Update on Hurricane Stan Emergency Relief and Reconstruction

PRIMARY PHASE ($17,000)- Emergency Response and Relief: Over 60,000 people in El Salvador were evacuated to temporary shelters. Eleven (11) of fourteen (14) departments were affected by flooding destroying houses, plumbing, wells and crops. The Ilamatepec Volcano erupted in the northern area spewing ash and damaging local coffee plantations. SHARE worked with other national and international organizations to coordinate emergency relief efforts by developing temporary shelters in schools and churches while providing food, mattresses, clothing and hygiene items. SHARE placed $17,000 in support of the Emergency relief effort. The partner organizations that have aided their communities throughout the emergency include the IMU and CREDHO in Chachuapa, CDM in Tecoluca, ORMUSA in Olocuilta, CONAMUS in Jaltepeque, ISD in La Paz and Cuscatlan, and Tierra Blanca in the Bajo Lempa region. In the Lower Lempa , where SHARE has done much work, no one died, as the community was highly organized and more prepared for such an event.

SECONDARY PHASE ($147,000)- Reconstruction

Replanting Crops has been an essential part of reconstruction to develop a sustainable supply of food and to rebuild hope within devastated communities. SHARE has supported various areas and organizations in alternative agricultural projects utilizing humid-farming and hydroponic methods after the floods. Some of these organizations include CONFRAS who are aiding nine different cooperatives, CODESMA who is supporting hydroponic cultivations for women’s cooperatives and CREDHO who is creating alternative farming projects for families affected by the eruption of the Ilamatepec Volcano in Santa Ana .

Mental Health programs are extremely important for those who have suffered great loss and damage in the floods. SHARE is supporting mental health programs, workshops and trainings to help victims recover, become active in their community and restart their lives. The partner organizations with mental health programs include ASPS and ACAMG in Jiquilisco and San Marcos , and ACISAM, CRIPDES, ASMUR in Tecoluca and CODESMA in La Libertad.

Advocacy : SHARE is working with Tecoluca’s CDM and the communities of Jiquilisco and San Marcos to develop a strategic plan of reconstruction while advocating for repaired levees, plumbing, drains and roads. Maria Madre de Los Pobres in San Jacinto and Chacra of San Salvador will work with SHARE to advocate for new public works so that future floods and mudslide can be prevented. This group will also be requesting housing assistance for victim families while petitioning for cleaned rivers, repaired pipes and laws to develop further environmental protection. SHARE will work with partner organizations to assure more preparedness for emergency situations on a national level.

Solidarity With Guatemala : SHARE is providing a five thousand dollar grant to the IDEX foundation that is supporting relief and reconstruction efforts in the rural areas of San Marcos , Concepcion Tutuap and Chiquirichapa. The relief effort from local NGOs is especially important in rural parts of Guatemala instead of military relief workers because rural indigenous communities still do not trust military forces from the frequent massacres of the past in their thirty-six year Civil War of 1960-96.

We invite you to join SHARE in solidarity throughout the emergency and reconstruction process after Hurricane Stan by donating today.