We are happy to announce that HODR will not launch a project in response to the recent earthquake affecting L’Aquila and the Abruzzo region of Italy. It seems incongruous that we would say we are happy, but the the good news is: they are doing an amazing job of dealing with the needs created by this powerful earthquake.
I was joined by HODR executive director David Campbell and first-in volunteer Henri Fawcett for the post-earthquake assessment. As a team we visited the capital city of L’Aquila as well as 10 other cities, we attended numerous meetings, and had direct contact with 18 different representatives on the ground.
Protezion Civile is the national agency charged with providing service after a disaster and they were ubiquitous. The work they have done in conjunction with the firefighters and Italian volunteers is impressive. They have provided for the shelter, food, and safety of the survivors. They have established “no-go” perimeters for non-authorized peoples and safety zones around damaged/crumbling buildings. They have even shored up some buildings with the hopes of saving them. They have hundreds of hardhat-wearing inspectors combing through homes and buildings looking to clear or condemn them for habitation. We saw them escorting hardhat-wearing homeowners into their homes to allow them to gather some of their possessions. This level of assistance covers the ground zero area of L’Aquila to fringe cities minimally impacted like Sulmona. One of our guiding questions is “is the capacity to respond overwhelmed?” The answer hear is clearly no.
Volunteering is instilled in Italians from an early age and has been a part of their culture for generations. When we spoke the Protection Civil we were told they had 2500 volunteers waiting to help who would be cycled in in shifts to allow rest for those currently serving. The Caritas coordinator told us they had 1500 people waiting.
It is our belief that their strong ability to respond during this emergency phase will continue into the recovery and rehabilitation phase. We will continue to monitor the situation through our new Italian friends to see that this is indeed the case.
I want to thank all of the potential volunteers who contacted info@hodr.org and those of you who pledged to support our efforts financially. We had more than 100 people say they would join us if we decided to launch a project and willing donors. Thank you also to the people who contacted their friends, family, and colleagues on our behalf. We were able to move around Italy and conduct the assessment because of the help that these connections provided.
Please stay with us at www.hodr.org for further volunteer opportunities and the possibility make a direct donation to help natural disaster survivors around the world. As an alternative to Italy, you could join Project Mena in Arkansas!
See you at the next one,
Marc Young
International Operations Director
