The Australian contingent went home early hours this morning (without me - however, I did make an early morning rescue mission to the airport with a forgotten wallet, LOL). We had a skeleton crew on the ground today doing the mop up follow-up visits from the door knocking crew this week.
We continue to meet extraordinary people dealing with extraordinary circumstances! Let me tell you about "B":
B is a 64 year old lady who owns a property on the outskirts of town. She had a chance encounter with one of our street team at McDonalds after we had finished for the day during the week. Her details were taken and I got to follow up her situation today. Although she owned a property, she hasn't lived there for years, as she is the primary carer for her elderly parents in the city and lives with family, commuting back and forth to her property regularly. Her dual occupancy house (see my photos) was literally split down the middle of the roof, leaving it vulnerable to weather. She was concerned about her belongings and didn't know how to navigate through the system to have it assessed and repaired. To add to her uncertainty, she suffers from some sort of nervous disorder (not intellectual, as she is quite intelligent) and has virtually no self-confidence to make decisions about how to deal with her house. Her family are taking financial advantage of her (2nd time of encountered this sort of thing this week), leaving her with very little disposable income. Fortunately, she has awesome neighbours who keep an eye on B and her house. He is a builder and is confident the house can be saved. We were able to give her immediate assistance with food and petrol to alleviate some of her financial stress. A quick fix to the exposed roof (tarp) is being organised for tomorrow and a referral to a local Salvation Army social worker for Monday to advocate on her behalf with the EQC authorities and to ensure she is not taken advantage of during this process. She wants to fix the place up and move into it full-time, however, feels obligated to her family and doesn't have the confidence to make this decision on her own. This is one of those situations were the parameters of disaster relief collide with the pre-existing social realities of people living in crisis. Connecting people with on-going local support is so important to ensure people like B successfully navigate through their difficult circumstances.
I also did some work at one of the Welfare Centres and assisted a Maori guy who had lost his rented flat in the earthquake and all his belongings were still under rubble on the top floor. We were able to give him the material aid he needed and even a lift home, as he couldn't carry all the assistance we gave him on his bike! He was staying at a mate's house, and I was so impressed by their improvised makeshift shelter in their front driveway. Although, it was inadequate in many ways, they had taken the initiative to use what they had to create a solution to their own crisis! We had a good laugh together and they proudly invited me to take a photo of their architectural genius.
My own accommodation was changed today, as I moved into the Riccarton Holiday Park. If the aftershocks in a concrete motel felt bad enough, imagine what they feel like in a transportable cabin!! Nevertheless, we are being so well looked after that we are living far better than many locals!
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