Sleeping through my alarm this morning was not a good start to the day! After a mad scramble, I made it to breaky on time and got myself together for another day of adventure.
It has been great to get a different view of the relief effort over the weekend through fulfilling different roles; today was no exception, as I was assigned to the Aranui Recovery Assistance Centre. This is a one-stop shop of representatives from different services: The Salvation Army (Welfare), Red Cross (Emergency Grants), Relationship Services (Counselling), WINZ (NZ version of Centrelink), Housing NZ (Tenancy). We saw a steady flow of people dropping in off the street to seek assistance with a variety of concerns relating to the impact of the earthquake. It was terrific to see the various agencies working together to provide a complete package of care. I was stationed next to the Red Cross and on a few occasions we were able to collaborate to save the client having to repeat their story and draw on each others strengths. He was able to provide assistance to fill out the necessary forms for the emergency grant and I was able to provide immediate food and clothing assistance while the grant application is being processed. There was another family who wanted to relocate after losing their house. They asked for assistance to hire a trailor, but it fell outside the square of available funding - but I enjoy thinking outside the square. The Caltex vouchers we had are open vouchers and can be spent on anything sold at a Caltex service station. So, I found the closest Caltex that hired out trailers, organised sufficient vouchers and the client went away happy with a practical solution, rather than "that doesn't fit our criteria" response. In fact, it has been awesome to see a lot of creative and responsive assistance to ensure people get what they need to cope with this disaster!
Another group of Australians arrived this afternoon from both territories to join the crew for this coming week. After some initial briefing with the new team and tea we participated in a Trauma Counselling & Disaster Orientation Workshop. Although many of us were feeling a little weary at the end of a long day, it was an excellent introduction and insight into some basic techniques and principles in responding to disaster affected people.
Tomorrow, we have a full crew back on deck for another busy week of ensuring people in the suburbs have access to all the essential services to get them back on their feet. It has been a real privilege to work alongside NZ officers who are working tirelessly to respond to their nation's crisis. I am also really enjoying working alongside Major Daryl Crowden and observing his very calm and confident manner in coordinating this massive effort. His knowledge and experience in disaster relief has contributed enormously to the respect The Salvation Army has earned from other government and non-government agencies involved in this relief effort. He is a remarkable leader and man of God who is an absolute asset to our Territory and International Army!!
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