A collection of memorable Hands On Disaster Response photos taken during 2008.
CLICK FOR VIDEO: Pure Hope: HODR 2008 Year in Photos *
(*For Best Viewing: After the page opens be sure to click on the “Watch in HD” link found on the bottom right corner of the video)
2008 was a very busy year for Hands On Disaster Response.
The year began with two projects already underway: our earthquake response project in Peru was winding down and our cyclone response project in Bangladesh was just beginning.
In the spring we answered the call to help Gassville, Arkansas and Newton County, Missouri after destructive tornadoes and in June, when massive flooding struck Cedar Rapids, Iowa, we launched a four-month response through which more than 2000 volunteers jumped in and lent a hand.
In August and September Haiti was pummeled by four tropical storms and hurricanes that devastated an already struggling nation. Our hurricane response that started in October and continues into 2009 is helping people to dig out and rise up.
Whether removing rubble in Peru, building a home in Bangladesh, or gutting out a house in Iowa, HODR was there helping families around the world rebuild their lives.
Project Newton County (PNC), HODR’s second micro-deployment, was launched in response to an F-4 tornado on May 10, 2008 that spanned the entire 30-mile length of Newton County, Missouri. The storm cut a 1/4-mile wide swath of destruction through parts of the towns of Newtonia, Granby, Racine, and Neosho. Approximately 460 houses were affected by the tornado, 200 of which were completely destroyed or left uninhabitable having suffered major damage.
Chainsaws, Pliers and Home Demo
Twenty-one HODR alums and first-time volunteers traveled to rural Missouri and lent a hand to area residents trying to salvage their homes and move forward. Volunteers were engaged in a range of projects including debris cleanup, tree removal, home demolition, repairing and re-roofing a house and farm fence repair. Over the month-long project volunteers contributed 3,960 hours of service and assisted 200 households in the recovery process.
In addition to destroyed or damaged homes, many farmers in the area were overwhelmed by the damage done to trees and the fences they landed on. Many fields used for grazing were also littered with fiberglass insulation and other debris harmful to animals. Volunteers were quick studies at the art of properly repairing barbed wire fences so farmers could return livestock to their fields and begin a normal life again.
Teamwork
During PNC HODR collaborated closely with AmeriCorps St. Louis (AC-STL). Together we lived and worked out of the Newton County Operations Center and joined our administrative and field teams almost everyday. PNC continued this successful partnership that originally formed during Project Gassville when we transitioned the Gassville Coordination Center over to AC-STL.
One of our largest contributions to the recovery of Newton County came in the form of our database that was used to track work requests from those affected. The utilization of our database resulted in a more organized and effective response.
The Newton County Emergency Management Agency was also a major part of PNC’s success. They opened their doors to HODR and let us set up our volunteer housing in their building for the duration of the project.
Back-to-back Projects
By project’s end we accomplished all that we had set out to do. Thanks to the tremendous efforts of HODR volunteers, AC-STL members, and other response groups Newton County’s progress was ahead of schedule by the second week in June. The accelerated progress allowed us to comfortably exit a few days earlier than planned to head to Iowa where we quickly began Project Cedar Rapids in response to a major flooding event.
Project Newton County was a small but effective HODR project. The efforts of volunteers helped restore normalcy and speed up the recovery and rebuilding process for a number of local farmers and families that were in need, having a major impact on the lives of those that we assisted. PNC would not have been possible if it were not for our dedicated volunteers and donors who make helping others possible.
Bill Driscoll Jr.
US Operation Director
Hands On Disaster response
Over the course of 4 months volunteers at Project Cedar Rapids (PCR) brought strong doses of hope, energy and progress everyday to the communities of Palo and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. More than 2000 volunteers worked with HODR and directly assisted 460 households affected by the historic flooding.
400 city blocks in Cedar Rapids underwater, 415 of 423 homes in City of Palo affected Click here to view an Associated Press report from June 14, 2008 that contains aerial footage of Cedar Rapids underwater and describes the magnitude of the disaster. A HODR assessment team arrived days later to begin evaluating the damage and needs.
When the assessment team arrived the flooding had subsided and left the affected areas devastated. During our assessment the needs were obvious and we immediately decided to begin working in the city of Palo, focusing on helping to coordinate mucking and gutting crews to clean out affected homes and businesses. Water damaged building materials such as wood, insulation and drywall all need to be removed after a flood. Volunteers with energy and a desire to help came to lend a hand, offering help to residents for many of whom removing furniture, ruined belongings and the interior construction of their home was just too overwhelming.
PCR coordinated the most volunteers of any HODR project to date, coordinating 2,185 total volunteers. On any given day we had between 30 and 115 volunteers working with us either gutting homes or helping put them back together. Most volunteers spent their time helping gut and muck homes. By projects end we cleaned-out a total of 403 homes. As the area progressed dedicated long-term volunteers transitioned into the rebuild phase and led teams of both skilled and unskilled volunteers that helped get families back into homes.
PCR by the Numbers:
40,000 volunteer hours
460 Households served
$800,000 in donated labor
The following video is ten-minute mini-documentary about Project Cedar Rapids and what the power of volunteers can accomplish.
A Project of Firsts
The hard work of our enthusiastic volunteers and staff brought about several milestones and partnerships that we hope we can build upon in the future…
PCR was HODR’s first almost entirely “self-sustained” project, both in the number of local volunteers (more than 1000) and PCR-targeted donations, which allowed us to pull only a limited amount of funding from HODR’s general operating fund.
In addition to a significant donation from the Haber Family, HODR’s first grant and corporate funding from the Aegon Transamerica Foundation, United Way of East Central Iowa, the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, and Rockwell Collins, allowed us to expand beyond our normal reach by developing a mini-grant program. PCR’s mini-grants provided qualified flood-affected residents in need of financial support $500 – $5,000 to purchase appliances and/or building materials to repair their home. This funding coupled with a donation of tools and supplies from local Rotary Clubs allowed HODR to enter the post-disaster “Rebuild Phase” for the first time.
In addition to financial support more than 400 Aegon employees also gave their time volunteering at PCR.
Daniel Green a teenage volunteer that stepped up to lead teams with volunteers 3 times his age was featured as The Person of the Week on ABC World News Tonight marking the first time HODR received major network coverage. Click here to watch the story.
Over the course of the project we had the pleasure of hosting and working alongside three AmeriCorps teams. A team from the Minnesota Conservation Corps and two AmeriCorps NCCC teams became the first AmeriCorps teams to officially join HODR on a project. They must have had a great time because after the teams headed home or off to other assignments many of the individual members came back to PCR during their time off.
The city of Palo gave us their Above and Beyond Award that read:
“For demonstrating leadership in helping the community and the city of Palo in a time of need….thank you for all of the hard-work dedication, and time you have given to our community…Your efforts and expertise have been greatly appreciated”
Many, many thanks
A BIG THANK YOU to all of the volunteers and donors who made this project possible and ultimately such a success. Together we touched nearly 500 households in need and continued the HODR tradition of an effective volunteer model aiding recovery and rebuilding after a natural disaster. I had the privilege of working with a phenomenal group of volunteers. The PCR team of long-term volunteers had the chaotic and daunting task of teaching and leading between 30 and 100 first time volunteers each day. PCR was a success because of the focus and patience of the long-term volunteers who spent weeks and months working in Iowa.
We initially operated out of space provided by the generous Ralston Construction Company in Palo. As we finished the bulk of the work in Palo and shifted our focus to Cedar Rapids we moved to The Cedar Hills Community Church (CHCC). The CHCC welcomed HODR to its community and served as our base of operations where we housed, fed, and coordinated volunteers who came to help from 37 states and 4 countries. Thanks to a flexible CHCC staff, the donation of an office trailer by the Coonrod family, and some temporary bunk beds and showers built by HODR volunteer Bill Sr., the PCR operations center comfortably hosted 501 volunteers during the project.
Pat Garwood, a CHCC member, headed up a team of church and community members that fed us every night of the week. No easy task, Pat and dozens of locals always made sure that we had enough delicious fuel in our stomachs to get right back at it the next morning.
John Burianek, a life long resident of Cedar Rapids and US Postal Service retiree turned HODR volunteer became our local guide and knowledge base. John’s daily presence in the office helped HODR coordinate dozens of spontaneous and long-term volunteers each day. His knowledge of the area both geographically and historically gave HODR an edge and helped us accomplish things at the blistering pace we always strive for.
Thank you to Molly Rossiter and The Cedar Rapids Gazette who covered PCR in several articles that helped spread the word about our efforts and gave the greater community a glimpse into HODR. Special thanks to HODR volunteer Kevin Allocca for his help producing the PCR mini-documentary.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of PCR and gave their time, money and hearts to make a difference in the recovery of the Cedar Rapids area.
Bill Driscoll Jr.
US Operations Director
Hands On Disaster Response
After 90 days of the life labou, 118 volunteers (93 international, 25 local) from 14 countries have cycled through the doors of Project Gonaives helping to clear mud, facilitate distributions, organize programs for children, and more. Here is a look at our last 30 days:
Shovel it, Dump it
In three months of work, volunteers have cleared flood wreckage and mud from 66 houses, allowing 94 families to return home. While the government does provide direct support to clear mud from streets and public spaces, residents are responsible to move their mud out to the roads. HODR volunteers work with individual families providing motivation, extra muscle, and hope to small pocket neighborhoods that lay away from the big roads swarming with machines. We remain dedicated to this program for the remaining month and a half of this project.
Stock it, Store it
All 15,000 CRS/UNICEF backpacks have been loaded up and moved on from our facility, after a month and a half of storage. Each backpack is stuffed with a variety of school supplies destined for primary school children in Goniaves. We also helped PSI to load and store 1000 mosquito nets as part of their distribution of materials to rural areas. The heavy bales of nets have now all been moved off of our porch and given to families.
Pump it, Test it
Over the past 3 weeks HODR volunteers have helped Oxfam Intermon (IO) collect water samples from 168 rehabilitated wells. Every morning a team of local and foreign volunteers set off in search of wells that IO has previously cleaned, repaired, and improved. This critical phase includes drawing samples from the wells, keeping them on ice, and transporting them to the government-run water testing lab in the city of Gonaives. In true HODR fashion we actually use a cooler strapped to the back of a bicycle for the transport link!
Plot it, Map it
As CRS rolls in new staff to their office here in Gonaives, they continue to look to HODR for training and support with GPS. Our volunteers expanded our training module and created documentation as well, providing classroom and field training to 6 additional CRS staff.
Pour it, Cure it
We are at work on a project where we will design, build, and install concrete well rings. The goal is to develop the masonry process of prefabricating concrete rings that can then be set in place with appropriate drainage, creating a raised platform that mitigates risk of future flooding while improving the immediate environment around the well (no standing water, thus reduced contamination). This method can then be shared with other NGOs working on water and sanitation to allow them to increase the speed and cost-effectiveness with which they can implement well rehabilitation programs. This project is funded by a grant from UNICEF.
Clean it, Paint it
HODR has completed the exterior painting at École Emmaus, the final step in our rehabilitation work at this school run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition. The school is now a point of normalcy in a neighborhood still very much ravaged by the storms. If you look at the MSNBC video you will see a very different place than what exists now. Everything is clean and fresh with students at their desks! Other NGO partners have entered to help with other aspects of the need; ACF cleaned the water well at school and the clinic is set to open this week with a new stock of medicine from CRS. We celebrated the conclusion of our work with a Haitian feast hosted by the sisters who run the school.
Clap it, Sing it
Saturday afternoon games with the children of Ebenezer Camp remains a staple in our schedule. The opportunity to play, connect, and expel our last drop of energy at week’s end is a favorite program of the volunteers. The children know the drill now, and easily run through a wide variety of Haitian songs and games to engage kids of all ages.
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The efforts of HODR volunteers have attracted attention beyond the NGOs and local government of Gonaives. Marc and Stef were recently interviewed by Project Management Network magazine for HODR’s work in Bangladesh during Project Rayenda (2008). Two photojournalists from NEED Magazine also joined the crew in Gonaives to document volunteer life on deployment. Both stories are scheduled to go to print in February.
With a month and a half of Project Gonaives remaining, there is still time to come and pitch in! Email Tom at info@hodr.org to book your seat on the shuttle today.
Our most exciting news is that we’re extending Project Gonaives through 28 February, 2009! Due to strong volunteer interest and great projects on the horizon, we’re happy to share this opportunity to come and join the 58 international and 25 local volunteers from 12 countries who have pitched in so far.
Without further ado, here is a look at our second month of Project Gonaives.
Still Digging
Residential mud clearing is and continues to be the backbone of our work in Gonaives. Over the past two months our teams have honed their technique and are now working more tightly, efficiently, and energetically than before. To date, we’ve cleaned 40 houses, enabling 60 families to return home. The one-on-one interaction and exchange between HODR volunteers and the families being restored to their homes marks the heart of the HODR model.
Sisters in Session!
Our largest ongoing job site at Project Gonaives approaches the finish line! 600 children are back in school at the École Emmaus Centre St. Joseph, one of the few free schools in Gonaives. We began by digging 3 foot high mud out from the classrooms, then the library, followed by the community center and medical clinic which serve an additional 200 community members. As the mud work tapered, HODR crews rehabilitated each room by washing furniture and walls, and painted interiors with a fresh coat of paint. Classes have been in session for 3 weeks now!
Smile
As in our other international projects, we’ve launched a community photo project to print and distribute some of the photos we take while working on our job sites. The photos replace some of the mementos that were lost in the flooding, and are often the only photo that each person has of themselves at this age.
As part of this project, we completed a school photo project for all the children at the Sisters’ school, École Emmaus Centre St. Joseph. Photographed and printed headshots for each of the 600 students, as well as class photos for the school. The transformation of faces – from guarded and shy in front of the camera lens, to mugging and smiling, to absolutely beaming as they shared their photos, was wonderful to behold.
Let’s play Twister!
HODR volunteers continue to make weekly trips to Ebenezer Camp, still home to 100 families displaced by this season’s hurricanes. The children receive the volunteers with endless energy. Volunteers are increasingly creative conducting group games and they now arrive at the camp armed with balls, frisbees, badminton sets and even Twister!
UN Shelter Surveys
As our profile grows amongst the international coordination effort, more partnership opportunities are opening to us. Recently we were invited to assist the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in conducting a survey of 250 families living in 3 tent camps, part of a comprehensive effort by all NGOs to canvas the 2500 families remaining in shelters. For 3 days 10 local and 2 international volunteers talked to displaced residents about the condition of their home and their needs.
IOM Shelter Kit Distributions
After compiling results from the UN Shelter Survey, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) launched a massive shelter kit distribution comprised of cleanup tools, building materials, kitchen sets and hygiene materials to assist families leaving camps and shelters and returning home. HODR volunteers have been busy bundling materials, managing the flow of recipients and kits, and supervising the on-site distribution.
Oxfam Intermon Tool Distribution
Our relationship with Oxfam Intermon (IO) continues to thrive. HODR headed up its first large scale distribution on 10 December of 70 household cleanup toolkits furnished by Oxfam Intermon. HODR volunteers managed the process from start to finish, beginning with door-to-door assessments of damaged homes in the Ka Soleil neighborhood, selecting the beneficiary families, finding a distribution site, staging and sorting the tools, and organizing security. We also helped at additional IO tool distributions in other neighborhoods around Gonaives.
Oxfam Intermon Well Assessments
The 2008 hurricanes disrupted municipal water service and contaminated household wells. As Oxfam Intermon works to cleanse and rehabilitate residential wells, we are supporting them by conducting assessments in their target neighborhoods. The assessments are a combination of measures (e.g. conductivity, turbidity, static water level) as well as social context (e.g. is the well shared amongst neighbors or is it private? Pre-hurricane usage level?). Our survey is the first step in Oxfam’s well rehabilitation program.
UN Volunteer Community Garden
HODR volunteer supported UN Volunteers and Terre des Jeunes to establish a community garden at a local high school. Volunteers from all three groups fenced, prepped, planted, and tended the land, which will be open to the general community and serve as an “outdoor classroom” for biology and science classes at the school. An on-site compost pile will also educate and benefit the local community. The completion of the project fell on 5 December 2008, International Volunteer Day.
CRS/UNICEF Backpacks
HODR is currently helping Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to store and distribute backpacks stuffed with school kits provided by UNICEF to children whose school materials were washed away during the hurricanes. The kits arrived in 3 big trucks, packed completely front to back, floor to ceiling. A swarm of HODR volunteers formed a fire chain and unloaded 15,000 backpacks in record time. As many schools in Gonaives have now resumed, these kits will facilitate a normal learning environment and ease the financial burden of replacing lost materials.
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The heart, muscle, and skill of our volunteers is at work as we push Project Gonaives into month number three. We are busy on new well, water, and plumbing projects, and of course, we’re always in the mud! We hope you’ll be able to join us in the months ahead or that you’ll be able to make a contribution to support our volunteers and the communities we work in. Happy holidays from all of the volunteers here in Haiti, to you and your family!
Stefanie Chang
Project Director
Hands On Disaster Response
