Christchurch Earthquake Relief Journal (Day 3)

Another early morning and awesome breakfast at the CBS Arena! Following our morning briefing I rejoined the NZ team from yesterday with another officer from Brisbane. We set out for a suburb called Wainoni for more door to door needs assessment. There was a very different feel and focus today, as we responded more to emotional needs than immediate practical needs. Most of this neighbourhood had electricity, water and sewerage, but were dealing with the reality of not being able to get back to work, fear of further aftershocks, uncertainty of whether to stay or not, and lack of sleep due to unresolved grief and anxiety (we seemed to be waking a lot of people up late in the morning).

Here are a few stories and situations we encountered today:

• A young women greeted us at the door in her bathrobe after being woken up. She had everything she needed practically, but indicated that she had difficulty sleeping and eating. After a brief conversation she revealed that she had witnessed 4 bodies being pulled from the rubble and was having nightmares about what she had seen. When she tried to talk about it to her boyfriend, he told her to toughen up and get over it (they are no longer together). Trying to stuff away her feelings was not working for her and she was suffering anxiety attacks. We interpreted this as signs of post-traumatic stress and called in the medical team for further assistance.
• We spoke to a woman from PNG who was trying to cope with a whole lot of fear and stress as well as her 12 y/o daughter who was too afraid to leave the house. Her husband had health issues and they found the process to access emergency grants too overwhelming and were trying to tough it out at home. We identified a number of practical and emotional needs and organised the "flying team" to come in and help out. The 10-15 minutes we spent speaking to her lifted her spirits considerably and we were thanked with a great big PNG hug! The "flying team" were able to help her and her daughter emotionally, advocated for her to get access to the grant, responded to medical concerns and took her to the Recovery Assistance Centre for further practical assistance.
• We connected with a guy up on his roof trying to repair broken and missing tiles (half the roof!!). It was his 8 y/o son's birthday on the day of the earthquake. All his presents and toys, along with most of their other stuff, were destroyed. His son was sent to relatives up north while they attended to the house. Unfortunately, attempts to get help for his son while away proved more difficult than expected. He is returning home on Thursday to some vouchers and toys we are organising for him to replace what he lost on his birthday.
• We delivered bottled water to a man who was not able to tolerate the chlorine in the water provided by the authorities due to his dialysis treatment. A small gesture meant so much to him.
• Another lady expressed difficulty with her husband having to travel every day to the hospital for radiation treatment and now not getting an income, as his school is closed down (he is a teacher). She didn't want assistance, as in her words, "there are others worse off out there", which we hear a lot! Nevertheless, we have organised petrol vouchers to help alleviate the stress.

Story after story, house after house, despite the brave faces (and not so brave), we walked away with a real sense that we are making a difference. People are immeasurably grateful even just for a listening ear. Although the damage to the streets wasn't as apparent as it was yesterday, we found quite a number of houses that were red carded (condemned, due to significant structural damage). The authorities indicated this morning that more than 10,000 homes will need to be demolished!!

After more generous NZ hospitality at tea, a couple of us went for a walk into parts of the city that are being partially opened up to see the damage firsthand. It was eerie walking down main city streets that were completely abandoned. Words cannot really capture the extent of damage, maybe my photos will give a glimpse of what we saw. We continue to be amazed by the extraordinary kindness and appreciation that people are showing us on the streets. These truly are amazing people!