Several months after Hurricane Stan left a trail of destruction, the lives of families in Guatemala whose homes were flooded for weeks, are beginning to return to normal.
Plan is working closely with the municipal authorities, ensuring that schools are clean and in sufficient repair to allow as many children as possible to begin school. Clean-up and reconstruction of family water and sanitation systems is also under-way.
Sitting in a corner of a school, boys and girls of Candelaria and La Esmeralda remember their experiences of the storm.
Here’s their story:
Children recall their memories
“They said Stan came but I’m not sure what that is. I think it is when the water rises out of the sea. The kitchen in my house filled with water. Even after we returned to the house, animals like snakes and leeches appeared a lot. I was very scared.” Brainer, aged 11
“When the water almost came up to me knees, we put everything on the bed and tied it with rope. We all got fungus on our feet but some of the neighbours were worse off. The animals cried a lot. A man lost his cows and we could hear them crying. Now the village isn’t the same. There are rocks and stumps and holes all over the road and I cannot use my bicycle to go to the shops.” Geraldine, aged 13
“The water began to come up the street. Daddy said it would stop but the rain didn’t stop, and finally the water came up to my knees. We went to my brother’s house on higher ground. To get out we had to use daddy’s canoe. When we came back, the water had washed everything away. We have already washed the whole house but the mould doesn’t come away very easily.” Lester, aged 12
“Water came right into the school. The door, desks and chairs are all rusty and some of the windows are broken, our books and notepads have all got wet. There is so much to do. It would be nice to paint things.” Mayra, aged 9
