Sitting here awash in e-mails, and situation updates regarding the tremendous logistical and communication challenges that are trying to be solved, in order to provide water, food, shelter and medical care; I pined for someone to attack the pile of dishes in my kitchen, and the laundry that needs to be done, and the bills that need to be paid. It dawned on me that there is so much that people can do to help this whole response even if they are not directly involved.
Many people want to help but either don't have the skill set needed, or money to contribute, or for some other reason cannot be directly involved. It would be a tremendous help to those who are responding, and I'm not just talking about medical providers, or search and rescue teams, I'm talking about those behind the scenes, to have a little help with common chores or everyday needs. There are thousands of people who sit at computers all day and night, sometimes for days on end, providing solutions to a myriad of problems out there. It would be extremely helpful to them for family, friends, or neighbors to offer a little help. Some ideas might be:
* Do their dishes
* Fold that pile of laundry
* Walk their dog
* Feed their cat
* Clean their fish tank
* Take out the trash
* Take them over a bowl of soup for dinner
* Wash their truck
* Shovel their snow
* Give them a neck and shoulder massage
* The ones that do have to deploy: make sure their bills get paid, many have to leave on short notice, they shouldn't have to come back to no lights or water.
You get the idea. What you do may not make the news but it is an essential part of all of us working together for the best outcome.
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2 comments:
I do not do this kind of thing any longer, but I used to respond many disasters when I was part of the fire service. I see a large number of complaints about the way disasters are handled. But there is a great deal of difficulty in preparing for a disaster.
I am going to discuss just one of the many I have worked. I was on ground zero on April 19, 1995, when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was a horrible tragedy committed by horrible people. There were so many areas of need to cover.
Communication was down nearly immediatly. Telephones both wireless and and landlines were hampered for several hours. Disasters like this and Haiti are impossible to plan for. There are just too many variables. One thing that very few know about was that that Oklahoma City had just completed an intensive disaster preparedness training program at the National Fire Academy located near Emmitsburg, Pennsylvania.
The training involved an in-depth test on the city's Emergency Response Units. This included representatives, from Police, Fire, Rick Management and other city agencies. The training accelerates the disaster until all of the city's resources are exhausted ..... then you begin to see where your shortcomings are. Even with this enormously intense traing just before the Bombing .... we made mistakes. But think of the things that could have gone wrong if the incident had occurred before completion of the training.
I am already seeing criticicle reviews on the efforts being mounted for Haiti's relief. Such as sending inefficient military units to help in control, rescue etc. Well where are we going to get thousands of highly skilled rescue bodies to move debries, help control movement and help distribute food and clothing. It certainly is easier to activate military units when we consider the logistics of assemble and then transport.
Another critical review concerns about sending a carrier ship ..... it costs so much to maintain one. But when we consider the idea that there in extremely limited aircraft capability in Haiti right now .... my last information said they could only land 80 to 90 aircraft per day .... does that mean approximately 3 per hour? Then is the availability of a military aircraft carrier in the area a good thing?
Folks this disaster is severely taxing the resources of everyone who is sending aide. And it is impossible to get that aide there yesterday ..... those who are being so critical are not considering the time it takes to load supplies, gather personnel, set the process in motion and then transport there. We do not have the technology to just "Beam Them up Scotty."
I really believe the effort to move in and help is going as well as it can when one considers all the areas that must be delat with.
Thanks Dale, your experience and insight are highly valuable, especially for those who don't understand the underlying issues in disaster response. Thank you for all you have done! (and still do)
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