Join with our program partners in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador as they respond to the devastation caused by catastrophic hurricanes, Eta and Iota, that struck Central America within two weeks. EPIC program partners are excellently placed, having the knowledge and skills to conduct both immediate assistance and the long term recovery work that will be required. It is hard to get one’s head around the fact that this is a regional, multi-country disaster that has gotten little news coverage in this country.

EPIC has already responded, providing rescue gear for staff and volunteers doing immediate cleanup of flooded homes in Honduras and trying to salvage crops in Guatemala and Honduras.

Our post-disaster response will be a major effort to restore farms, rebuilding them for maximum disaster mitigation. It is obvious that “extraordinary” storms are becoming the new norm. Already programs are acquiring native seed varieties of corn and beans from nearby areas to replace seeds farmers have lost. This is to preserve native varieties that are more resistant to diseases and adapted to local conditions. We have obtained heritage vegetable seeds to send to Guatemala and Honduras for replanting gardens. Essential mitigation work involves gully control, water reservoirs to control run off and hold water for later irrigation, soil conservation, and planting trees for reforestation and fruit production.

Our program partners know what has to be done, and EPIC will do everything we can to support them. Please donate generously now so they can continue restoring farm productivity and doing mitigation work to buffer the impact of an increasingly hostile environment.

Thank you for your support. Today, EPIC’s Board members will double your gift!

Paul and Mary McKay