Rapid Response Payment Request No. 29/2008
Funds Sent To: Lutheran World Federation - Guatemala
Amount Sent: US$ 60,000
Date: 5 November 2008
Details of Response
Emergency: Floods caused by tropical depression
Date of Emergency: Ongoing since 19 October 2008
Implementing Members: Lutheran World Federation (LWF) & Conferencia de Iglesias Evangélicas de Guatemala (CIEDEG)
DETAILS OF THE EMERGENCY: Since the beginning of October, Guatemala has been affected by the intense rains that have poured over the Central America region. Most affected departments are Chisec, Alta Verapaz and Petén. However, between 19 and 20 October, the situation deteriorated when the remnants of the tropical storm "Sixteen" hit other municipalities and departments not yet affected before.
The official report from the National Coordination Unit for Disaster Reduction (Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres - CONRED), indicates 4 deaths and more than 45,000 persons affected, 12,727 of which have been evacuated. 6,772 persons still live in temporary shelters. The most affected departments are Alta Verapaz, Petén and Izabal. Other affected departments are Quiché, Chimaltenango, Zacapa, Baja Verapaz and Quetzaltenango.
According to the first assessments, a total of 5,123 houses have been badly damaged. Some bridges have been destroyed and roads have been affected. There is an important loss of crops, in particular maize, beans, rice and yucca.
Most affected population are the farmer families who suffer from the damage of their houses, loss of household utensils and loss of crops adding to their already prevailing economic strains.
ACTIONS TO DATE, AND EMERGENCY NEEDS: On 15 October, the government of Guatemala declared a state of national emergency in 20 municipalities of 4 departments. It allocated a budget of 500,000 Quetzal (70,000US$) for immediate response and 5 mio Quetzal (700,000US$) for longer term response to the floods.
The Guatemala Red Cross has assisted 38 communities in Sayaxché and 30 in La Libertad (both in the department of Petén), with food, clothes, blankets, drinkable water, hygiene kits and medicines. In Chisec (Department of Alta Verapaz), it supported 36 communities with food and clothes.
The United Nation Children Funds (UNICEF) distributed water and water purifiers. Following its needs assessment, the World Food Program (WFP) distributed corn, beans and oil to 618 families in Petén, 132 in Alta Verapaz and 200 in Quiché, in coordination with the Ministry for Agriculture, SESAN, SOSEP and CONRED.
Shortly after the first inundations affected the country early October, the ACT members Norwegian Church Aid and the Lutheran World Federation, in coordination with the other ACT members in the country through the ACT Guatemala Forum, distributed food kits and water purifiers to 75 families in the communities of Sayasché (Petén), with their own funds. The Conferencia de Iglesias Evangélicas de Guatemala (CIEDEG), supported by the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), had started to distribute food kits to the affected families in Chisec.
Following the 19-20 October floods, LWF and CIEDEG both sent staff to assess the level of damage and needs in the affected areas. They were accompanied by personnel from the Departmental Coordinating Unit for Disaster Reduction (CODRED) and the Community Development Councils (COCODES). The results have been presented to the ACT Forum which contributed to prepare the present request.
PROPOSED EMERGENCY RESPONSE:
- OBJECTIVE(S) OF THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE: To bring humanitarian assistance to 517 families hit by the inundations in the municipalities of Sayaxhé (Petén) and Chisec (Alta Verapaz).
- TARGET POPULATIONS: 517 families in 12 communities of the above mentioned municipalities: 417 families in 10 communities of Sayaxché and 100 families in 2 communities of Chisec.
The following criteria will be applied in selecting the beneficiaries: they must live in the assessed areas; they have received little if no help according to CODRED and their necessities have not all been covered. Among all these, the following beneficiaries will be prioritized: families which have totally loss their crop, families with damaged houses, single mothers, widows and elderly, as well as families with an important number of children. In preparing the assistance, specific gender needs as well as needs related to particular groups have been taken into account. All the assistance will be distributed in agreement with SE-CONRED.
- PROPOSED ASSISTANCE: The specific objectives will be:
o to provide 517 families with food items: each family will receive a food kit consisting of 50 pounds of corn, 25 pounds of beans, 15 pounds of sugar, 15 pounds of flour, ½ gallon of oil and 2 pounds of salt. The kits are to cover the needs of 6 persons during 15 days.
o To ensure that families basic hygiene needs are covered through the distribution to each family of an hygiene kit consisting in 2 tooth paste tubes, 4 toothbrushes (2 for adults and 2 for children), 1 pack of diapers, 2 packs of sanitary pads, and 2 bars of soap.
o To guarantee the availability of potable water during a year through the distribution of a water purifier to each family. They have the capacity to filter 5 gallons of water for every 12 hours (37 litres of water per day), in accordance with Sphere standards.
All the ACT Guatemala members staff involved in the distribution of the humanitarian assistance will promote the compliance with the Red Cross and ACT Codes of Conduct, as well as the Sphere minimum standards.
- IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS: The implementation will be a joint effort between LWF and CIEDEG in coordination with the ACT Guatemala Forum, and both SE-CONRED and COMRED. ACT GF will arrange with CONRED the use of transport to the affected municipalities. The appeal will cover the fuel costs.
The water purifiers will be purchased in the capital and transported to the affected region. The other items will be purchased on the local market, whenever possible. The funds will be administered by LWF. In order to buy the necessary items, CIEDEG will present specific requests to LWF. The tendering and purchase will be effectuated through the ACT Forum. A adjudication committee, appointed by LWF, selected the supplier on the basis of timely availability, quality and price.
- COORDINATION: The proposal has been jointly prepared by LWF and CIEDEG and has the approval of the ACT Guatemala Forum. The planning of the response has been coordinated with Se-CONRED, CODRED and COMRED and the local authority through regular meetings and communication. There is a working agreement between the ACT Guatemala Forum and the SE-CONRED. Both LWF and CIEDEG have regular meetings in the selected communities, with whom they work on a permanent basis through a number of projects.
- COMMUNICATIONS: There is no Communication Officer but the staff from LWF and CIEDEG will give regular reports of the intervention and be in contact with the medias. There will be a space on LWF Central America website ( in order to publish the result of the response).
- PLANNED IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD: the entire implementation will last two months. An appeal might be issued at a later stage in order to attend the needs of a higher number of families.
BUDGET: US$59,894
(For the detailed budget, kindly visit the ACT site. Thank you.)
ACTION
The ACT Co-ordinating Office has approved the use of US$ 59,894 towards the budget from its Rapid Response Fund and would be grateful to receive contributions to wholly or partially replenish this payment. Should there be an appeal for this emergency, the RRF payment will be considered as an advance.
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ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.
The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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