, I had never even considered. I can teach my students to take measures that both prevent and answer to natural threats." With two other teachers from her program, Marleny then volunteered to lead a similar training for another 50 teachers from across the region.

Integral Heart Foundation, which runs a school for children born into generational poverty in Antigua, will be supporting six families impacted by the eruption throughout 2019 with free tuition, transportation, and food baskets.

Thank you again for your generous support of this relief fund—your donation helped make stories like these possible and is helping Guatemala rebuild resiliently after last year's eruption. We're also grateful for how you decided to give—donating cash is the smartest way to help those in need after a disaster.

With all of the donated funds now disbursed to our partners, we are closing the Guatemala Volcano Relief Fund at this time. If you'd like to keep informed on our partners' ongoing efforts in Guatemala, we encourage you to visit our website and read their latest project reports.

With gratitude,
Will + the GlobalGiving Team

In a briefing to the United Nations Security Council late last month, leaders from UNOCHA reported that "the scale of the humanitarian challenges facing the people of Syria remains staggering by any measure. International support for efforts to respond to the needs of millions of Syrians remains critical." The numbers bear this out: More than half of all Syrians have been displaced by war. 5.6 million have fled the country as refugees, and another 6.6 million have been forced to leave their homes behind but remain in Syria.

Your generous support has funded a wide range of vetted GlobalGiving nonprofit partners throughout the Mediterranean region who are providing support and relief to Syrian refugees, some of whom are now approaching nine years away from their homeland. Since our last update, we have new reports of progress to share from our partners assisting refugees in Greece, Jordan, Lebanon, Serbia, and Turkey.

Personal safety is a serious concern for women refugees, whether they're living in dangerously overcrowded camps or unfamiliar cities where they may encounter hostility to their presence. The Starfish Foundation, based on the Greek island of Lesvos where roughly 7,000 refugees currently reside, is addressing this issue by offering self-defense classes tailored to Syrian women.  

We Need Books is launching a free, six-month Greek language program to help Syrian refugees living in Greece acclimate to their new home. Since the Greek government provides support for language learning to those who are under 18, We Need Books is focused on helping adults learn the language. The course is accompanied by monthly cultural activities to further help students become more comfortable in Greek society.

Turkey is home to 3.5 million Syrian refugees—more than any other country. More than 90% of refugees in Turkey are living in non-camp settlements where, due to their refugee status, maintaining a steady source of income can be extremely difficult. To address this common challenge, Turkish NGO Hayata Destek Dernegi is launching a new "Makers Shop" in their community center in Istanbul that will offer a six-month textile-making course, along with a stipend to supplement learners' incomes while they're developing their new skills.

Fleeing the violence in your homeland is a traumatic experience yet mental health services can be difficult to access for refugees. Three of our partners are working to help refugees living in Jordan, Lebanon, and Serbia heal from the trauma they've endured.

With support from GlobalGivers, the International Humanistic Psychology Association is expanding their Refugee Women and Girl’s Safe Space project to additional sites throughout Jordan. The program provides trauma recovery treatment, medical health screenings, parenting skills workshops, and a range of activities designed to restore self-confidence and self-esteem.

At sites in northern Lebanon and northern Jordan, the International Association for Human Values has developed an integrated strategy for addressing the mental health needs of refugee children and the adults who care for and teach them. They're providing a series of workshops for youth focused on stress and trauma relief and resilience, as well as their Youth Anti-Violence and Peace Ambassadors program, which works to empower youth with the values, skills, and tools to become leaders in violence prevention and peacebuilding on their school campuses and in their communities.

And finally, in Serbia, local NGO Pomoc Deci is offering psychosocial support programs for Syrian refugees, along with programs aimed at educating refugee youth about how to avoid human trafficking and other forms of exploitation.  

Your donation and those of thousands of other GlobalGivers who've raised more than $1.84 million for our Syrian Refugee Relief Fund have helped make these stories of hope and progress possible. Thank you for your generosity, and for choosing to support community-led organizations responding to this ongoing crisis with your donation to this fund.

With gratitude,
Will + the GlobalGiving Team