Hurricanes Eta & Iota

November 2020
Area Assisted: Central America

When Hurricanes Eta and Iota devastated Central America late in the 2020 Hurricane Season as two back-to-back Category 4 Hurricanes, Sol Relief was desperate to help.

We quickly realized that flying supplies to the areas was not the most efficient course of action. Instead, we teamed up with local community leaders on the ground who have been able to facilitate the logistics of buying food and supplies locally and delivering them to the families in the most dire need as quickly as possible.

SWIFT AID FOR THE CENTRAL AMERICA

Partnerships For Disaster Relief

Although Sol Relief did not fly any supplies to the areas devastated by Eta and Iota, we found that simply getting funds into the right hands on the ground can provide the fastest and most effective relief.

Helping Honduras

Sol Relief has also been working with local community leaders in Honduras in a similar way to that of our relief efforts in Nicaragua.

Immediately following Hurricanes Eta & Iota, we were introduced to a woman named Ana Ruth by a fellow nonprofit, Bridges Across Borders. Ana Ruth had an existing and established network of 50 local women in Honduras who had been actively helping single mothers in the area. These mothers were not only sole-providers for their family, but also either a widow or victim of domestic violence. By providing funds directly to Ana Ruth, she and her network of 50 local women were able to locally procure food, water and basic hygiene supplies and then distribute them directly to women and children who were most in need. Ana Ruth was able to do this quickly, providing receipts down to the penny, and also providing pictures and videos of the families receiving the supplies.

Working out logistics in Central America is not always seamless or a clear cut task. We received some videos and documentation of some larger nonprofits (NGOs) that received warehouses full of supplies, but were unable to get it into the hands of the community in time. While the supplies were waiting to get distributed post Eta, Hurricane Iota barreled in, causing flooding and ruining the supplies that were being stored in the warehouse. We are so grateful for Ana Ruth and her network of women who are able to purchase supplies locally and distribute them quickly and efficiently to those who need them most.

Helping Nicaragua

In Northeast Nicaragua, just south of Puerto Cabezas, Sol Relief has found the most efficient and effective way to help the 2,196 families that have been in need of basic food and water is by getting funding directly to Chris Farrington of Verbo church.

Chris was introduced to us by one of our fellow nonprofits, Su Nica. Since Hurricanes Eta & Iota hit Central America, Chris has been able to take the funds donated to Sol Relief for Central America, to purchase food, water, hygiene items and, in some cases building supplies, locally – from the areas in the country that were not directly affected by the hurricane. He has also been able to distribute all these essential supplies to families in need in the area.

Chris works with the local pastors who are already in direct connection with the families in the remote areas surrounding Puerto Cabezas. Within a week of receiving funds from Sol Relief, Chris was able to source and distribute food and supplies to the local families. Chris and his network of locals, then portioned out the amounts needed for a one month supply for each of the families. Moving these supplies to each location, they then organized the families to come by and pick up their one month supply. Chris has provided receipts down to the penny and has also provided photographs and videos of the families who received the food, water and hygiene supplies. The impact of our partnership with Chris and the local pastors was direct and immediate. There was no red tape, no governmental delay, no hoops to jump through. We are grateful to be able to make such a direct impact through Chris and his team of volunteers in Nicaragua.