Guatemala Volcano Relief Fund

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

It's been five months since Guatemala's deadliest volcanic event in nearly 90 years, and our nonprofit partners remain hard at work assisting survivors of Volcán de Fuego's violent eruption.  

Thanks to 980 generous donors like you who've raised more than $113,000 for community-led relief and recovery efforts, we've continued to receive encouraging reports of progress being made toward recovery:

• Fundacion Habitat para la Humanidad Guatemala’s team spent several weeks after the eruption identifying and supporting 165 sheltered families living with 58 host families, as this population was being missed by other NGOs and government bodies. They’ve distributed 52 water filters and 50 wood-burning smokeless stoves to the host homes, helping both the sheltered families and their hosts have access to clean water and healthy kitchens. They’re also working with 16 families from areas now deemed uninhabitable by the Guatemalan government to build new homes on newly purchased land in a residential area called Valle de la Flores.
• Asociación Generando (ASOGEN), in coordination with their partners at the Global Fund for Children, opened a shelter for families who fled El Rodeo village in Chimaltenango, and provided the evacuees with food, clothing, and medicine. They also launched a psychosocial care program to support children coping with trauma after the volcanic eruption.

Thank you again for your generosity, and for making the wise decision to donate cash to fund relief and recovery work after a natural disaster—it allows responders to quickly access the resources they need to address the most urgent needs of survivors while potentially helping revitalize local economies rather than disrupting them.  

Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months about the continued impact your donation is making on recovery efforts in Guatemala.

Warmly,
Will Frechette + the GlobalGiving Team

The Fuego volcano eruption beginning on June 3 now stands as the deadliest volcanic event in Guatemala since 1929. The eruption has produced violent pyroclastic flows and sent clouds of ash nine miles into the air, resulting in at least 114 deaths, 300 injuries, and more than 3,000 evacuations in the communities located south of the volcano, including of El Rodeo, Las Lajas, and San Miguel Los Lotes.

Since then, our vetted nonprofit partners on the ground in Guatemala have been hard at work delivering emergency supplies and services to survivors, with generous support from more than 500 GlobalGivers like you. Your donations are supporting the following organizations assisting those in need:

• Integral Heart Foundation has turned their school into a drop center for supplies on their way to the main rescue center supporting 676 people driven from their homes in Alotenago and is supplying medical supplies, food, and clothing to support relief efforts.
• Asociación Generando (ASOGEN), with the Global Fund for Children, is delivering emergency shelter, food, clothing, toiletries, and emotional support for children affected by the volcanic eruption and their families.
• Long Way Home has built green buildings in Guatemala for the last decade and is delivering food, clothing, and hygiene supplies to survivors. Once these immediate needs are met, the organization plans to transition to helping affected communities build earthquake-resistant homes and infrastructure.
• Appropriate Technology Collaborative is distributing small-scale solar power systems and clean water to families without these essentials.
• The God's Child Project has operated a homeless shelter in Santa Madre for 15 years and is providing shelter, food, clothing, medical care, and psychosocial support to 120 survivors who've lost their homes in the eruption.
• Habitat for Humanity Guatemala is supplying affected families with water filters and emergency kits to clean and rehabilitate their homes. As relief efforts transition to long-term recovery, their teams will help families construct new homes, sanitary latrines, and smokeless stoves.
• MAP International supplied first responders with emergency supplies immediately following the eruption, and is continuing to deliver their Disaster Health Kits to survivors, which include health supplies and comfort items to support people living in temporary shelters.
• IsraAID's Emergency Response Team began distributing emergency supplies on June 5 to meet urgent needs identified by affected communities, including hygiene products, and baby care items like diapers and wipes. The team is also assessing the water, sanitation, hygiene, mental health, and psychosocial support needs to plan for further relief efforts.
• CARE has worked in Guatemala since 1959, and their strong community connections have enabled them to respond rapidly to help impacted communities. Their emergency response team is providing assistance with water, sanitation, hygiene, food security, and protection for women and girls at risk of gender-based violence in the chaos following the eruption.

Thank you again for standing with survivors, and for making the smart choice to donate money to support community-led disaster relief efforts. We'll be back in your inbox in the coming weeks and month to keep you updated on the impact of your donation.

Warmly,
Will + the GlobalGiving Team