I wrote the following piece following the devastating fires in the Eastern Cape in South Africa. I watched the subsequent Grenfell Tower fires, the fires in Portugal, Spain and California and also the hurricane disasters in Caribbean and US keep coming back to this – so much of it is still relevant.
The fire season in the Western Cape has already started – and it’s likely to be a long dry summer with limited water to fight the fires, so the beaters are going to carry the burden. Bear this in mind when they head up into the mountains to protect your properties – make sure they have something in their pockets.
To the donors, volunteers and co-ordinators of the fire relief
Some lessons I learnt after volunteering for a fire relief agency for the Hout Bay fires
People will be very eager to assist in the early days – use that energy and that focus to get the most out of people while you have them. That does mean that you have to think fast – get processes in place to manage the logistics of the donations - receiving as well as distributing - as quickly as possible.
Try and make the process fun for the volunteers – make them feel valuable and needed, that way you delay the volunteer fatigue which will eventually set it – they are doing this on their own time and dime – when it becomes unpleasant it’s harder to keep them motivated and helping.
Try and make the experience as dignified for the victims as possible – they have lost everything. Allow them to collect the donations in a way that feels more like a shopping experience and less like a handout. Sort the clothes out into size and gender so that men don’t have to sort through ladies clothing to find a shirt or determine if the denims are for men or ladies, and larger ladies don’t have to suffer the indignity of trawling though tiny sizes. It also helps you identify what your shortages are and you can send requests out to the community for what you need more of.
Use social media. We set up a whatsapp group for volunteers and created a register – we used the FB page to keep people up to date and the whatsapp groups to co-ordinate. I don’t know how they managed emergency efforts on large scale before whatsapp. For a great example of how to use social media check out the FB page of Thula Thula Hout Bay. This is the group I volunteered with and you can see how they communicated with the public, the volunteers and fire victims.
Regarding donations – we focused on toiletries, clothing, bedding and a hamper of food to get them as close to their next pay check as possible and allow them to focus on the bigger stuff that comes with the aftermath of a fire.
Remember when you are collecting for black communities that the shampoo we whiteys use is not suitable for African hair, so if you are donating/collecting for their areas, be cognisant of who is receiving the goods. Also, consider genders – a family soap is more suitable than a bar of Dove which mom will love, but dad may prefer something a little less fragrant, and men and women need deodorant, so mix up the shopping. Sanitary towels and nappies of all sizes too – there are never enough.
Regarding clothes – our biggest shortage was mens’ clothing – it’s very clear that ladies have too much in their wardrobes, but the poor men really struggled. And boys clothing – they really do seem to wear their clothes to rags – girls not so much. Underwear!! We don’t think about this, but this is one thing that is sorely needed and seldom donated. I’ve seen ladies fighting over the few bras we received, so this is something people can donate. Buy packs of underwear for all genders and sizes or use money donated for this.
Donors – please don’t use this as an excuse to clear out your garage or the pantry or that old expired food or that torn dress and those broken shoes that you can no longer wear. The volunteers don’t have the time to figure out what is usable or not and if you would not use it consider whether others would want it. People are not that desperate that they will wear your broken smelly gym trainers with the hole on the side. Dignity – if it’s not good enough for you, it’s not good enough for others either – rather take it to the dump.
And then the firemen – the flames may be over in some areas, but they will still be out there manning the burn zones to make sure that there are no flare-ups. They will be tired and hungry when they come off their shifts and their shifts are long – sometimes more than 10 hours depending on how many people the crews have available and I know that they are stretched, so most likely most have been doing long shifts – some of ours worked 16hr shifts. They can’t carry much with them when they head up into the burn zones – they have their water and if lucky a few pieces of fruit shoved into their pockets. Make sure that they have that fruit!! And make sure that when they get down they have water and energy drinks and something sugary – energy bars and chocolate were the first things they grabbed when they came down, then often they lay down under the closest tree for about 10 mins and only after a short rest went to get food. Donors – we never had enough energy drinks, but we had a great little neighbourhood whatsapp group and when we ran out they went shopping. Use the social media and monitor it.
Supermarkets were great – they donated water, energy drinks, snacks, chocolates, fruit and when we ran out the neighbourhood went shopping or begging again.
The restaurants were also great and we were able to arrange meals for the firemen as they came off shifts – they all took it in turns to prepare pizzas, pasta, hamburgers and egg rolls. The neighbourhood people provided the early morning shifts with food – egg rolls, peanut butter sandwiches and hotdogs – all easy to manage and don’t need cups or plates.
During the crisis you will see the best of people and you will see the worst of people – focus on the best and let the worst experiences go. You need that to stay motivated. You will be thanked by some and taken for granted by others. Don’t take it personally – people are just trying to survive and it’s tough to remember the niceties when you don’t have a roof over your head, you are tired, living in makeshift accommodation and unsure what your financial and support situation will be after the immediate relief has stopped.
Disasters tend to bring people together – take advantage of that. Make sure your efforts are inclusive. Bring the township community in with the suburbs – share your tragedy and find this common ground. You will be amazed at how it will change people’s views and perspectives and cut through social barriers – it did in our community. But don’t assume that when the initial disaster and relief effort it is over that the crisis it over too. It takes time for people to rebuild their lives and some clothes and blankets are not going to solve that. Set up a long term plan, make sure you stay engaged and work together so that no one gets left behind.
