Support Grassroots Earthquake Recovery in Mexico

Dear supporters,

At Fondo Semillas we are thrilled to share with you our accomplishments for the month of October for the project “Women Rebuilding their Communities”. During the 10^th, 11^th and 12^th of October, two representatives of each grantee organization participated in a Group Strengthening Meeting in Mexico City. Several members of other organizations, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Appleseed Mexico, Las Reinas Chulas, Ruta Cívica and Fundación Cántaro Azul, facilitated the meeting and provided training in their specific area of expertise.

During the meeting, the grantee organizations were able to share their experiences and challenges and receive administrative and technical skills to improve their projects and avoid future risks. They were also able to gain helpful tools in administration, communication and participatory methods to apply in their own communities. Some of the reflections and conclusions were:

“The threat of a future disaster continues, but the rebuilding process is an opportunity to organize ourselves, take precautions and be alerted; to improve and not be as vulnerable as we used to be.” - Mónica, from 06600 Plataforma Vecinal y Observatorio de la Colonia Juárez.

“One of the barriers to the reconstruction process is the lack of funds. Sometimes, open calls for funding are released, but with endless and unreachable requirements for the women that work in the communities. And usually, the available funds are meant for the reconstruction of houses, but not for the rebuilding of the community. There are very few resources such as the ones provided by Fondo Semillas.” - Cecilia, from Unión de Pueblos de Morelos.

We are also happy to share with you some of the successes of the groups:

• Una Mano para Oaxaca has been painting murals in the community highlighting some of the traditional trades and increasing the pride of belonging in the community members.
• El Sueño de Huejotengo has already imparted mason and electricity workshops to women. They have also trained themselves to recover the traditional custom of painting houses with mud, so that the newly rebuilt houses by the government look prettier and the community looks closer to what it used to look like.

We are so grateful for your trust in Fondo Semillas and your support of Mexico's rebuilding process. Together, we can help Mexico be strong again. We’ll keep you updated on how these projects move forward and we are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Dear supporters,

We are happy to share with you new updates on the progress of the “Women Rebuilding their Communities” Fund to support long-term recovery projects in communities affected by the earthquakes in September 2017. Since our last update, 25 organizations were chosen to carry out reconstruction projects in their communities in Guerrero, Mexico City, Morelos, Oaxaca and Puebla. If you want to read the full list of chosen organizations, you can follow this link.

These organizations are working on varied projects ranging from building a community center, carrying out psico-emotional support workshops for victims with PTSD from the earthquakes, cleaning a river and finding new ways to reactivate the local economy. The women leaders in these organizations have told us that they want to be strong communities with economic activities so that they can support their families and rebuild their homes.

"Eleven months after the earthquake, there is still so much more to do: we need to improve the soil, rebuild with local materials, build ecological bathrooms, and reactivate the economy to help the women that lost their traditional comixcal ovens. We are now imparting crafts and trades workshops, sewing and ironworks classes, and workshops on women's rights. We believe that the most important aspect of the rebuilding efforts is the rebuilding of women's self-esteem and empowerment,” explains one of the members of the MONAPAKÜY team.

We are so grateful for your trust in Fondo Semillas and your support of Mexico's rebuilding process. Together, we can help Mexico be strong again. We’ll keep you updated on how these projects move forward and we are happy to answer any questions you may have.