Mexico Earthquake Relief
March 2018 – February 2024
Last updated: February 2024
All Hands and Hearts has been rebuilding disaster-resilient schools in Mexico since 2018. Our work began in response to two devastating earthquakes that shook the country in September 2017, and its effects were further intensified by Hurricane Agatha in 2022. In 2024, we helped restore access to education in the community of Pozo Guerra, marking our 29th school rebuild in the country.
Our Work
All Hands and Hearts’ eighth program in Mexico focused on rebuilding disaster-resilient schools within Mexico’s CONAFE system in Puebla. This system addresses the educational needs in rural and marginalized communities with relevant community context, social inclusion and quality education. Using over 11,000 volunteer hours, the team rebuilt El Llano School and Tlacostepelt School, built a new rainwater harvesting system and provided Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities, impacting over 200 students, parents and teachers.
Outside of construction needs, our staff and volunteers coordinated training and workshops for over 650 community members. The topics ranged from hand washing, wellbeing, nutrition, menstrual hygiene and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). DRR training informed the community on construction methods and best practices to continue maintenance and administration for their new disaster-resilient buildings.
Disaster Profile
On September 7, 2017, one of the most destructive earthquakes in Mexico’s history hit close to the southern state of Chiapas with a devastating magnitude of 8.2. Just 12 days later and a few hundred miles away, a 7.1 magnitude quake rocked central Mexico, toppling buildings, breaking gas mains, knocking out electricity and sparking fires across the city and other towns in central Mexico. Damage was widespread throughout the central and southern parts of the country. AHAH has worked in Oaxaca for the last six programs, where the disaster impacted over 4,000 schools.
Further compounding the long-term impacts of the earthquakes was Hurricane Agatha, which struck the central Oaxacan coast as a Category 2 storm in May 2022. Agatha brought significant storm surges and debris flows to coastal regions before moving inland over the state, where winds, mudslides and water damaged or destroyed more homes and schools.