OZ is a Coalition of Faith-Based and Moral Communities.
In the coming early part of November 2019, Oz Coalition Stakeholder Nurit Greenger will join a week-long IsraAID ‘long-term recovery & resilience in Guatemala‘ field-visit.
It was Sunday, June 3, 2018 when the Fuego Volcano, located 40 kilometers southwest of Guatemala City, the capital of Guatemala, erupted. The eruption swept away at least five surrounding communities, causing some 190 casualties and 250 missing persons. Subsequently, mass evacuation of some 12,575 people, 50% of them children, took place.
The volcano eruption caused severe structural damage to preschools and primary schools and intact educational facilities were repurposed to become shelters, leaving some 16,000 children out of school in the immediate period following the disaster.
IsraAID’s emergency response arrived in the area one day after the catastrophic eruption and immediately offered water, sanitation and hygiene programming. Additionally, they provided mental health and psychological support in the temporary shelters.
Nine months later, the IsraAID team is still on the ground in Guatemala offering essential assistance to people who were directly affected by the volcano eruption and bolstering the ability of vulnerable communities to bounce back should any future disaster occur.
Guatemala is placed by the World Risk Index as the seventh most vulnerable country in the world. Partnering with Guatemala Ministry of Education, IsraAID is currently implementing risk prevention curricula and facilitator training. This involves creating concrete, inter-sectorial plans for communities to respond to any future crises and how to best support some 67,000 children and their families from 19 schools in the volcano’s vicinity and beyond. More so, IsraAID works with public health groups to provide psychological support to vulnerable communities to prevent long-term traumatic effects.
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