After the Hurricane Stan - what to do

Letter to friends of la Hermandad Educativa, Quetzaltenango

Dear friends and students of Hermandad Educativa

I am writing to you on behalf of el Proyecto Lingüístico Quetzalteco de Español and La Escuela de la Montaña in Guatemala.

As you probably know, the heavy rains of the hurricane Stan have left more than 100.000 Guatemalans without a home, and whole communities have been devastated by mudslides while others have been flooded by rain. Communities in the western and central highlands, especially Sololá, as well as el Oriente have been badly hurt.

I have been in daily contact with the Proyecto Lingüístico Quetzalteco and I want to tell you that teachers and students at both schools are fine. The people at la Montaña (The Mountain School) have had to stay at the school while the dirt road was impossible to use because of holes and broken bridges, but were expected to get to Xela on Thursday 13th of October. Update: The students at la Montaña have arrived safely in Xela.

Is it safe to go to Xela after the hurricane?

If you are going to Guatemala to study and wonder if the situation in Quetzaltenango (Xela) will be safe, please see the travel information entry on my weblog where I will try to keep an update on the situation:

As you see I believe it is safe to go to Xela at this moment, and the situation is already much better in this city. However, you should read the updates about the conditions of the roads, as there have been severe damages to the highways.

However, other communities have not been so fortunate. The lower part of Xela was flooded when water and mud came down el Cerro Baúl and made Calle Cirilo Flores a bassin and later a river. Worse still is the situation in the communities surrounding Xela. Two communities above the Mountain School: El Rincon and las Nubes, have been badly hit by the rains.

What is being done

Although the city of Xela is sure to recover, the rest of the department is in bad shape. The government has been very slow in responding to the catastrophe. Many indigenous Maya communities have not received any help at all, while the government has given priority to protecting the cash crops for exportation which are cultivated in the plantations on the South Coast.

Volunteers - teachers and students - from el PLQE have been helping in getting emergency relief to the victims of the hurricane and in cleaning houses of mud in order to make the houses inhabitable again. This effort will continue in the near future in communities outside of Xela and in Colomba. The school is receiving aid given to it by citizens of Xela for further distribution, and other provisions are bought with money from donations for the damaged communities: foods, drinking water, medicine, carpets and clothing.

Here is how you can help

We feel a great need to help the neighbouring communities of our schools in this sad moment, both near the Mountain School in Colomba/San Martín and in Xela (surrounding communities). If you are near Xela you are welcome to come to the school and offer your help. Otherwise you may consider making a donation to cover the costs of buying provisions for distribution. The school itself has made the first donations, but any kind of contribution by the friends of the school will be much appreciated. The funds collected will be used to provide emergency aid in damaged communities and if possible to assist them in building a new life: reconstruction of houses and new corn seed for planting.

I would like to thank the many former students and friends of our schools who have already contacted me asking how to make contributions to the relief fund. Now I can answer your question, as el PLQE and I have agreed upon a very cheap and fast way to make sure that friends abroad can send money to Guatemala:

Contributions to our collection of funds for the school's assistance to their neighbours can be made to our European accounts, administered by me. I will immediately notify the school of donations coming in, the school will put out the money in Xela without delay, and the next time I send money to the school, I will include the relevant amount for the relief aid in the usual transfer. This way, contributions will get to Guatemala at the lowest cost possible and without any extra banking fees.

Bank account to use for contributions

Please use the Danish account unless you have better access to Barclays.
N.B.: Do not forget to name your transfer "STAN"

Denmark

Nordea Bank Danmark
Account: 1957-6872 938778
SWIFT address (BIC code): NDEADKKK
IBAN: DK2220006872938778
(Mikkel Møldrup-Lakjer)

United Kingdom

Barclays Bank
Branch: 20-47-61, Account: 10022934
(Mikkel Moldrup-Lakjer)

Please forward this message to any friends of our schools that you think would like to help.

You are welcome to contact me about any doubts. I will be writing about the development of the situation on my weblog, in Danish and in English: http://lakjer.dk/mikkel/blog/

Best regards from Denmark,
Mikkel Møldrup-Lakjer

Hermandad Educativa

Tel: +45-8942 7062
E-mail: hermandad@lakjer.dk

Opdateret d. 24.11.2005