Guatemala Emergency! Your help is needed.
Our friends in Guatemala have experienced a double punch with the eruption of Pacaya Volcano near Guatemala City May 28th and hurricane Agatha on May 29th. The ash and gravel from the volcano was several inches thick and the airport had to be closed for days. You may make donations to a Rotarian administered relief fund at his link: Donate Now.
Check out this video for more about this disaster:
The rains from the tropical
storm, channeled by enormous amounts of sand and ashes spewed by the volcano,
have created havoc in many poor communities and many people are living in
emergency shelters. The storms caused flooding and mudslides and over 110,000
people have had to abandon their homes. There are over 180 known deaths.
The
Guatemalan Rotarians had established "The Rotary Emergency
Committee" for past disasters and have activated it again to deal
with this crisis.
District 6440 has been active in
Guatemala for several years and our friends are asking us for help.
They are in desperate need of canned food, blankets, grains,
etc. They have negotiated import and vat tax exemptions for emergency
donations.
For more information about sending supplies directly please contact (in English) Past President, Rotary Club of Guatemala City, Margarita de Klanderud at mdeklanderud@gmail.com.
However, it is our opinion that
cash contributions funneled by Rotarians to Rotarians on site would
be more practical. To that end, the Northbrook club has established a 501(c)3 account "The Guatemala
Relief Fund." You may contribute to our club's charitable foundation, who will pass donations to the Northbrook fund, at this link: Donate Now.
Let's show our Rotarian friends
in Guatemala that District 6440 has not forgotten them in this hour of
need. Please contribute what you can!