Late on the night of September 7, 2017, in the mountains of Telluride, Colorado, my phone dinged — a message from a friend in Oaxaca concerned about my 91 year old neighbor. That was my first news of the largest earthquake to hit Mexico in a century last week. Needless to say, I spent half the night monitoring news sites, emailing, messaging, and checking status updates by friends and neighbors on Facebook. Thankfully, all friends and neighbors came away relatively unscathed — save for severely frayed nerves.
The epicenter of the 8.1 (8.2 according to Mexican authorities) earthquake was off the coast of Chiapas. Given its geography, the state of Oaxaca has been hard hit. The red bullets on the map below show some of areas in the state most severely affected.
As of yesterday, the death toll was up to 91. According to reports from Oaxaca’s governor, more than 800,000 people in the state potentially lost everything and in Juchitán de Zaragoza, in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region, 5,000 homes were destroyed. The earthquake also devastated the mountain communities of the Mixe.
Oaxaca and Chiapas are two of the poorest states in Mexico and help is urgently needed. Maestro Francisco Toledo, who is from Juchitán, is collecting funds through his non-profit, Amigos del Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca y del Centro Fotográfico. For details see below:
Oaxaca earthquake relief is also being solicited by the following organizations and individuals:
CADENA (Comite de Ayuda a Desastres y Emergencias Nacionales A.C.)
BANAMEX
Sucursal: 7009
CUENTA: 189458
CLABE: 002180700901894588
https://cadena.ngo/dona
The Harp Helu Foundation will match 1 X 1 for any contributions directly to:
Citibanamex
Cuenta 23, Sucursal 100
CLABE: 002 180 010 000 000 235
Formento Social Banamex, A.C.
The government agency, DIF Oaxaca is taking donations:
• Voluntariado DIF Oaxaca, Avenida Juarez 914, Col. Centro
• Hangar del Gobierno de Oaxaca, Aeropuerto Internacional, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlan
• Gimnasio Ricardo Flores Magon, Derechos Humanos s/n Col. America Sur
• Oficianas Centrales DIF Oaxaca, Vicente Guerrero 114, Col. Miguel Aleman
Casa de Esperanza House of Hope Anabaptist Community Church is receiving donations in any form (groceries, baby food, money, etc.) to be sent to the coast where many have lost their homes or family members. Please bring your donations to: Casa de Esperanza— Camino Nacional 929-3 Ixcotel Oaxaca Oax Te l 9 5 1 1 7 6 3 1 5 3
Omar Alonso of Oaxacking has set up a YouCaring crowd funding site to aid in relief efforts in Juchitan.
Flor Cervantes, who founded, Mujeres de 8 de Marzo in Juchitan, is collecting funds for the refuge. For more information call her in Oaxaca at: 951 125 02 48
And, the Oaxaca Lending Library is working on collecting and sending supplies and money to the areas in Oaxaca most affected.
If you aren’t dealing with hurricanes Harvey and Irma destruction, PLEASE HELP Oaxaca!!!
Mexican Peso Converter
View From Casita Colibrí 
If you don’t mind, I would like to share that image of the donations account.
Yes, please!
That is quite commendable for posting these help sites. Will try do my part and pass on donation sites to friends.
Thanks!
Thanks for the thoughtful and thorough list of options. On the surface, it appears that a donation to the Harp Helu Foundation is the best bet since it is matched. The question is how much of that money will reach those in need vs administrative costs. Is that an answerable question?
I’m sorry, I don’t have an answer. The high percentage going to administrative fees is why I didn’t list the Red Cross and the other big charities. I do know that all the funds collected by the Oaxaca Lending Library will go to those in need.
[…] « Earthquake help needed […]
Do you know how best to send the funds? In order to send a wire transfer you need the Swift Code for the recipient bank, usually an eight letter code. You need the account number– is that what “Clabe” means? And you need the addresss where the account is. We want to send funds, but are unsure how best to do It. Thanks.
It’s confusing to me, as well. However, I’m here and can donate cash. The “CLABE (Clave Bancaria Estandarizada, Spanish for “standardized banking cipher”) is a banking standard for the numbering of bank accounts in Mexico. This standard is a requirement for the sending and receiving of domestic inter-bank electronic funds transfer since June 1, 2004. The CLABE account code has 18 digits.” You may want to donate to an organization that uses PayPal. The link for Francisco Toledo’s non-profit is: https://www.paypal.me/donativoistmo Please persevere, as donations are much needed!