Guatemala Disaster Relief

Type of Project: Financial Management
Request: Donation Management
Location(s):  Guatemala
Recipient: San Juan Mazá and various communities

In early October 2005, the central and western highlands and pacific coastal plains of Guatemala were hit by heavy rains as a result of Hurricane Stan, totaling more than sixteen inches of rainfall in a two day period.  The extreme saturation of the soil resulted in devastating landslides in the highlands and flooding in the coastal plains.  Impoverished communities became inaccessible by land. Due to limited road access, essential food, medicine, and access to clean water became difficult if not impossible to obtain for communities affected by the hurricane.

In response to the disasters taking place in Guatemala, an in-country missionary requested assistance from Trade Palms in the management of emergency relief donations.  Relief funds were used in a variety of methods: purchasing medicines and other medical supplies for communities affected by flooding, providing individual families financial support, providing meals for families moved to temporary shelters, and over $1,500 was used toward rebuilding a damaged water system.

San Juan Mazá, a community of almost 1,500 people, lost their only source of clean water when landslides destroyed over 3 kilometers of piping for their spring fed water system.  In collaboration with the community, Trade Palms was able to assist with the replacement of damaged piping to restore water to the community.  The rebuilding took several months to complete and community members volunteered their time to the reconstruction efforts.