Israeli aid teams arrived in Mexico two days after the earthquake struck and fanned out through Mexico City and surrounding villages to offer vital aid
Helping the forgotten victims of the Mexican earthquake
Out in the villages around Mexico City, it’s easy for the residents to feel forgotten. The nation’s capital was badly damaged in the deadly 7.1 magnitude September 19 earthquake, but so were many smaller communities. Though aid poured into the city, the hard-hit villages were left to cope alone until volunteers from Israeli humanitarian aid nonprofit IsraAID suddenly turned up.
“IsraAID was the first group to offer help to our village,” said a resident of Hueyapan in the Mexican state of Morelos, one of the areas most affected by the recent earthquakes. “We were very grateful because we hadn’t received any help yet, and we felt very forgotten.”
Naama Gorodischer, IsraAID senior director of program, tells ISRAEL21c that this reaction is typical in the villages where eight IsraAID humanitarian-aid volunteers are now providing direct medical, psychosocial and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) relief and assessing how to meet longer-term needs.
They landed on September 21. “The earthquake was on Tuesday at about 1pm and by Thursday at 4pm we were here,” says Gorodischer. Another 6.1 magnitude quake hit on Saturday. --
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ISRAEL21c was founded in 2001, in the wake of the Second Intifada, to broaden public understanding of Israel beyond typical portrayals in the mainstream media.
The organization’s founders – Israeli-American technology executives – understood the great power of the Internet and developed a first-of-its kind online product with global appeal and reach.
