Hurricane Iota Relief Fund

Last November, communities in Central America were tasked with responding to dramatic flooding and mudslides caused by back-to-back hurricanes as they also battled economic crises sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic and extreme climate events.

Your donation made it into the hands of local, vetted nonprofits responding to Hurricane Iota and Hurricane Eta across Central America. Here's a brief glimpse of where your donations made a difference:

• Cruz Roja Nicaragüense has been providing emergency relief after disasters for years in Nicaragua. When Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota struck, their team immediately began providing primary health care, food delivery, hygiene kits, and building materials. The organization has now shifted its focus to providing water, sanitation, hygiene, psychosocial support to impacted individuals.

• Fabretto Children’s Foundation has been a GlobalGiving partner since 2009 and has an extensive track record of serving low-income communities across Nicaragua. In the immediate aftermath of both Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota, the organization delivered more than 100,000 pounds of food, hygiene items, and household goods to nearly 2,000 families. The nonprofit is now focused on supporting farming families that have seen their entire season of crops destroyed.

• EcoViva NFP is supplying food and basic necessities in Honduras with its local partner, Red COMAL. Through this partnership, impacted families in the areas of Santa Bárbara, Intibucá, La Paz, and Comayagua received food packs and hygiene kits. You can watch this short video to learn more.

• Banco de Alimentos de Honduras uses its deep network and community connections to provide food access across Honduras. The team is dedicated to driving resources to the states and areas most impacted by Eta and Iota to improve food security in the wake of the storms.

• Grace Honduras' mission is to provide holistic support, with a specific focus on education, to families who live and work in the garbage dumps of Honduras. In San Pedro Sula, the organization jumped into action to achieve five major goals: rebuild four storm-damaged homes, repair 10 roofs, provide direct financial support to 10 families, and provide psychosocial services to families who completely lost their homes, and ensure reliable transportation to medical services.

• Agua Pura Para El Pueblo is closely connected with a partner organization, Proyecto Aldea Global, to repair and rebuild damaged water systems in rural and remote communities in western and central Honduras (Ocotepeque, Lempira, Santa Bárbara, and Comayagua) that were hit hard by Eta and Iota.

• Un Techo para mi Pais Colombia is driving awareness about the impacts of the storms on the Colombian islands of San Andrés and Providencia (off the coast of Nicaragua). Each island was severely affected by the storms, with a vast majority of infrastructure on both islands sustaining damage. The organization continues to provide emergency food kits and housing support to communities on the islands.

In a region continuously affected by disasters, your support of GlobalGiving’s Hurricane Iota Relief Fund has helped us raise more than $187,000 for grassroots organizations. While GlobalGiving is now closing the Hurricane Iota Relief Fund, the need in the region remains high and we encourage you to consider supporting our partners’ ongoing projects related to the storms.

Thank you for standing in solidarity with GlobalGiving’s trusted nonprofit partners.

With gratitude,
Mikaela + the GlobalGiving Team

Last November, devastating back-to-back hurricanes Eta and Iota struck communities across Central America. Hurricane Eta, a Category 4 storm, and Hurricane Iota, a Category 5 storm, both came ashore in Nicaragua, ultimately impacting about seven million people in the wide-area from Mexico to Colombia. Communities in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala bore the brunt of the impacts. Tragically, these storms remind us that the effects of climate change continue to disproportionately impact the most at-risk communities across the globe.

Thanks to your generous donation to GlobalGiving’s Hurricane Iota Relief Fund, we have been able to provide immediate and ongoing financial support directly to our local, trusted nonprofit partners working in storm-impacted communities. Here is a snapshot of how GlobalGiving’s nonprofit partners have been making a difference since Hurricane Eta and Iota made landfall:

• Population Council is ensuring that Indigenous Q'eqchi' communities in Chisec, a town in northern Guatemala, receive the critical support they need to recover from the impacts of Eta and Iota. The organization is getting financial resources directly into the hands of Na'leb'ak, an autonomous network of young Indigenous women that connects them to vital resources during the multiple emergencies caused by COVID-19 and the hurricanes.
• Agua Pura Para El Pueblo’s long-standing relationship with a small, remote community in northern Honduras came into play after the community's water system was seriously damaged by the hurricanes. The nonprofit immediately acted to get the pipes and emergency supplies needed to repair the water system. The organization also quickly provided emergency supplies, including clean water, soap, bleach, and face masks, to Indigenous families in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas after their neighborhoods were flooded during the hurricanes.
• Un Techo para mi País Colombia is raising awareness about the impacts of the storms on the Colombian islands of San Andrés and Providencia. Each island was severely affected by the storms, with a vast majority of infrastructure on both islands sustaining damage. The organization continues to provide emergency food kits and housing support to communities on the islands.
• Integral Heart Foundation has a proven track record of serving local communities in Guatemala over the past 10 years. Following the hurricane and the impacts of Eta and Iota, the organization continues to work closely through its local networks in storm-impacted areas to provide emergency supplies to families that have lost their homes and livelihoods.

The need remains enormous for impacted communities across the region. Within the next two weeks, GlobalGiving will be sending another round of direct financial support to our Central American nonprofit partners on the frontlines of response. We will be in your inbox again in the months ahead with an update about the continued incredible work of our partners.

Thank you again for your generosity and support of community-led disaster recovery.

With gratitude, 

Chase + the GlobalGiving Team