Mexico, Puebla and Morelos Earthquake Relief

On September 7th, 2017, and then again on September 19th, the lives of millions of Mexicans were changed forever. The first earthquake, registering at 8.2-magnitude, severely damaged already-impoverished communities in Oaxaca and Chiapas. The nation was still reeling when Mexico suffered another devastating 7.1-magnitude earthquake on September 19th, claiming over 400 lives in the states of Mexico, Puebla, and Morelos. Thousands of people were displaced as homes and these communities’ economies were reduced to rubble.

Over a year after the earthquake, ICF is working alongside local community foundations is in the third stage of our disaster relief work, funding long-term projects that will enable the sustainable recovery of communities. These initiatives are 2-3 year strategies to rebuild social fabric and economies, change government policies, train communities in disaster preparedness, and promote community leadership that will mitigate damages when the next disaster strikes. Community foundations are not humanitarian relief organizations, but thanks to their broad, well-established networks of trusted partners ranging from grassroots community leaders to public officials and large corporations or private foundations, Community Foundation are in many ways the best-suited partners for long-term development and disaster relief work.

As we enter the second year of post-earthquake work, here are some highlights from the local Community Foundations in Puebla, Morelos and the state of Mexico that ICF is supporting:

• Fundacion Comunitaria Puebla is an institution that aims to increase the philanthropic culture by channeling and managing resources transparently and with accountability, our work is aimed at the institutional strengthening of social causes promoting the improvement in obtaining results in favor of the vulnerable sectors it serves. Puebla Community Foundation has led the reconstruction of 559 homes benefitting more than 6 thousand residents in 5 communities.

• Fundación Comunitaria Malinalco: The municipality of Malinalco, in the State of Mexico is a hub of historical and cultural heritage in Mexico. Thankfully there were low numbers of deaths as a result of the earthquake, but there were were signficant impacts on both natural and man-made infrastructure. According to the municipal government, there were damages to 15 religious centers of historical value, including the Temple and ex-Convent of the Divine Savior. After addressing immediate basic needs in phase 1 of their disaster relief work, Fundacion Comunitaria Malinalco led an extensive diagnostic and reconstrcution process, leveraged funding from private sector and other foundations, and is now using their data and local networks to spearhead a long-term community driven reconstruction of the ‘social fabric’ and local economies.

The Participatory Diagnosis will allow the identification of social factors that intervene (for better or for worse) in the quality of the community’s social fabric; which will allow to define the strategic lines to work in a participatory manner, in the community, in the coming years to strengthen the social fabric. Though the earthquake was a great disaster, it brought an awakening of consciousness in the community, and demonstrated what a cohesive community can achieve.

• Fundación Comunidad, in Morelos, aims to unite local capacities and resources of different people and institutions in sustainable community initiatives, to strengthen the capacity of local self-management, and to improve the quality of the most vulnerable groups in Morelos. The earthquake of September 19 highlighted the conditions of social inequality experienced by thousands of families in Morelos. This disaster resulted in the loss of heritage and sources of employment that support approximately 20,000 households in 20 municipalities. The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI, 2017) reported that the most affected economic activities belong to the commercial sector and the manufacturing industry; affecting aproximately 18 million people employed in these sectors.

Based on this complex problem, Fundación Comunidad redirected their Gender Equity Fund to boost the local economy and empower women to generate resources to support their families. In Morelos half of the population are women, and about 32% are heads of families. After the Sept.19 earthquake, many women were affected, lost their heritage and sources of employment. Fundacion Comunidad recognized the need to reactivate the local economy to help generate resilient and sustainable communities. Through the Gender Equity Fund, they have led a mapping of existing women entrepreneurs and market assessment; opened a public call for proposals from which eligible women-led projects are selected to receive seed-funding and participate in trainings to make them successful and sustainable, and assist them in identifying new funding sources.

As philanthropic hubs in their regions, Community Foundations are highly-effective long-term partners for disaster relief work, providing leadership, knowledge, and the ability to leverage networks and financial support for a broad range of needs – ensuring that your donations are having the maximum impact for those who need the most help!

On September 7th, 2017, and then again on September 19th, the lives of millions of Mexicans were changed forever. The Sept. 7th earthquake registered at 8.2 magnitude, severely damaging already-impoverished areas of Oaxaca and Chiapas. It was the strongest quake Mexico had seen in over a century. The nation was still reeling when Mexico suffered another devastating blow just over a week later; this time the states of Mexico, Puebla, and Morelos bore the brunt of the 7.1 quake, which occurred on the 32nd anniversary of a devastating quake that claimed over 3,000 lives in 1985. Between these two quakes, over 400 lost their lives, while thousands others were displaced, their homes and businesses reduced to rubble. On the 1 year anniversary of the September 19th earthquake, ICF remembers the victims and would like to share some stories of the immense generosity and partnerships that we have been honored to be part of in the wake of such tragedy.

Within minutes of each earthquakes occurring, the international response to these natural disasters was astonishing. Through the use of social media campaigns and hashtags such as #PrayforMexico and #MexicoCityEarthquake, the international community quickly shared its solidarity with a heartbroken Mexico. The sheer number of donations is also a testament to the generosity of people from all over the world. The International Community Foundation alone received $774,000 USD in total donations for earthquake disaster relief, most of it within the first three months.

Thanks to ICF’s program team’s connections and expertise, we were able to nimbly respond and deploy these funds for immediate, basic needs such as water, medicine and psychological treatment. Within two weeks of the earthquakes, ICF had granted over $54,000 USD in emergency relief to grassroots organizations. Fundación Cántaro Azul A.C. was one of these first groups, working efficiently to provide emergency water quality interventions in rural communities of Morelos whose water systems were damaged by the September 19th earthquake. To date, these continue to benefit over 1,800 people.

When disaster strikes, one of the most critical issues facing a rebuilding country is to minimize long term damage. We focused on the needs of children, whose education was put on hold while schools need to be rebuilt, or who had suffered tragedy and trauma from the events. Many of our education grantees worked with local government to determine strategies for rebuilding schools or finding ways to provide students with interim education, to avoid learning gaps. Voces y Visiones de Malinalco is one of the organizations who worked to address this issue, and with help from a $30,000 grant, built 15 temporary classrooms in the community of Santa Monica de Ocuilán, in the state of Mexico, so that over 400 students could continue their studies while their permanent schools are being rebuilt – a process that may take up to three years!

While the first and second stages of ICF’s disaster relief response were primarily emergency and short term relief, during the third stage of disaster relief we sought to fund long-term projects that will enable the sustainable recovery of communities. ICF was proud to partner with Documental Ambulante, A.C./Levantemos Mexico to invest in comprehensive capacity-building projects and leaders (“fortalecedoras sociales”) involving leaders, community foundations, and nonprofits in the earthquake- affected areas. These initiatives are 2-3 year long strategies to change government policies, train communities in disaster preparedness, and promote community leadership that will mitigate damages when the next disaster strikes.

ICF is not a disaster relief organization, but thanks to our strong network of trusted partners, ranging from community leaders to officials in the government, Mexican Red Cross and United Nations, we were able to get the most up-to-date information about local needs and how to best deploy funds.

On the one-year anniversary of the Mexico earthquakes it is time to reflect upon and remember those who lost their lives, homes, and loved ones. It is also a time to admire the amazing efforts of Mexicans and Americans from all across the country who came together; displaying unity in the face of tragedy and loss.