By Julia Levy | Grants Writer
Thanks to your contribution, Habitat for Humanity Guatemala has successfully carried out relief efforts for families affected by the Fuego Volcano disaster. Early on in our response, we decided to focus our support on those who had evacuated their homes and sought shelter with host families, as this population was missed by other NGOs and government bodies. Our team spent several weeks identifying 165 sheltered families living with 58 host families. The interventions we have provided improve living conditions in the often cramped and unequipped spaces that these families are sharing.
To date, we have distributed 52 water filters and 50 wood-burning smokeless stoves to the host homes, benefitting both the sheltered and host families with clean water and healthy cooking areas. In addition, 11 washing sinks and 14 water storage tanks have been installed in homes, on an as-needed basis. Finally, 147 families have received economic support to subsidize the cost of food and rent.
Although we originally planned to provide emergency kits to clean up affected homes, when the government deemed the affected areas currently uninhabitable, it became clear that families would not be able to return for months or in many cases, forever. For those families who can never return, they will need to rebuild, which leads us to our next phase-- reconstruction. Right now, 16 families are signed on to build homes with Habitat Guatemala in the residential area where we have purchased land, called Valle de las Flores.
One woman who Habitat Guatemala has worked with in our relief efforts is Aura. A single mom from El Rodeo, Aura was forced to flee her home after the eruption. She was close friends with the parents of Jorge and Jilmar, brothers who their lost many family members including their parents in the tragedy. Even though they share no relation by blood, Aura felt compelled to give the boys a place to live in the aftermath and took them in the home she is renting in Escuintla. She hopes to be able to return to her home following the rainy season and Jorge and Jilmar have been selected to receive permanent housing through Habitat Guatemala. We have delivered a water filter, stove, water tank, washing sink and will help cover 80% of Aura's rent for the next 6 months. While unrelated, these two families have legitimately become one. Aura loves her stove too!
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