Felix moves for gaia: Cooking for Guatemala
Part 3
The current situation…
Félix has been spending his last week sorting and classifying donations and medicines in the main donation center (Salon Municipal), which is also an emergency clinic, in Escuintla. This center was created immediately after the eruption, and is managed by only local volunteers. Thanks to his friend Amy, they are collaborating with an association named Faith in Practice. Amy has been in the center and surrounding areas for a while now and leads multiple missions each day, such as managing volunteer transportation and grouping volunteers in the same hostels. This specific donation center in Escuintla is rather hard to reach from Antigua Guatemala due to the traffic and distance, which means that most non-local volunteers who do not belong to any association don’t really go there. “A place like Alotenango, for example, enjoys more help from non-local people” says Félix.
On Tuesday June 26, Félix helped the organization World Central Kitchen in Antigua, which is led by a chef from the States. Volunteers can easily sign up to help this organization in the restaurant ‘Casa Troccoli’ through the website signupgenius. “Even though I noticed quite some unnecessary waste of resources (such as products and energy) while volunteering for the World Central Kitchen, the results were really impressive. They are doing an amazing job.”
Félix experiences that it can be difficult for people from other areas or countries to find reliable information about the current situation in cities and villages that have been affected by the volcanic eruptions. “The most reliable source of information here is Conred, which coordinates all actions regarding natural disasters. They provide statistics and weather forecasts on their Facebook page. For example, at the moment they provide information about the rainfall, which is causing much danger” says Félix.
The project ‘Felix cooks for Guatemala’
Félix and his friend Pierre are currently preparing the launch of a Gofundme campaign, in order to raise funds for the project ‘Felix cooks for Guatemala’. With this project, they have the broader aims to:
- Create bonds with locals (by understanding the needs of locals and creating awareness for locals’ situation)
- Help locals to rebuild their lives
Currently, as you’ve read in these blogposts, Félix and his collaborators are carrying out local missions each day, such as helping to classify medicines, preparing lunch, collecting fresh vegetables and selling crêpes on the streets to raise money in order to cook meals for people in shelters. By doing so, they aim to create bonds with locals in affected areas and try to understand what they are in need of. Félix: “I’m creating lists of needed items. For example, some people have lost everything and have little or no savings. Schools have either been destroyed or are used as shelters. New schools need to be built, and educational material such as tables, chairs, writing boards, pens, notebooks and school books need to be acquired. In addition, children in shelters are in need of specific medicines, psychological help, shoes, toys, prepared food, hygienic products, laughter, bicycles and books. In order to pick up their lives again, people in general need houses, blankets, beds, pillows, mattresses, music, filtered water, kitchen utensils, TVs, tables, chairs, medicines, hygienic products, gas and cars. And most of them need new jobs.”
“Of course, it’s impossible for me and my traveler friends to supply all this without help from organizations. Also, making arrangements or requesting information here costs a lot of time; almost nothing is readily available on Internet. This is why we have started small, local missions, and are contacting as many local organizations as possible to exchange ideas and expertise. We aim to have a Gofundme campaign online soon, which will specify the exact goals we want to reach with the project ‘Felix cooks for Guatemala’.”
Stay tuned for more blogposts and the launch of the campaign!
