Solidarity Engineering to provide aid in Guatemala
Donation protected
Back in December 2020, Solidarity Engineering went with Global Response Management to provide hurricane relief aid to two remote villages in Guatemala - Sesejal and Chibut. To learn more about that trip, check out this storymap .
These communities have recently reached back out to our team, asking for additional aid. The floodwaters are finally receding from these villages, which had been submerged for months. The people there need filters to be able to drink their water, repairs on the latrines to make them functional, bleach for disinfection, soap for proper hygiene, and much more.
Christa Cook, Erin Hughes, and Adam Erispaha will be heading down to the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala, where Sesejal and Chibut are located, to accomplish the following goals;
1. Distribute LifeStraws, and provide sufficient training for proper maintenance.
2. Provide soap and hold hygiene promotion workshops; bring the local clinic up to hygiene standards, creating an example space for other to follow. This would include the installation of a hand sink, access to soap and keeping the area generally clean and bug-free.
3. Install hand sinks by converting the existing rainwater collection systems into handwashing stations or use tippy taps.
4. Improvement of existing latrines and construction of new latrines; including adding ventilation, fixing roofs, replacing broken floorboards, adding locks and lighting, and general upkeep. This also includes identifying latrines that cannot be rehabilitated and decommission them.
5. Interview women in the community to understand the best way to manage menstruation; distribute feminine hygiene products.
6. Distribute solar lights to improve safety and security.
7. Continue monitoring water quality by water testing using the iDip.
8. Continue monitoring water levels using drone imagery and surveys.
In addition to the above, we hope to engage with the community every step of the way - to learn from them, teach them what we know, and leave them with the skills to continue these water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives. The backbone of Solidarity Engineering is to work with and empower the communities we aim to help. Because of this, and because of our ambitious goals, we hope to stay in Sesejal and Chibut for a full 5 weeks.
If you can help, please donate! Without funding, the people in Sesejal and Chibut will be left without some of their basic human needs met (such as safe, drinkable water).
These communities have recently reached back out to our team, asking for additional aid. The floodwaters are finally receding from these villages, which had been submerged for months. The people there need filters to be able to drink their water, repairs on the latrines to make them functional, bleach for disinfection, soap for proper hygiene, and much more.
Christa Cook, Erin Hughes, and Adam Erispaha will be heading down to the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala, where Sesejal and Chibut are located, to accomplish the following goals;
1. Distribute LifeStraws, and provide sufficient training for proper maintenance.
2. Provide soap and hold hygiene promotion workshops; bring the local clinic up to hygiene standards, creating an example space for other to follow. This would include the installation of a hand sink, access to soap and keeping the area generally clean and bug-free.
3. Install hand sinks by converting the existing rainwater collection systems into handwashing stations or use tippy taps.
4. Improvement of existing latrines and construction of new latrines; including adding ventilation, fixing roofs, replacing broken floorboards, adding locks and lighting, and general upkeep. This also includes identifying latrines that cannot be rehabilitated and decommission them.
5. Interview women in the community to understand the best way to manage menstruation; distribute feminine hygiene products.
6. Distribute solar lights to improve safety and security.
7. Continue monitoring water quality by water testing using the iDip.
8. Continue monitoring water levels using drone imagery and surveys.
In addition to the above, we hope to engage with the community every step of the way - to learn from them, teach them what we know, and leave them with the skills to continue these water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives. The backbone of Solidarity Engineering is to work with and empower the communities we aim to help. Because of this, and because of our ambitious goals, we hope to stay in Sesejal and Chibut for a full 5 weeks.
If you can help, please donate! Without funding, the people in Sesejal and Chibut will be left without some of their basic human needs met (such as safe, drinkable water).
Organizer
Erin Hughes
Organizer
Philadelphia, PA
