Support and Prevention

Our Support and Prevention department is the embodiment of this very principle. Its team takes action in the face of disasters and humanitarian crises at different stages, from preparation and prevention to emergency response. At each stage, we seek to relieve human suffering and build resilience.

Our meaning of providing support

In CADENA, we believe that we gravitate towards other human beings due to a fundamental interdependence. This means that a shared vulnerability is what makes us support each other and what calls on us to promote ethical responsibility. We have the conviction that there is no hierarchy between those who provide support and those who receive it. This is the very reason why we deliver hand-in-hand aid: because by creating direct meetings with people, we stop drawing levels of distinction.

By the same token, it is also our belief that the role we adopt by helping others is rooted in this fundamental interdependence, not that we are imposing ourselves in a position not meant for us. To help others is a responsibility that lies with us on the sole ground of us being humans.

Responding to emergencies

Go Team

The first 72 hours after the occurrence of an emergency are crucial. With that in mind, we created the Go Team.

Response

There are two stages in the response to a crisis or emergency: the immediate and the early recovery.

Hand-in-Hand Aid Delivery

The hand-in-hand aid delivery is provided by teams of volunteers who visit communities that are vulnerable to disasters or crises.

CADENA Health and Resilience

CADENA Health and Resilience is a group formed by specialists in physical and mental health.

Prevention and sustainable development projects

During the prevention stage, we constantly perform monitoring and assessment work in communities with a high exposure level to disasters. Based on this evaluation, we look for ways to improve the ability of local communities to mitigate risks, consequently enhancing their resilience. Such a goal can be achieved in many ways depending on their context, their access to certain services, and their degree of vulnerability.

Water Projects

At CADENA, we know that access to safe water and sanitation is essential for disaster recovery and for building community resilience. That is why we bring this vital resource to vulnerable communities through:

- Emergency Response: delivering supplies such as water filters and purification sachets after disasters and emergencies.

- Construction and Rehabilitation of Wells: including system excavation and the installation of pumps, elevated tanks, distribution networks, and solar energy systems in hard-to-reach areas.

- Rainwater Harvesting (Agua Ya): installation of rainwater harvesting systems and storage tanks in schools and communities.

Through these actions, water projects not only help reduce diseases linked to contaminated water consumption but also strengthen social fabric and community resilience.

From Waste to Change

From Waste to Change was the winning project of CADENA Initiative 2014 and, since then, has become part of our permanent activities. Its purpose is to provide dignified roofs to families affected by disasters or living without adequate shelter, using sheets made from recycled multilayer containers.

In addition to offering protection to those who need it most, the project also seeks to reduce environmental impact and raise awareness in communities about recycling, sustainability, and humanitarian aid.

By 2024, we have built more than 100 roofs, each one a symbol of protection, hope, and a more dignified future for the families who receive them.

Reconstruction

One of our resilience projects focuses on the reconstruction of community facilities in vulnerable areas.

Over the years, we have worked on the rebuilding of collapsed homes, the restoration of households, the construction of bathrooms and kitchens, as well as the rehabilitation of health centers.

We have also supported the recovery of schools, benefiting both students and teachers through the rehabilitation of classrooms, libraries, sports areas, and common spaces.

Following the impact of disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, we have installed roofs for thousands of families and improved electrical systems, patios, and school furniture.

In addition, we have built temporary shelters for families, ensuring safe and dignified spaces while they recover from emergencies.

Kenya

Since 2011, we have carried out seven humanitarian interventions in Turkana, Kenya, a region severely affected by drought and climate change. Over the years, we have mobilized more than 172 volunteers, who have delivered 415 tons of food, basic supplies, and menstrual products, in addition to providing 1,628 medical consultations, 80 dental check-ups, 49 cataract surgeries, and supporting the reconstruction of school infrastructure.

Thanks to these efforts, we have benefited more than 102,000 people living in conditions of extreme vulnerability.

Poland

In early March 2022, we sent a volunteer team to provide support at several points along the Polish-Ukrainian border, such as a children's center in Korczowa, a refugee shelter in Medyka, and an operations center in Przemyśl. The volunteers worked tirelessly to distribute essential goods, medical equipment, hygiene kits, and psychosocial support to the people most severely affected by the crisis in Ukraine. They also built bridges to send as many people as possible to safety.

At present, this has been one of the largest cases of aid delivery that we have provided, both in terms of the organization level and the relevance it represents globally.

Turkey

During the early morning of Monday, February 6th, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria. Hours later, a second earthquake of 7.5 struck the territory and was followed by numerous aftershocks. In CADENA International, we coordinated a humanitarian response made up of eight Go Team members and a medical staff specialized in disasters, consisting of six medical professionals.

Our team successfully contributed to the search efforts, in collaboration with rescue teams from Turkey, El Salvador, Belarus, Israel, Mexico, the AFAD, and miners from Turkey. They worked on 20 collapsed buildings and located 19 people alive.

Thanks to this and the relentless work of the local teams, they succeeded in rescuing four victims.

Spain

In 2024, the DANA weather phenomenon caused severe floods. For this reason, at CADENA International, we activated a response team to support communities without access to safe drinking water, electricity, and services.

We provided psychosocial support, water filters, and solar lamps for those affected by this disaster.

Successful projects

Vamos Juntos - Mexico

In CADENA, we came to the conclusion that there was a lack of humanitarian response to the migration crisis in Mexico. Therefore, in collaboration with ADRA and UNICEF, we created a project aimed at addressing health, nutrition, and mental health issues.

Using a mobile unit, a team of specialists made daily visits to the border crossing points and migrant settlements in Tapachula, Tijuana, and Ciudad Juárez. In such areas, the team provided children and their caregivers with assistance at no cost.

CAMM - Colombia

The Care Center for Migrant Women (Centro de Atención para la Mujer Migrante) was a project located in Cúcuta, Colombia, and developed in collaboration with Fundación Simón Bolívar and HIAS. This center focused on providing health services to the Venezuelan migrant population that, due to their irregular status in the country, is not covered by the national health coverage system (Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud). Even though we also provided assistance to the male and general population, the center was aimed at caring for the health of migrant and pregnant women, survivors of gender-based violence, women who have re-migrated, and girls.

We provided primary and gynecological care advice, psychosocial support, cytology tests, and laboratory tests. We also delivered medications free of charge.

Attention to Migrants – Costa Rica

Since 2022, CADENA Costa Rica has developed its permanent project responding to the migration crisis in the country. What began as an initial 45-day intervention to provide medical and psychological care, as well as essential supplies, has evolved into an essential humanitarian infrastructure. Today, it includes a container that allows migrants to select clothing with dignity, another container equipped with medical and psychological consultation rooms, and a Solidarity Dormitory in Los Chiles that benefited 499 people in 2024. That same year, CADENA also collaborated with the International Organization for Migration at the Temporary Assistance Center for Migrants (CATEM), providing psychosocial support to 468 beneficiaries and medical care to 17,308 people.

Dengue Zero - Panama

Since 2024, CADENA Panama, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Panama (MINSA) and the Las Garzas community, launched the Dengue Zero initiative, which seeks to combat the disease in high-incidence areas. Through the installation of rainwater harvesting systems and water storage tanks, training of local leaders, delivery of vector control equipment, and workshops on waste management and proper water use, the program has significantly reduced reported dengue cases in the districts where it has been implemented.

Water Wells in La Guajira – Colombia

Between 2022 and 2025, CADENA Colombia carried out the construction and rehabilitation of 28 water wells in Wayuu communities in the La Guajira desert. What was initially meant to be a one-time intervention turned into one of the office’s most transformative projects to date. A comprehensive water access plan was implemented, including the excavation of systems and the installation of pumps, elevated tanks, distribution networks, and solar energy systems, directly benefiting more than 1,600 people. Additionally, with key partners and community support, more than 5,000 water purification sachets and 48 bicycles were provided for children without close access to schools.

Comunidad Iniciativa - Guatemala

Comunidad Iniciativa is a training program by CADENA Jewish Community of Guatemala aimed at young participants of the Iniciativa CADENA social entrepreneurship contest, fostering their leadership in humanitarian action. Since its launch in October 2024, it has provided ongoing support and training to young people seeking to become local agents of change in different departments of Guatemala through the implementation of projects and humanitarian interventions.

Tutors for a Cause - USA

Tutors for a Cause is a volunteer program developed by CADENA U.S.A. that provides academic tutoring to migrant children to support their integration into the formal education system. Between 2021 and 2024, in the United States alone, the program supported 63 migrant children through tutoring provided by 96 volunteers. Tutors for a Cause has also recently been replicated in Panama and Israel.

Community Kitchens – Argentina

Over the past few years, CADENA Argentina has carried out several humanitarian interventions in community kitchens across the country. Through health brigades and primary care checkups, recreational and educational activities for children, and gender-focused workshops, the organization has provided assistance to vulnerable populations in different areas of Buenos Aires.

Recovery Efforts at Kibbutzim - Israel

Since 2024, CADENA Israel has participated in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of kibbutzim in Nativ HaAsara, Holit, Kfar Aza, and Nahal Oz. Through the repair of structures, the installation of furniture, and agricultural recovery work carried out during various humanitarian interventions, many people have been able, little by little, to return to their homes and communities.