Empowers 1000 women in Acapulco after hurricanes

“Rebuilding is not just about putting up walls, it's about restoring the inner strength that sustains a community.”

In this third stage of the project, we have deepened the psychosocial support that began after hurricanes Otis and John, strengthening both the women in rural communities and the team that supports this process in the field.

Group therapy in rural areas: shared resilience

During this period, new group self-care therapy sessions were held in rural communities, consolidating safe spaces where women continue to work on managing post-traumatic stress, grief, anxiety, and rebuilding their lives.

These sessions have made it possible to:

Strengthen collective trust and emotional support among women.

Identify emerging community leaders.

Consolidate local mutual support networks that transcend formal sessions.

Participants have expressed that these spaces not only help them heal, but also regain their voice and sense of territorial belonging. In contexts where precariousness persists, group therapy has become a concrete tool for community reconstruction.

Caring for those who care: strengthening the team

Understanding that the sustainability of the impact requires emotionally strengthened teams, a face-to-face therapy process was carried out for members of the association's team, who have been on the front line since the emergency began.

This space allowed them to:

Process the emotional exhaustion accumulated after months of crisis response.

Prevent compassion fatigue syndrome and extreme exhaustion.

Reaffirm institutional commitment through self-care and the ethics of collective care.

Investing in the well-being of the team is not an additional operating expense; it is a strategic decision to ensure quality, ethical, and sustainable interventions over time.

Key advances in this stage

Continuation of group therapy in affected rural communities.

Consolidation of community networks of emotional support among women.

Specialized in-person therapy for the organization's operational team.

Institutional strengthening to ensure sustained and responsible support.

Lessons learned

We have confirmed that post-disaster recovery is neither linear nor brief. It requires perseverance, presence, and comprehensive care. We also learned that the well-being of the team is inseparable from the well-being of the communities we support.

Conclusion

Thanks to your continued support, the project not only accompanies the emotional recovery of women, but is also building solid foundations for sustainable resilience.

The women of Acapulco are transforming pain into community leadership. And the team that accompanies them is strengthened to continue walking alongside them.

When we support women and those who accompany them, we support the future of the entire community.