Needs assessment, three weeks after hurricane Stan
Rob Hamrick26 Oct 2005 5:00 PM
In the early morning of 5 October, after four days of continuous rain, a series of mudslides came down the mountain above Santa Catarina Palopó, roughly following the path of the two rivers that flow through town into Lake Atitlán. This brought down water, mud, and boulders weighing between 25 and 1500 lbs. onto the houses in the vicinity of the rivers.
Boulder brought down by the main mudslide.
Most were able to leave their homes during the storm and take refuge on safer ground in the public school or other municipal buildings. As a result, thankfully, there was only one fatality. However, families living in close proximity to the rivers suffered significant loss to property and livelihood. Many more would certainly have died if they had not been able to leave their houses. Since I have been in Santa Catarina, I have heard vivid descriptions of the terror people experienced while people huddled together listening to the sound of boulders tumbling down the mountain towards them; and whenever it begins to rain again, people comment about how much it puts them on edge.
At my latest count, 17 homes were completely destroyed and over 100 houses were completely filled with water and mud, which, in many cases, washed away possessions that families had accumulated over years. One man, for example, lost his life savings of Q18000 ($US 2400). He had set aside half of this for his mother's funerary clothes, her funeral, and her burial--and had set aside the other half for his children's expenses. A number of widowed women are among those who lost everything; and they face particularly difficult challenges in earning enough to support their children in the now faltering regional economy, let alone undertaking the large costs required for rebuilding their homes or relocating to a less vulnerable site.
My aim is to pursue projects that not only distribute aid to the needy, but that encourage Catarinecos to act with some agency in the process. In my experience, collective labor and civic organization are focal points for the formation of local collective agency. By targeting these areas for the distribution of aid, as well as by taking steps to minimize forms of local conflict that stem from the unfair distribution of aid, I believe that basic needs can be fulfilled at the same time that Catarinecos play some active role in the process--to act to transform an overwhelming and demoralizing situation into one over which they have some control. Beyond that, however, my main concern is that people get what they need to get back on their feet; and, without careful attention to the aid process and the ability to redress the worst abuses its worst abuses, I fear that some people will not get what they need. Of course, I welcome any form of contribution you are willing to give, including comments, questions, and critique--or even visiting Santa Catarina itself.