DISASTER RESPONSE IN GUATEMALA
Thanks to our wonderful supporters in the USA and UK, we've generated an Emergency Fund of almost $25,000 for Guatemala’s equines and the families that depend on them! This total includes one substantial donation made yesterday to Brooke USA, which has raised a total of $15,000 for Guatemala. Thank you!
Brooke’s Emergency Fund enables Brooke's partner ESAP to buy, transport and distribute much needed food, water and first-aid for working horses, donkey and mules, and other survivors of the Guatemala volcanic eruptions. Initial scoping by ESAP indicates that the money raised will cover all these emergency costs, and we are therefore closing Brooke USA’s emergency appeal.
Any donations received above the amount needed for the emergency response will go to our other work with ESAP in Guatemala. Thank you so much to everyone who donated – in just under a week we have had a huge response from concerned animal lovers who wanted to make a difference in this time of huge uncertainty for the people and working equines in Guatemala. Thank you for your generosity.
To learn more about the disaster response, please see below.
Lava spurts from erupting Fuego volcano in Guatemala. Photo by Lucy Brown.
The Benefit of Disaster Preparedness
Brooke has worked in Guatemala since 2006, and specificially in some of the areas that have been badly affected by the volcano, through a partnership with Equinos Sanos para el Pueblo (ESAP), to improve the welfare of working equines. For more than a year, the forward-thinking team has been preparing for the possibility of a natural disaster by networking between MAGA (the Ministry of Agriculture), CONRED (the Guatemala National Disaster Reduction Coordinator) and World Animal Protection (which has a disaster response arm and a team in Costa Rica) to represent the needs of equines in a disaster response situation. Currently, in communities outside the directly impacted zone, the team is working to provide emergency feeding for animals, and provide care.
Why is it Important to Help the Equine Victims in Guatemala?
People and animals alike are suffering.
Much of the working equine population is used for transporting agricultural products such as corn, beans and wood and for carrying water from wells to homes. The loss of a family’s horse, donkey, mule or other animals, makes it very difficult – if not impossible – for a family to support itself. By helping these important animals, we’ll also be helping the families who have been displaced or affected by this disaster get back on their feet.
Tangible Help
Your donation has allowed us to assist our partners in Guatemala in their efforts to help people who are on the ground, on the front lines, helping the victims of the disaster.