Help Mexico's flood victims

Hi!

I wish you a very happy and prospective New Year!

In our last report, we told you we had planned to implement 10-hour workshops for the communities in the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca, so that they could be better prepared for the natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes that are common in the costal area of Mexico. However, due to the internal community dinamics and the times of the three chosen communites, we haven't been able to implement the training yet. The new plan is start in January or by latest in February.

Even though this might seem like a setback, this delay actually has proved to be fruitful. During the last months, we have had the opportunity to collaborate with civil protection authorities in the state of Hidalgo. While these authorities are experts on prevention and preparation for disasters caused by both the nature and the humans, they have asked us to work with them in the theme of life skills, such as decision-making, planning, management of stress and management of emotions. It is important that both the authorities and the civilian population can develop these skills that are very helpful in a case of natural or man made disasters.

This collaboration with the authorities in Hidalgo has given us new perspectives and ideas that we want to apply also in Guerrero and Oaxaca. For example, how the communitie can more easily identify risk zones and how they can deal with the risks more efficiently. One interesting idea that emerged in Hidalgo is also the training of community teams for civil protection. These teams could have a permanent character and could help the civil protection authorities in a case of a risky situation or a disaster. Training these teams in intercommunitary communication in order to implement more effective actions would also be important in the communities in Guerrero and Hidalgo. After training community members in general, we can start the second phase of the project to trian these community teams.

We are very excited to incorporate all these new learnings to this project!  

Thank you for your support!

Hi!

You can't prevent natural disasters. But can you be prepared for them? Sure you can. You might not be able to avoid all the damages, but if people are more prepared and know what to do in a case of natural disaster, its consequences can be at least less disastrous.

In Mexico, the hurricane season takes place between June and November every year. During these months, the coastal regions, including the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero are most vulnerable to suffer from natural disasters. In addition to storms and hurricanes, the coast of Guerrero and Oaxaca is also vulnerable to earthquakes. This is why it is important to not only attend the consequences of disasters, but also train the communities to be more prepared to the catastrophes. 

As Yolanda from Cuajiniquilapa commented to us: “We think it is important that people learn to prevent things when there is a catastrophe… What they can do to prevent diseases, for example. People have already lost so much, learning to manage all these emotions would also be important.”

To answer to these needs, Yo quiero Yo puedo (IMIFAP) has developed educational materials on what to do in case of natural disasters. The materials are brief and easy to read, with simple and concrete instructions in themes like: first aid; personal hygiene and hygiene in the house; taking care of the babies in a case of a disaster; how to store prepare food and water in order to avoid diseases; team work and management of emotions. There are materials for both adults and children, as it is important that children learn the basic instructions too. This way, they can participate in the activities to help their families and communities, be less vulnerable in case of losing family members and learn to be responsible citizens when they grow up.

The educational materials are important, but in our opinion, they can be more effective if they are used as part of a training process. The communities we work with, have expressed their interest in participating in workshops on these themes. This is why Yo quiero Yo puedo (IMIFAP) has also developed a 10-hour course for the communities. We will start implementing with three courses, two in Guerrero and one in Oaxaca during September. I’ll keep you posted!

Thank you for continuing to help the marginalized communities of Guerrero and Oaxaca!