Help! The helpers are coming
A tidal wave of compassion is bearing down on Sri Lanka. A guy on the radio is saying that his travel company will fly people from Ireland to the Indian Ocean island to help the victims of the tsunami. You pony up 850 euros for the flight and he'll take care of the accommodation. Skills required? None. The hungry have to be fed, the homeless housed and the grieving counselled. So what if you don't understand the dialect or can't put a splint on a broken leg? Love conquers all. Right?
All this reminds me of an anecdote related by Kevin Jones of The Anglican Malaria Project which, by the way, provides low-cost, effective malaria intervention in Southern Africa and has achieved a ten-fold reduction in mortality through its work. Anyway, he recently came across an indignant posting by a guy who wished to offer his labour to the tsunami victims but wanted food and housing in return and was upset that no one would take up his offer. It prompted Jones to recall his days doing hurricane relief work along the Mississippi Gulf coast:
"The first people to arrive were the Red Cross, who set up emergency clinics. Next were the teams of Mennonite carpenters who doubled as electricians and plumbers. They made sure the Red Cross shelters were wired, that the timbers were shored up, the ditches bridged so people could get to the clinics, etc. none of these first two groups put any additional requirement on the infrastructure; the Mennonite women cooked for themselves and, sometimes, the Red Cross, bringing their own food, water and stoves. Next were the southern Baptists with their large 18 wheeler tractor trailers converted into kitchens, to feed the people who were without food or electricity. Again, none of the first three groups made any demands on the disabled infrastructure. Exactly the last person, the very last person anyone would have wanted to see in that situation (and the tsunami is of course, far worse) is a willing, skill less volunteer who needs to be fed and housed and managed. The wordless teamwork between the Red Cross and the Mennonites was a beautiful thing to behold, few words, a few nods and gestures and people knew what to do and got to work. The contrast between that and demanding to be taken care of so you can be helpful is, I hope, clear."
What a marvellous story. You can picture the various teams working seamlessly together, systematically rebuilding and restoring, cooking and caring. You can also picture the opposite: gangs of well-intentioned people, totally unfamiliar with the local language and customs standing around, getting in the way and waiting for someone to tell them what to do. Want to really help? Now and in the future? Learn a skill that could be put to use helping victims of natural disasters. There's still time. Meanwhile, here are some links to organizations working to help the victims. Check out the skills sets they require: The International Red Cross and Red Crescent, Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF .
