Guatemala Reconstruction & Relief
Location: Sesajal, San Pedro Carchá in the department of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
Dates: June - July - August 2021
Call for Volunteers - Join our next delegation to Guatemala!
In November 2020, two Category 4 Hurricanes: Eta and Hurricane Iota, struck communities across Central America. Hurricane Eta struck first on November 3 and slowly moved across northern Nicaragua and into eastern Honduras, before continuing its path into north eastern Guatemala and the Caribbean on November 6. Just 15 miles away from Eta’s landfall, near Haulover, Iota then struck 2 weeks later and followed a similar path. The rains from Eta and Iota caused landslides and flooding in Guatemala, leaving the greatest impact on the departments of Izabal and Alta Verapaz. According to the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED), over 1.9 million people were affected by Eta and Iota, including more than 1.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance, 60 people dead, 30 injured, at least 100 people missing, some 60,000 moderately to severely damaged homes and a large amount of affected and damaged national and community infrastructure, including roads, bridges, buildings, schools and health infrastructure. Among those affected, about 56,476 people are displaced in official and non-official collective centers.
NATAN answered the call of our partner, American NGO All Hearts And Hands (AHAH), to join a relief operation in the area: construction on a community center with the associated water, sanitation, and hygiene(WaSH) facilities which include latrines and water storage for the community of Sesajal, San Pedro Carchá in the department of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. NATAN’s head of Psychosocial Relief, Dr. Eitan Shahar and social worker Efrat Gronsky flew to Guatemala in early June 2021 to join the AHAH team. Eitan and Efrat are embedded with the AHAH teams, providing trauma aid training to the villagers as well as the American volunteers. The psychological first aid training is based on the Six C’s model developed by Dr. Moshe Farchi.. Click here to read the team’s dispatches from the field: Guatemala Diary.
Villagers in Sesajal, San Pedro Carchá in the department of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
Dr Eitan Shahar (bottom row, Left), Efrat Gronsky with local community in Sesajal, San Pedro Carchá, Guatemala
Dr Eitan Shahar meets with the local community to learn of their needs
NATAN psychosocial aid volunteer, Efrat Gronsky (right) with local villagers
Dr Eitan Shahar at the construction site
NATAN psychosocial aid volunteer, Efrat Gronsky (right) with AHAH volunteer
NATAN psychosocial aid volunteer, Efrat Gronsky (right) with AHAH volunteer
AHAH volunteers work with local community to build community center
Blended team: AHAH volunteers and local community members, building their own community center
AHAH volunteers on site in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
AHAH volunteers with local community team
Dr Eitan Shahar,and Efrat Gronsky with the newest member of the community