Category: Guatemala

Sharing a Post Has Consequences… like a new school.

A Reporter’s Simple Story Gets Big Results

Aspiring Guatemalan reporter Brian Quevedo visited the small village of El Xab (pronounced El SHAB) just to do a little piece about their school.  The impoverished community had banded together to build its own elementary school. Quevedo wanted to document their struggles to educate their children.

When the story appeared on Canal 46 TV in Retalhuleu, it caught the attention of AMEDICAusa. We contacted Brian to get the full story so that we could aid the school.  Within a few days AMEDICAusa volunteers were in El Xab delivering educational supplies and evaluating the needs of the school with an eye toward improving its construction.

AMEDICAusa volunteers in El Xab - AMEDICAusa

AMEDICAusa volunteers deliver school supplies to El Xab in March

The school’s needs are many. Hand built by local volunteers, it is constructed largely of bamboo, has no running water (and its well has since gone dry), no electricity,  only improvised outhouses for sanitation, and dirt floors. Its tables and desks are mostly improvised from discarded wood and cement blocks.
Even pencils, paper and books are in short supply.

The community is made up largely of indigenous Maya campesinos, subsistence farmers and field workers who often can not afford even shoes for their children, much less the school supplies for their education.

Quevedo’s follow up story about AMEDICAusa‘s mission to “the School Around the Mango” aired in Guatemala on March 14th. Widely shared on social media, the story made its way to the offices of Fundación Tigo , the charitable arm of the Latin American telecommunications giant.

Even Guatemala’s President Gets Involved In New School

Inspired by the story, Fundación Tigo moved with astonishing speed. Committing themselves to building the new school, they planned new buildings, with ten classrooms, utilities, modern sanitation, two sports fields and even a computer lab. What could normally be expected to take a year or more was accomplished in weeks.

 

First stone of the new School Around the Mango - AMEDICAusa

President Jimmy Morales and Tigo set the first stone at the School Around the Mango (Courtesy Government of Guatemala)

On July 15th, Tigo officially broke ground on the rebuilding project, with Guatemala’s President, Jimmy Morales, ceremonially setting the first stone of the new building.  Construction is scheduled to be completed by October of this year. The students will be in their new school when classes reopen after the winter break in February.

“We are proud to have been a small part of this,” said Neale Brown, President of AMEDICAusa “but this is really a story about how one reporter’s efforts and the power of social media can come together to create change in a community.”

“Brian’s stories reached people, even across different languages, in a personal way.” said Brown. “They inspired people to get involved and to do something, even if it was something as simple as sharing the story on Facebook. That made all the difference.”

AMEDICAusa, inc. is an I.R.S. 501(C)(3) registered charity, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.

Donating to AMEDICAusa ‘s ongoing programs is easy. Get the details here.

Volcano Explosions Prompt Warning in Guatemala

Residents and Agencies Warned of Imminent Ashfall

Two very large explosions  at Guatemala’s Santiaguito Volcano have caused the government agencies to issue warnings in southwestern Guatemala.

The latest, occurring this morning at 5:12 local time,  threw ballistic bombs for over a mile, an ash cloud over 16,000 feet high and caused pyroclastic flows to rumble down the mountainsides.

(INSIVUMEH photo)

(INSIVUMEH photo)

A Pyroclastic flow is a collapsing, high-density mix of hot lava blocks, pumice, ash and volcanic gas. They move at very high speed down volcanic slopes, at up to 450 miles an hour. One such event buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

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Friday, a similar, somewhat smaller explosion rocked the mountain.

Volcano Warnings for Ash and More Explosions.

INSIVUMEH, the government scientific agency charged with monitoring volcanic activity throughout the country, issued a warning for significant ashfall for 20-25 miles south and west of the mountain, with the advisory that fine ash could drift much farther. They also noted that additional explosions and activity are likely with a possibility of explosions much greater is size. Aircraft have been warned away from the area.

Santiaguito Explosion Friday - AMEDICAusa

Friday explosion at Santiaguito

Volcanic ash can range from fine dust particles to gravel and poses significant health risks when inhaled. Volcanic ash is heavy, and significant ashfall can cause roof and structural collapse. When wet, such as from Guatemala’s recent heavy rains, it has the consistency and weight of wet concrete and can cause massive landslides.

Several of these volcanic landslides, called Lahars, have occurred in Guatemala over the last week, both at Santiaguito and Volcán Fuego another of the country’s three erupting volcanos.

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The warnings include the villages of San Marcos and Loma Linda, Palajunoj, Finca El Faro, Patzulin, El Patrocinio, and the populations of El Palmar, San Felipe, Las Marías and others in this area. It is likely to drop Ash on Mazatenango and its municipalities.

AMEDICAusa, inc. is an I.R.S. 501(C)(3) registered charity, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.

Donating to AMEDICAusa ‘s ongoing programs is easy. Get the details here.

Guatemalan Landslides Leaving Many Homeless

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Tzununá, Sololá, Guatemala

 168 people left homeless and more than 28 structures damaged by landslide in a small Guatemalan village.

The landslide occurred in the Patuyá section of Tzununá, where authorities are setting up two  emergency shelters to house the affected people, the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) reported. (CONRED is the Guatemalan equivalent of FEMA in the United States.)

Cristian Rodriguez, CONRED spokesperson, reported that at least 28 families are affected and they are coordinating with other officials to transfer them to a shelter.

Landslide Damage in Tzununa - AMEDICAusa

(photo: Prensa Libre / CONRED)

 

“The houses were flooded by mud and stones that broke off from the mountain. Those affected are going to be moved because they are cut off and there is continued danger of further slides.” added Rodriguez.

AMEDICAusa Vice President Silvana Ayuso is in Guatemala and has been in contact with CONRED and Military officials at the scene and reported that emergency supplies are already enroute to the area.

“We are preparing to send emergency food supplies and clothing right now.” said Ayuso. ” This is happening in other places in Guatemala, and there is a significant danger of a much larger landslide happening anywhere right now… We must be ready.”

Muslide fatality Quetzaltenango Guatemala - AMEDICAusaIn the Department of Quetzaltenango on July 12th, a landslide killed a 61 year old man, despite efforts by the local firefighters to revive him.

Another slide was reported in the Department of Alta Verapaz last night.

 

Last October a catastrophic landslide buried the village of El Cambray Dos, outside Guatemala City, killing an estimated 350 people,  many of whom were never recovered.

 

 

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Municipal Orange Alert to be declared in Santa Cruz La Laguna.

In order to expedite assistance for affected families and help prevent further damage or injuries, the Mayor of the Municipality is expected to make the declaration today.

 

Guatemala lanslide danger map CONRED - AMEDICAusa

Current Guatemala Landslide Danger Map – Areas in red are at the highest risk (CONRED)

According to information provided by  CONRED, soils in the western areas of Guatemala are over-saturated with the recent heavy rains, conditions which facilitate landslides. More Rain and thunderstorms are expected today.

In addition, officials are concerned with the possibility of Lahars, volcanic mudflows of ash, rocks and rainwater, that can be literally boiling hot and have the consistency (and mass) of wet concrete. A Lahar occurred on June 13th from the slopes of Santiaguito, one of three currently erupting volcanoes in Guatemala.

 Video of Tzununa Landslide

  Video of flooding in Jerez, Jutiapa.

AMEDICAusa, inc. is an I.R.S. 501(C)(3) registered charity, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.

Donating to AMEDICAusa ‘s ongoing programs is easy. Get the details here.

 

 

 

Unusual Cargo to Fire Dept, San Cristóbal, Guatemala

San Cristóbal, Totonicapán, Guatemala-

AMEDICAusa volunteers arrived at the Fire Department here with an SUV filled with, by Firefighter standards, very unusual cargo.

AMEDICAusa bringing donated goods to the Fire Dept of San Cristóbal, Totonicapán, Guatemala

AMEDICAusa bringing donations to the Fire Dept of San Cristóbal, Totonicapán, Guatemala

Donated by the well-to-do of Guatemala City and others, the boxes, bags and cases contain not helmets, nozzles or other tools of the trade, but instead dresses, chic sportswear and other goods one might expect to find in a good downtown store.

 

Fire Departments in Guatemala receive little in the way of public funds. There are no property tax bases, government grants or city budgets to defray the costs of operation. Each department must find, or create, its own sources of funds, just to keep the doors open month to month. Some rent space in their fire station to small businesses, some sell potable bottled water, and some allow the creation of a marketplace in their parking lot.

In this case the donated goods will be sold in what amounts to a yard sale to raise money to help keep the lights on and the doors open.

Donated Fire Engine for delivery to San Cristóbal, Guatemala - AMEDICAusa

Donated Fire Engine for delivery to San Cristóbal

Part of AMEDICAusa‘s effort to train and equipment firefighters around this Central American country, this mission is a prelude to the delivery of a new used Fire Engine and equipment acquired and donated by a joint effort between The REDS Team, of North Carolina and AMEDICAusa .

 

 

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“The first line of defense in any disaster is the local Fire Service –  firefighters and paramedics.”  

– Neale Brown, retired Fire Department Officer and Paramedic, President of AMEDICAusa. 

 

The REDS Team with donated fire equipment bound for Guatemala - AMEDICAusa

REDS Team members packing donated fire equipment bound for Guatemala 

“By undertaking a proactive mission to equip and train these departments, we hope to make more of a difference in disaster situation in Guatemala,” Said Brown. “The first 72 hours after an incident begins are the most important, that’s when lives are saved and the most property salvaged. Unfortunately, that is also before international disaster relief teams can arrive.”

 

AMEDICAusa, inc. is an I.R.S. 501(C)(3) registered charity, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.

We are always looking for good, new or used Fire, Rescue and EMS equipment  to help in Guatemala.  Contact Us!

Donating to AMEDICAusa ‘s ongoing programs is easy. Get the details here.