CHF International has partnered with community members in El Salvador for years to provide affected families with new, permanent housing and help the country face challenges in water and environmental management, local economic and municipal development, and environmental risk mitigation planning. We worked with local communities to facilitate the rebuilding process following Tropical Storm Mitch in 1998 and two devastating earthquakes in 2001.

We have formed dynamic partnerships with local business associations to help governments focus on critical disaster policy issues and participate in the reconstruction effort. Such partnerships considerably reduce the impact of natural disasters on the people of El Salvador over the long term, stimulate business involvement, and accelerate local and national government attention to reducing communities' vulnerability. They also promote positive models of economic and social development.

Highlights:

Earthquake Emergency Shelter Response (January-December 2001): Following the 2001, earthquakes, CHF International responded immediately by working with communities to provide thousands of families with provisional housing, health clinics and schools, using a self-help, grassroots method so that they could begin to reconstruct their lives in a participatory manner. More than 11,200 provisional homes were built on solid foundation with sturdy, reusable materials.

AHORA Housing Construction Program (June 2002-August 2004): AHORA led to the construction of 5,030 additional permanent, earthquake-resistant homes in over 100 communities in El Salvador. As an integral aspect of the program, CHF International also improved health and sanitation in the communities by conducting trainings in health and environmental management and providing latrines and washbasins in communities.

Mitch Integrated Reconstruction Activity (June 1999-July 2001): MIRA incorporated community level planning to revive the economies of 10 municipalities which were devastated by Tropical Storm Mitch. MIRA focused on six components of recovery: agricultural production, community infrastructure, housing, schools, environmental management, and disaster preparedness. By the end of the program, 51 community infrastructure projects were completed, 500 houses were rebuilt, 83 schools were built or rehabilitated, hectares of land were reforested, and more than 3,000 municipal officials and community leaders were trained in disaster preparedness.