Greetings from Bogota, Colombia. It's been very inspiring, busy and exciting 4 months so far. I have visited a number of amazing nonprofits doing their best to solve some of the problems that they are facing. They are covering very important areas of education, destructive environmental impact, sustainability, pollution, animal protection, balanced diet etc. Here is a short summary of my 4 months on the field:
Traveled 7000 km;
Visited partners in 3 countries: Chile, Peru and Ecuador;
Consulted 25 nonprofits;
Led 5 workshops.
To have a better idea on how it looks like follow the link to a short video below.
Thank you for your support :)
Links:
Thanks to the generous support of nearly 50,000 donors like you who've raised more than $11 million to fund immediate relief and long-term recovery efforts after Hurricane Maria, we have a new story of progress to share this month, this time from All Hands and Hearts, a GlobalGiving partner that’s been active in responding to numerous natural disasters, including Hurricanes Harvey, Florence, and Michael, and the 2015 Nepal earthquakes.
Over the past five months of All Hands and Hearts' relief efforts in Puerto Rico, their team has determined that the greatest need in communities is roofing assistance. Blue tarps stand out prominently in every neighborhood they work in, and most have been up since Maria struck the island. The tarps are doing little to protect homeowners from the elements and are a constant reminder of a disaster that has so profoundly affected their lives.
There are two common types of roofs in Puerto Rico: flat, concrete roofs and pitched wooden roofs. Each poses its own set of challenges when it comes to rebuilding more resiliently ahead of future storms. But by not simply repairing roofs to their original designs and taking the extra step to make them hurricane resilient, All Hands is relieving the bottleneck in the pace of recovery and the challenges local groups and outside nonprofits face in affording the materials required to rebuild in a resilient way. Once the critical roof repairs are completed homeowners are able to move forward with the repairs inside their home and return to some semblance of life before Maria.
With support from GlobalGiving donors like you, All Hands and Hearts is also launching a house repair program in Dominica, where they'll be carrying out essential repair work for people whose homes have had no roof since September 2017, and some who were still recovering from damage from Tropical Storm Erika in 2015. As hurricane season is approaching, the vital funding you've provided will allow their team to recruit, train, and deploy teams of motivated volunteers to help repair roofs more quickly.
Thank you again for your generosity and for standing with the people of Puerto Rico and Dominica as they continue on the path to a full recovery. We look forward to sharing more stories of the progress you’ve made possible in the months to come.
On September 28, 2018, the series of earthquakes and following tsunami which struck Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province claimed more than 4,000 lives and led to economic losses of $1.3 billion. The vast majority of the damage occurred in the coastal city of Palu, where 68,451 houses were destroyed, forcing nearly 206,5000 people to seek shelter.
Less than 10 months after the disaster, communities are building their resilience thanks to the dedicated efforts of local leaders and the endless generosity of GlobalGivers like you. By supporting grassroots activists who understand how to best support their community, you’re not only helping people today, you’re part of the movement to build long-term preparedness in the face of future disasters. 4,718 members of our community have given $613,070 to vetted nonprofit partners, allowing them to continue fostering hope and strength in Central Sulawesi. In this update, we’d like to highlight the dedication of two partners your donation has supported.
Yayasan Usaha Mulia traveled to the most remote villages to support regions which rescuers hadn’t been able to reach due to continuing landslides and poor road conditions. Their efforts exceeded all predictions: they distributed long-awaited food, water, hygiene supplies, clothing, and educational materials to 2,500 families in the most far-flung communities of Indonesia. Yayasan Usaha Mulia also provided 1,000 solar lamps and water purifiers in the villages of Saloya, Amai, and Kaliburu, enabling people in these communities to continue supporting themselves long after the volunteers left.
In addition to lifesaving supplies, Yayasan Usaha Mulia held support sessions to help people in these villages overcome the disaster they endured. The trauma relief program included discussion groups, relaxation techniques, and even yoga sessions to ease stress and promote wellbeing.
Internews has continued its innovative approach to disaster resilience by supporting local journalists. Reporters with Kabar Sulteng Bangkit (KSB), a community-led news organization created shortly after the earthquake, are working to spread crucial aid information, put a stop to fake news, and hold regional government and aid officials accountable.
In a recent article in The New Humanitarian, Internews activist Firmansyah Syamsi shared how KSB journalists take a unique approach to disaster reporting. “Usually, after a disaster, the kind of news that is published especially in Indonesia is just about blood and victims being put on display.” However, KSB knew this approach wasn’t in line with their goals or ethics. “So we promote the perspective of victims so that victims feel they are heard.”
By giving survivors the opportunity to share their stories, this grassroots news source will ensure that the rebuilding process is inclusive and accountable in the months to come.
When you donate through GlobalGiving, you’re making the smart choice to support sustainable, community-centered change led by partners like these. As inspirational local leaders build resilience long after the disaster, we’ll continue to keep you updated—your generosity makes stories like this possible.
Warmly,
Nicole Gieselman + the GlobalGiving Team
