Women rebuilding Guerrero/Hurricane Otis

"It is impossible to be resilient in the face of disasters without thinking about how threats impact our lives differentially; we are not all the same, in fact, not all women are the same. As Audre Lorde once said, 'It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept and celebrate those differences'. Integrating gender into humanitarian response and strengthening women's self-reliance and empowerment produces better humanitarian outcomes. Planning, preparing for and mitigating disasters, taking into account the lived realities of men, women, boys and girls are elements of gender-transformative programming."

-Tonni Brodber, UN Women Cluster Office Representative for the Caribbean

In today's world, we face major challenges arising from climate change, water crises, and transformations in migratory flows, among others. It is crucial to address these issues with a differentiated approach that considers the specific needs of women, men, boys, and girls to achieve effective responses. The active participation of women is fundamental in the recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of their communities, and their leadership must be recognized and valued at all times.

Throughout our accompaniment of groups led by women, we have witnessed the indispensable role played by these leaders from the first stages of response in their communities to their tireless advocacy work with local authorities.

So far, the "Women Rebuilding Guerrero" program has supported the organization Tlali, Conservación y Bienestar, A.C., whose objective is to empower Mexican girls, adolescents, and women living in communities on the coast of Guerrero, so that they can improve their living conditions. With the support provided, Tlali has mobilized people in solidarity from different regions to collaborate in clean-up and debris removal tasks, facilitating access to the peripheral communities of the port of Acapulco. In addition, they have provided essential supplies such as cleaning materials, food, and medicine to the affected communities.

On the other hand, the launch of the call for funding on January 30, 2024, represents a crucial step in our commitment to support at least 20 grassroots organizations led by women. These organizations have projects underway to rebuild their communities in the medium and long term, addressing fundamental aspects such as infrastructure, economic reactivation, and the reconstruction of the social network.

To date, we have received proposals from Afro-Mexican, indigenous, and young women's groups seeking to promote the recovery of the social network, access to physical and mental health, emergency response, and economic autonomy. The strategies proposed focus on community development, psycho-emotional support, and economic reactivation. The application window closes on February 29, 2024, giving way to the analysis of the proposals submitted by these organizations.