AHAH Monthly Program Update - Guatemala (April 2022) - English

GUATEMALA HURRICANE RELIEF UPDATE APRIL 2022

TOTAL IMPACT 81

VOLUNTEERS LIVES IMPACTED

2,467

2,712 VOLUNTEERS VOLUNTEER DAYS VOLUNTEER DAYS

2,467

LIVES IMPACTED JOBS COMPLETED

4

SCHOOL IN PROGRESS Photos: (Top) Volunteers mucking SCHOOL WASH FACILITIES IN and guttingPROGRESS a home; (Left) Tree removal

Current Activities Despite facing challenging heat in the last month, progress on Nuevo Edén, El Manantial and Monja Blanca schools have been moving quickly. Not only has work neared completion on the first three schools, but we’re delighted to have started work on a fourth school: La Ruinas. At El Manantial and Monja Blanca schools, the flushing latrine blocks are completed up to the top or ‘ring’ beam and ready for roofs to be installed. At Nuevo Edén school, dry latrines are being constructed which involves a more complex design. So far, the structure has been built to the mid beam and blockwork has begun.

We are incredibly grateful to the 60 community volunteers who supported work at El Manantial school and dug the trenches for the leach field in a single day. A leach field, or septic tank drainage field, is an underground array of perforated pipes adjacent to the septic tank. Thanks to the hard work of our community and residential volunteers, we are close to completing our work at Nuevo Eden, El Manantial and Monja Blanca schools.

Partnership Spotlight: PERIOD. PERIOD. is a global youth-powered nonprofit that strives to eradicate period poverty and stigma through service, education and advocacy. PERIOD. aims to center those disproportionately affected by period poverty and support local efforts for menstrual equity. In 2019, UNICEF reported that in Latin America, 43% of students who have their menstrual period prefer not to attend school on those days, making menstruation one of the leading causes of school absenteeism.

Photos: (Top) Tool training for the volunteers; (Left) Volunteer painting at Monja Blanca school

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PERIOD.’s chapter in Guatemala will provide menstrual hygiene training for the teachers, parents and older students of the six schools AHAH has been working with and the broader community. The first stage involved surveying with individuals to understand their current knowledge base around menstrual hygiene and, crucially, if they are interested in knowing more about the topic.

Thirteen of the fifteen individuals interviewed consider it essential to learn more about the issue and would like AHAH and PERIOD. to support their communities with menstrual hygiene training. The survey also highlighted the entrenched social stigmas that menstruation is seen as ‘shameful’ and menstrual blood as ‘dirty’. By raising awareness about menstrual hygiene, we can improve not only girls’ education but girls’ future.

Disaster Profile In November 2020, Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota, both Category 4 storms, devastated communities across Central America. First, Hurricane Eta struck on November 3 and slowly moved across northern Nicaragua and into eastern Honduras, before continuing its path into northeastern Guatemala and the Caribbean. Just 15 miles away from Eta’s landfall, Iota then struck on November 17 and followed a similar path. Both storms led to significant flooding and landslides across the region, impacting millions of people. Alta Verapaz was one of the hardest hit regions in Guatemala. The communities of Chisec are suffering from a severe lack of suitable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, relying on water sources that were compromised by the floods after Eta and Iota.

Our Work All Hands and Hearts launched a remote assessment immediately after the hurricanes in November 2020. Based on our findings and the COVID-19 situation in the region, we transitioned to a ground assessment in Guatemala at the end of January 2021 to explore how we could contribute to the recovery effort. Our first relief program addressed the early-recovery needs of communities impacted by Hurricanes Eta and Iota by restoring community infrastructure in Sesajal, Chisec, and four water collection facilities in Seraxqen. Our second relief program in Guatemala is focused on constructing vital Water, Sanitary and Hygiene (WASH) infrastructure across the six most vulnerable schools in Alta Verapaz.

About All Hands and Hearts We effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. We communicate directly with local leaders and community members and then deploy our unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, helping to build safer, more resilient schools, homes and infrastructure.

Photos (Top) Blocklaying at Nuevo Edén; (Middle) Working on formwork for the columns at El Manantial;.(Bottom) Pouring concrete in Monja Blanca

Our Partners

We have earned a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator for the eighth year in a row. This year only percent ofarated nonprofits distinction for financial We six have earned 4-star rating byreceived Charity this Navigator for the seventh and yearoperational in a row. This year only efficiency. seven percent of rated nonprofits received this distinction for financial and operational efficiency.

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