Sphere activities in Guatemala
1. Institutional reinforcement
• Training of 700 experts on the Sphere Project’s Minimum Standards.
• Developing 19 training workshops in 12 Latin American countries: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru.
• The workshops aim to strengthen the capacity of institutions such as:
o Catholic Relief Services C.R.S.
o CARE
o Guatemalan Red Cross
o Nacional & Diocesan Caritas
o Cuerpo Benemérito de Bomberos
o Civil Defense personnel
o Army personnel
o San Carlos University’s Post Graduate programme
2. Strengthening capacities in communities
• Ensuring that Sphere’s Minimum Standards are incorporated into community training programmes in a cross-cutting way;
• Implementation of Sphere’s Minimum Standards during disasters.
Experts training on how to have water that is safe for human consumption, for persons affected by landslides in the community of Chichicaste, San Marcos, Guatemala
3. The Humanitarian response
• To promote and stress compliance with the Sphere Project’s Minimum Standards in all areas of action.
Standards applied for construction Compliance with health standards for shelters.
4. Institutionalisation
Goal for 2005: The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED), will adopt the Sphere Project’s Minimum Standards for Response as an official tool in emergency and disaster response in Guatemala.
5. University Education
Since 2004, Guatemala’s University of San Carlos has incorporated the Humanitarian Charter, Sphere’s Minimum Standards and the Code of Conduct into the curriculum at the post-graduate level; this is the second consecutive year that this specialty is being offered.
Sphere as a tool for community planning and development.
Sphere as a common language in emergency and disaster response.
Sphere as an alternative ensuring transparency, responsibility and effectiveness in handling emergencies.
