Land Rover and the Red Cross prepare Mexican communities for natural disasters

Land Rover and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) have been partners for more than 60 years, and the two organisations have released a video to highlight how working together has benefited people in need.

Launched ahead of the World Disaster Report 2018, which estimates more than 134 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year, the two organisations acknowledge reaching all of these people and communities can be challenging.

The film shows how Land Rover and the IFRC help vulnerable people in isolated communities from life-changing natural hazards. The focus is on Chiapas, Mexico, which was the epicentre of the country’s second most powerful earthquake ever, in 2017. It read more than 8.2 on the Richter scale and triggered a tsunami which also hit the devastated area.

In response, the Mexican Red Cross mobilised 1,200 search and rescue specialists and 31,000 volunteers to support the efforts and deliver much-needed relief to more than a million people.

Land Rover has supported the Mexican Red Cross with a community preparation project in Chiapas, which has seen the humanitarian organisation travel more than 23,000 miles over the last two years to help these vulnerable communities.

Chiapas Programme Co-ordinator Jessica Lara said working in such remote communities can be a challenge and the local’s trust has to be earnt. She adds: “The earthquake was one of the factors that have let us into these communities, who now understand they are exposed and that disasters can happen at any moment.”

Alexander Matheou, Executive Director of International at the British Red Cross, said millions of people across the world are in crisis and need urgent humanitarian aid, as more than 350,000 deaths have been caused by earthquakes in the last decade.

“These events are truly devastating,” he adds. “And with Land Rover we’re able to gain access to some of the hardest-to-reach areas and support vulnerable people throughout the world. We’re committed to working together to continue to helping communities prepare for and recover from disasters.”

Chris Thorp, Jaguar Land Rover Responsible Business Director, said: “Through our partnership with the Red Cross we are committed to providing support to isolated communities like those in the Chiapas region of Mexico.”

Since 2013, Land Rover has helped support the IFRC with 18 humanitarian projects across 25 countries.

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