Hurricane Agatha Call to Action - Appeal for Rapidito Fund

Starting on May 27^th, 2010 with the Pacaya Volcanic eruption just outside of Guatemala City and continuing with Tropical Storm Agatha, the first major storm of the hurricane season, many areas of Guatemala have been devastated with flooding and mudslides. Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom has declared a state of disaster for his country.  And, the hurricane season has just begun (see USAID Weather Hazards Assessment below), with heavy rains continuing to affect these areas where Guatemalans are still literally digging out from the destruction that occurred just two weeks ago.

Friendship Bridge’s clients have not been spared from this devastation. Our clients in the departments of Escuintla, Sololá and Quiché have suffered the greatest damage. Some of our clients’ homes and businesses have been completely or partially destroyed, including their furniture, clothing, household items, business supplies, crops and animals.  There are also those who are being indirectly affected by these disasters from a decrease in tourism, resulting in a loss of sales of tipica and other handicrafts.  These women and their families do not have savings or other types of reserves to re-build, re-purchase and start over.

However, they do have Friendship Bridge.  Having provided microcredit and education to Guatemalan women since 1998, Friendship Bridge is on the ground and committed to helping women create their own solutions to poverty.  Although Friendship Bridge is not a disaster-relief organization, we are offering short-term assistance to our affected clients to help them re-build and weather the storm! 

Our loan officers have traveled this past week to the mostly rural areas where our clients live, despite the transportation challenges caused by mud-covered roads, to ask them specifically how we could best offer assistance. They have identified two major needs:  1) to allow them to lower their repayment amounts for a few months, and 2) to provide them with an additional lower interest loan to purchase new business supplies or to re-build their homes or businesses. 

We are asking for your help to respond to these direct requests of our clients by contributing to the Friendship Bridge Rapidito Fund.  The Rapidito Fund is being established exclusively for our current borrowers affected by Tropical Storm Agatha.  By seeking input from our clients and providing loans rather than hand-outs, Friendship Bridge remains committed to its mission to empower women to determine their own solutions to their problems. 

We need to raise $20,000 for the Friendship Bridge Rapidito Fund.  We hope that you will donate whatever you can today so that the Friendship Bridge Rapidito Fund can benefit our clients and their families affected by this devastation.  Please click on the secure online donation link below or mail a check to: 

Friendship Bridge

Attn:  Rapidito Fund

405 Urban St., Ste. 140