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Honduras: Rebuilding from tropical storm Gamma

Pays
Honduras
Sources
MCC
Date de publication

In mid-November 2005, as the destruction from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita continued to dominate the public's attention in the United States and Canada, Tropical Storm Gamma hovered off the coast of Honduras, bringing devastating flooding and mudslides.
This summer, MCC is providing $81,880 Cdn./$73,000 U.S. of aid in communities affected by Gamma, including technical assistance to rehabilitate farmland, repair houses, replant trees and train local pastors to address the psychological effects of disasters.

The project, administered by the Mennonite Social Action Committee and the Honduran Mennonite Evangelical Church, will assist 176 families in the states of Olancho and Colón.

Last November, Tropical Storm Gamma brought a deluge of rain to land already drenched by heavy rain in October and early November. The storm triggered mudslides that carried away harvests, destroyed fields and animals and mangled homes and businesses.

Through the project, seeds for corn, bean and coffee plants and material such as fencing and fertilizer will be distributed to 176 families.

Agricultural trainings will be held in affected communities to help educate farmers about how they can work to protect their land from future flooding and how deforestation exacerbates destruction from heavy rainfall or tropical storms.

Some 1,760 trees will be planted as part of the project.

In this area, forests have been destroyed, often cut for timber without replanting. Without trees to anchor the soil, mud can shift and flow in floodwaters, leveling crops or homes.

"When we respond to disasters, it's important to look at how we can replace trees so that when the rains do hit, they don't do as much damage," said Daryl Yoder-Bontrager, director of MCC programs in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The project will help provide materials and technical assistance to repair 55 homes. It will also fund trainings and counseling to help address the emotional and psychological ramifications of the disaster.

The 18-month project begins in early July. Also this summer, MCC continues Tropical Storm Stan responses in Mexico and Guatemala and responses to Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in the southern United States.