In August of this year many of us heard about how difficult and dangerous Hurricane Grace was in the states of Hidalgo, Puebla and Veracruz. The faces of the people who sadly saw the effects on their assets were very heartbreaking images.
And although it was evident that the human and material damages in the 3,773 localities were immense, it was only until the observation missions were completed that the magnitude of the damage to the homes became evident. For example, it was made visible that the roofs of many houses had partial and total damage; and that access to basic services such as water and electricity continued to be suspended, keeping these populations isolated.
The natural disaster passed, but the consequences are still present in people’s lives to this day. Faced with this situation, Save the Children, in coordination with other organizations, undertook a humanitarian intervention strategy that contributes to the improvement of the affected communities.
On the one hand, we provide filters, purifying tablets and storage tanks to ensure access to safe water; in the same way, we provided pantries and promoted the recovery of home gardens for self-consumption to ensure the food security of the affected people and we gave them materials to facilitate the reconstruction of roofs and rustic palapas; Finally, we distributed hygiene kits to avoid contagion by covid-19 and we offered psychosocial support to promote the emotional recovery of families.
With these actions we hope to benefit at least 19 thousand people in the towns of Jopala, Cuetzalan, Cuautempan and Carrizal in Puebla; Coatzintla, Cazones de Herrera, Tehuitlán, Poza Rica, Papantla, Agua Dulce and Jalapa in Veracruz and Tula in Hidalgo.
There is still much to do, but united – government, private sector, public sector and society – we will be able to give a response that allows the affected people to recover; especially, we have to ensure that girls, boys and adolescents do not drop out of school and enter the labor market in order to contribute to the economic recovery of their families.
They and they need us. They and they deserve to get their lives back.