Disaster Resilience Journal

VRIJEME RADNJE: 21.05.2014.

MJESTO RADNJE: SJEDALO U KOMBIJU GDCK KRAPINA NA AUTOCESTI A3

GLAVNI LIKOVI: VOLONTERI I ZAPOSLENICI GDCK KRAPINA, GDCK ZAGREB I HCK

Krenuli smo. U avanturu? Možda. U nešto novo i nepoznato? Sigurno. Kako sebi to objasniti? Kako se pripremiti na trenutak na koji se pripremaš mjesecima, godinama?

Od trenutka kad sam se javio na poziv mobitelom, do trenutka kad sam supruzi i kćerima rekao da idem. Od trenutka kad sam sjeo u kombi, pa sve do trenutka kad smo stigli pred rampu kampa i izašli iz vozila.

Bilo je stvarno a nestvarno. Znali smo kuda idemo, a nismo ništa znali. Došli smo a još uvijek nismo znali ni zašto ni što se od nas točno očekuje...

Ipak bili smo tamo.... :-)

Jesmo li bili spremni na sve ono što nas je očekivalo i što se događalo? U našim glavama, možda. Jesmo li znali da želimo pomoći i možda nešto promijeniti? Sigurno. Vidjelo se to u svim očima, glasovima, pokretima. Nitko nije razmišljao o smještaju ili večeri, htjeli smo u "akciju", htjeli smo napraviti nešto, pomoći nekome.

U danima koji su neupitno dolazili i prolazili vidjelo se to na svima koji su prošli kroz kamp. Neki u kompletnim uniformama, neki u "civilu" s posuđenim prslukom HCK, neki mladi a neki i ne još "stari". Iz Istre, Dalmacije, Banovine, Like, Korduna, Slavonije ili Zagorja, Zagreba. Svi su došli samo iz jednog razloga – pomoći, učiniti nešto za ljude, za bližnje, za potpune strance, za kolege i možda čak i prijatelje. Čime god su znali i s čim su imali, neki rukama, neki iskustvom i znanjem, neki toplom riječi i zagrljajem, neki umom i savjetima.

I na kraju "radnog" dana, svi smo opet bili kao jedno - zajedno jeli i spavali, razgovarali i bodrili se, ponekad plakali a češće se ipak smijali. I čekali. Što? Da dođe novo jutro i novi dan i da nam se ponovo pruži prilika... Pomoći... Onima kojima je to bilo potrebno... Djetetu i starici, psu, majci i poštaru, vatrogascu i učiteljici, svima zbog kojih smo bili tamo.

Na kraju možda i samome sebi? Tko zna? To će vrijeme pokazati.

I neka druga katastrofa. I prilika da opet odgovorimo na poziv i sjednemo u kombi.

Zdenko Babić

U periodu od 08. siječnja do 14. veljače 2013. g. sudjelovao sam u projektu EVHAC-a i partnera (Nacionalna društva Crvenog križa Njemačke, Bugarske, Velike Britanije, Finske, Nizozemske, Hrvatske te organizacija Civilne zaštite iz Švedske, Njemačke i Hrvatske)- VinCab, Volunteers in Capacity Building.

Projekt je bio smješten u Paragvaju u Južnoj americi. Tamo sam sudjelovao u edukaciji volontera u spašavanju iz vode i pružanju prve pomoći. Mislim da sam ostvario svoj cilj i pomogao im da se možda malo lakše uhvate u koštac sa budućim izazovima. Sa svim tim kolegama sam ostao u kontaktu preko društvenih mreža i nadam se da ću se jednog dana vratiti tamo i posjetiti sva mjesta i sve ljude koje sam tamo upoznao.

Zdenko Babić

The Chikungunya epidemic has been the main topic of conversation in Haiti since May 2014, and with good cause. To date, there have been suspected cases of the virus in Haiti according to the official epidemiological report of the Ministry of Health and Population (MSPP in French).

My name is Doudly Elius, I live in Delmas 19, a suburb of Port-au-Prince in Haiti. I currently live with my 2 brothers, my youngest sister and nephews. As careful as I am, I never thought that I would get the Chikungunya virus.

One Monday morning, unbelievable but true, I woke up happy and energetic to go to work when suddenly something happened to me. I felt some minor pains in my legs which, at the beginning, didn’t seem to be severe. I knew that these were the general symptoms of Chikungunya but I remained optimistic that this couldn’t be the virus attacking me. After 2 days, I woke up with pain in my joints and  could barely move my feet. My family members were concerned but all I could say to reassure them was: “I am trying to survive, I just feel a slight pain in my legs but nothing serious”. Even though I knew that Chikungunya doesn’t kill, I was still anxious that something worse might happen, like a side-effect that would remain as a handicap in my body.

Later I found out that my symptoms were related to the epidemic. I was infected with the Chikungunya virus. I started researching about the epidemic and discovered that even after someone had been infected, there is a high possibility of side-effects which can remain in the body for years.

My family and I, believed that we had taken all the necessary measures to prevent us from being infected by the virus but we were still vulnerable. Before I got infected, I didn’t believe this disease transmitted by a mosquito was so painful and I finally realized for the first time that though the virus doesn’t kill, it is definitely something to avoid.

In the local media, there was a lot of information about Chikungunya. I learnt that  it is a virus from an alphavirus mosquito which was endemic to Africa, South and Southeast Asia which recently surfaced in the Caribbean. I also learnt that there are no drugs or vaccines available for treatment of Chikungunya.

Since I began working with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) a few months ago, I have learnt a lot about the Chikungunya epidemic including mosquito control mechanisms, surveillance and preventive measures. My work with the IFRC has also allowed me to do my part in helping vulnerable communities to cope with the Chikungunya epidemic.

A former colleague, Christian Clerjeune,  saw me and commented, “Doudly, what’s wrong with you? It looks like you can’t walk normally, don’t tell me that you got the Chikungunya”,  He believed that people get Chikungunya because other people living close by them have it too. As an IFRC staff, I provided correct information to Christian about the real causes of the disease and how it can be spread. The disease is an infection caused by the Chikungunya virus and it causes an illness with an acute febrile phase lasting two to five days, followed by a longer period of joint pains in the extremities; this pain may persist for years in some cases.

As a victim of Chikungunya, I know now the best means of prevention is overall mosquito control and the avoidance of bites by any infected mosquitoes. To date only some medications can be used to reduce symptoms as for example paracetamol, a pain reliever generally taken by those who got affected by Chikungunya virus. It is also advised that persons suffering with Chikungunya should  rest and drink a lot of fluids in order to allow the immune system to recover.

It has been more than 2 months since I contracted the virus and I am still coping with pain in the joints, especially in my legs. Although I have been taking pain-killers  to diminish the pain, it is still difficult for my body to return to normality. I hope that in a near future a cure would be discovered in order to help eradicate this disease.

Kada sam 2011.g. završila fakultet Upravljanje u kriznim uvjetima, kao i većina mladih, bila sam u potrazi za poslom. Kako sam imala dosta viška slobodnog vremena pridružila sam se Gradskom društvu Crvenog križa Velika Gorica s namjerom da svoje slobodno vrijeme uložim u pomoć i rad s ljudima kojima je najpotrebnije. Tijekom dvije godine volontiranja završila sam trening za Vodu i sanitaciju, te postala član Gradskog interventnog tima. U veljači sam dobila priliku postati pripravnik na području zaštite i spašavanja u sklopu Gradskog društva. U prvih šest mjeseci rada, bila sam uključena u dvije poplave koje su pogodile našu zemlju.

U veljači je poplava pogodila lokano selo, gdje sam kao član Gradskog interventnog tima sudjelovala u prijemu, raspodjeli i distribuciji humanitarne pomoći na poplavljena područja. Nepuna tri mjeseca kasnije, uslijedila je još jedna poplava, koja nije pogodila samo našu zemlju već i regiju. S Crvenim križem sam bila uključena u krizni stožer koji je bio uspostavljen na nacionalnoj razini. Svakodnevni poslovi koje sam obavljala obuhvaćali su koordinaciju kriznih timova na terenu putem radio-komunikacijskog sustava, te raspodjelu isušivaća.

Sudjelovanjem u otklanjanju posljedica katastrofe, dobila sam malo veću sliku o ulozi Crvenog križa u izvanrednim situacijama. Svakodnevnim odlascima na poplavljena područja, moglo se vidjeti kako lokalno stanovništvo nije bilo pripremljeno za katastrofu, iz razloga što ranije nisu bili upoznati s potencijalnim prijetnjama koje ih okružuju. Iz tog razloga smo počeli s držanjem predavanja na temu priprema za katastrofe, kako bi podigli svijest lokalnog stanovništva. Na taj način bi stanovništvo bilo pripremljeno na nadolazeću opasnost, što bi naknadno ublažilo posljedice katastrofe.

Hi there! So I got the call to be part of a team who will go to Županja (Croatia) after Flooding Disaster earlier this year (May 2014).

Yes, you go to number of trainings, you live trough live scenarios, sleep in tent, sleep little, work hard, get wet, produce clean water, care of hygiene, learn, talk, discuss, think, listen to stories of the ones who visited different places hit by one of the natural disasters, and you try to prepare for the moment when you will be part of such scenario. Forget it! Yes, it helps to go through all that, but you will not be prepared. I came to Županja, and in first few hours had no idea what will be my task exactly. Soon, I got selected to do Psycho-social support to affected people and volunteers. Never did it before, never had training on that topic. Only thing I got was few guideline sentences from my mentor who I will always be grateful for. She said 'Observe and listen'. So I did.

Place where we distributed humanitarian aid was in the gym beside primary school. I remember one older man coming in, carrying plastic bag and a stick to help him walk. He sat down on the stairs inside the gym, just observing around. I came and sit next to him. No words. He put slight smile on his face, but it was very obvious that it hurts him deeply inside to even be there. Intuition told me not to ask how does he feel, or what does he need. So I said 'Let me see you, I will find something for you', and I meant clothes, since he was mostly looking at them, and people taking them. Found a shirt and pants. He thank me and said 'Till yesterday, I had everything I need. You don't know how it feels to ask for anything of this.' He was right. I don't know how it feels. Its about human dignity, pride, ability to take care of themselves. I learned so much in those few days with those people. I cried with every story they had to tell. Do not ever use sentence 'I know how you feel' or 'It will get better', cause you don't know how they feel, and you have not idea will anything get better for them. One thing I noticed, is that we (RC volunteers) tend to get subjective in these situations, and we forget our principles. Don't! Be very careful, since these people will never forget what you said or did for them. No matter was it good or bad.

Without further due, this was one moment from my life that I will never forget. Always faithful,

"Well, I invite all the compañeros that find themselves in other Penitentiary Centres to motivate themselves, right? Because this is not only going to be useful for them to help other people in the case of an emergency. Or in our own homes, or if we see an accident we can be of help, right? It also changes our minds. It changes our minds because we start to see life differently. If before we used to cause pain, now, the ones that have received this training, we feel the wish to help others instead of hurting others. It has all consisted in the training that we have received, it has opened up new… new hopes for us. To see life in a different way."

In Guizhou province–located 2,159 kilometres from the capital Beijing–having  access to clean drinking water means that 70-year-old, Wei Xiuxue, has to do less heavy lifting and can focus more on his crops. 

Like his two adult sons today, Wei was a migrant worker on China’s east coast when he was younger. But his love of the rural area drew him back home.  At the age of 70, Wei cannot afford to stop working. He grows rice and corn, and earns some extra income by repairing the shoes of other villagers.  However, much of his time and strength is spent fetching water, three or four times a week, from a well that is five kilometres from his village.

Each trip takes him an hour or more and is physically demanding for his age.

But recently, in the village of Doupeng in southwest China, volunteers installed pipes to give 800 people access to safe tap water. Laying the pipe is part of an EU-financed Red Cross programme that strives to improve the lives of people living in remote rural communities.

Wei’s wife, Liang Houlan, dreams of a time when they will no longer need to ration water for washing and cleaning.

Meanwhile Wei, and the other elders with sons away, dream of taking a break from farming.

By Sabrina Konzok