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Sergio Saenz López
Sergio is the director of the Community Movement of Matagalpa (MCM) in Nicaragua.
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Preparation prepartion preparation
In Nicaragua, the rainy season is starting later and getting wetter; while the dry season is getting longer and resulting in drought. This means that some farmers can only have one harvest a year instead of the two they used to rely on. At the same time, the frequency and intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes is on the rise.
Sergio Saenz López, the coordinator of the Community Movement for Matagalpa (MCM) knows that local people cannot stop climate change and natural disasters, but they can find ways to adapt to them.
MCM is helping local communities prepare for the effects of natural disasters. They build community centres and bridges and lay sandbags on rivers. They store surplus grain for times of scarcity. They create risk maps so people can seek safety during times of danger. They encourage farmers to diversify in case they lose their harvest. And they carry out reforestation campaigns.
Sergio, how does the weather affect local communities?
In the winter, the river often leaves people cut off from Matagalpa. It’s a very vulnerable area. People are particularly vulnerable to drought. If there’s a dry winter, it can affect people for the next 18 months.
What kind of disaster prevention work does MCM do?
We organise emergency committees and training on how to draw up maps to show people where the risks are. We also build pedestrian bridges across rivers. There are 60 children in this village who have to cross the river each day. Farmers also live on one side and farm land across the water. The river rises 2-3 metres in the rainy season, so we are trying to build flood banks to stop it flooding our crops and houses.
What did people do before you built the bridges?
Previously they just had stepping stones, so if the water came up to their neck and chest, they just had to wade through. You saw women carrying sick children across. Now, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday they build up the river banks.
What do you do in communities once a natural disaster has struck?
We prepare shelters if people have to leave their homes. We also have brigades of first aiders and those who run painting and dance workshops …to cheer up the children. We also carry out conservation work to look after the soil and water.
What do you do to protect the soil?
Communities work together and create ‘living barriers’ to stop soil being washed down hillsides and to divert water into channels. We also do reforestation work and some communities have nurseries where they grow trees.
Who works on these projects?
All the community comes together – that’s 200 people. They come whenever they have free time. These houses on one side have been flooded in the past and people lost everything. When an area is as isolated as this one, they need to work in a community because in the rain no one can reach them to help.
Sergio Saenz López, the coordinator of the Community Movement for Matagalpa (MCM) knows that local people cannot stop climate change and natural disasters, but they can find ways to adapt to them.
MCM is helping local communities prepare for the effects of natural disasters. They build community centres and bridges and lay sandbags on rivers. They store surplus grain for times of scarcity. They create risk maps so people can seek safety during times of danger. They encourage farmers to diversify in case they lose their harvest. And they carry out reforestation campaigns.
Sergio, how does the weather affect local communities?
In the winter, the river often leaves people cut off from Matagalpa. It’s a very vulnerable area. People are particularly vulnerable to drought. If there’s a dry winter, it can affect people for the next 18 months.
What kind of disaster prevention work does MCM do?
We organise emergency committees and training on how to draw up maps to show people where the risks are. We also build pedestrian bridges across rivers. There are 60 children in this village who have to cross the river each day. Farmers also live on one side and farm land across the water. The river rises 2-3 metres in the rainy season, so we are trying to build flood banks to stop it flooding our crops and houses.
What did people do before you built the bridges?
Previously they just had stepping stones, so if the water came up to their neck and chest, they just had to wade through. You saw women carrying sick children across. Now, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday they build up the river banks.
What do you do in communities once a natural disaster has struck?
We prepare shelters if people have to leave their homes. We also have brigades of first aiders and those who run painting and dance workshops …to cheer up the children. We also carry out conservation work to look after the soil and water.
What do you do to protect the soil?
Communities work together and create ‘living barriers’ to stop soil being washed down hillsides and to divert water into channels. We also do reforestation work and some communities have nurseries where they grow trees.
Who works on these projects?
All the community comes together – that’s 200 people. They come whenever they have free time. These houses on one side have been flooded in the past and people lost everything. When an area is as isolated as this one, they need to work in a community because in the rain no one can reach them to help.
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| Mike Goldwater/Christian Aid | Sergio Saenz López |
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