Barrington Breakfast Rotary Club responded to the needs of over 2,000 people in Cobán, Guatemala, a community hard hit by Hurricane Lota in late October 2020, and two weeks later by Hurricane Eta.   The two hurricanes resulted in flooding, mudslides and landslides leaving the inhabitants without water, food, clothing, a place to live, or jobs.  All this while dealing with Covid-19 pandemic.  The needs were fulfilled by distributing 315 packages containing food and sanitary items, each being a week’s supply per family.
 
Based on preliminary discussions with Guatemala Sur Club members, we learned that there were many organizations raising funds and providing help.  However, it remained unclear how these various organizations would provide help.  The details covering what is being provided, by whom, on what timeline were not available.  The Guatemala Sur club identified food as the most pressing need and vetted agencies most equipped to successfully meet the needs.  They suggested helping the village of Cobán, a community about four and a half hours north of Guatemala City.  In earlier grants we had established a relationship with residents of Cobán with the installation of a mechanical cow.  They are also on a waiting list for the installation of an X-Ray machine.
Guatemala Sur, under the leadership of Franky Viau, recommended working with the local United Way as they had the infrastructure to purchase and distribute food in bulk.  Our committee voted to support this endeavor with a contribution of $5,000, projected to provide a week's supply of food for 250 families. ($20 for a week's worth of food!) 
 
As of end of January 2021, food packages and sanitary items have been delivered to the people of Cobán.  The United Way bought food at bulk prices and divided it into 315 packages.  Pedro Enrique Murguia, a Guatemala Sur Rotarian who also lives in Cobán coordinated the entire effort.  Another member, Enrique Alejos, was able to supply a truck to transport the food to Cobán from Guatemala city.   Alvaro Morales, Allan Kress,  and other members of the Cobán Rotary Club were engaged in the hands-on effort for a system of distribution.  Both clubs worked together loading the food into trucks, transporting it to selected sites, and overseeing distribution to the residents of Cobán.
 
There were and are many options for supporting the residents of Cobán, Guatemala.  Our committee chose to work directly with Guatemala Sur, and in turn, the local United Way, and the Cobán Rotary Club.  This was the most effective way to implement the project ensuring proper use of resources.  
 
Thanks to these collaborations and connections our donation is now feeding over 2,000 people from 315 families instead of the projected 250, an increase of over 25%.
 
In the most recent issue of the Rotarian magazine, a member of the Boulder club describes his “Rotary epiphany”.  "I suddenly saw this network forming all over the world:  people who knew how to get things done and knew people they could get things done with".  The Cobán food relief is yet another example of the strength of Rotarians getting things done.