About the Foundation

1/25/05

Photo: Bryan Mackintosh

Photo: Bryan Mackintosh

Photo: Bryan Mackintosh

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The Pan American Health and Education Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Pan American Health Organization, is collecting monies to support recovery efforts in Guyana where over 27 inches of rainfall have caused considerable flooding along the coastal regions, the densely populated area of Guyana. It is estimated that there are over 70,000 people in the Georgetown area who have been seriously affected by the floods. On the coastal regions, it is estimated to be a minimum of 100,000. Families have been forced to evacuate their homes and take shelter in school buildings which have two or three floors. Access to these communities is by boat as the roads are impassable. Many health centers remain closed as they are flooded with possible damage to equipment and drug supplies.

Mobile teams visiting the affected communities are providing medical services, water, bleach, disinfectant and information to the worst-affected communities. The most common complaints are diarrhea, skin fungal infections, conjunctivitis, and acute respiratory infections.

Those living in the coastal strip are caught between the sea and the sea wall in the north and the Conservancy in the south. Although the army is sand-bagging the dykes to stop the overflow of water, they may collapse, which will cause an additional 3-4 feet of water to flood this zone, posing serious threats to life.

A major constraint in the provision of services is the lack of suitable vehicles and inaccessibility to some communities due to the high water level and an unavailability of boats. Only 20% of those who need water are receiving it.

The PAHO Representative in Guyana is presently serving as the UN Resident Coordinator helping to coordinate the aid response and facilitating communications between the donor community and the government.

Your gift will support the purchases of needed equipment and medicines. The following items are representative of immediate and urgent needs:

• Water purification systems


• Inflatable dinghies and life jackets
• Small flat-bottom aluminum boats and outboard engines
• 4 X 4 trucks
• Shelter goods: blankets, sheets, mattresses, small kerosene stoves
• Generators
• Drainage/Irrigation Pumps
• Plastic water tanks and smaller containers for carrying water

To make a gift, please choose one of the following options:

• Make a gift online
; check the box "Other"and write in Guyana Flood Recovery Fund
• Mail your check made payable to PAHEF to:
  
  PAHEF/Guyana Flood Recovery Fund
  525 Twenty-third Street, NW
  Washington, DC 20037
• Fax your credit card information using this form to
  (202) 974-3636.
• Call our Finance Office, (202) 974-3417 or
  toll-free (in U.S.) 1-800-996-2970.

http://www.pahef.org