HELPS International staff received news today from Leo Burnett COMUNICA, S.A.,  a very well known and respected ad agency here representing U.S.A. Leo Burnett.   A letter was sent from the agency to Mrs. Wendy de Berger, First Lady of Guatemala, to inform her that they had decided not to hold their annual employee Christmas party this year.  The party is traditionally organized for their 104 employees.  The decision was to donate the funds they would have spent on the Christmas celebration to purchase forty water purification systems instead.  They've requested that the donation of Q15,400.00  (US$2,000.00) be channelled to the First Lady's office (SOSEP) through HELPS International to the families that were victims of Stan.  Instead of having a one-day Christmas celebration, they are ensuring that forty families will have clean, safe water for many days to come….Christmas for many more than 365 days of the year. 

SOSEP has also received a sizable and generous donation from another private sector firm,  Wurmser Ogilvy & Mather.  This local representative of the U.S. firm has also confirmed a donation of 62 water purification systems and 62 ONIL stoves.  This number equals the number of employees in the firm.  HELPS International is planning to give the employees a demo of both the stove and the water purification system to ensure their awareness of the impact that their generous donation will have on the families receiving their gift.  We hope to be able to involve the firm in the delivery and/or installation of the products in the community that SOSEP designates. 

It is encouraging to see the outpouring of support for the victims of a natural disaster such as Stan.  Using accessible pricing and highly-engineered appropriate technology, HELPS International is proud to be involved in the efforts and pleased to cooperate with the private sector in Guatemala and in the U.S. in ensuring that the victims and their needs not be forgotten at this time of year.