Disaster relief tips groundwork

Disaster relief tips groundwork continue to help you work effectively on the ground. Because disaster relief is my specialty,  I can guide you through even the rough times and challenges that occur.  When things go wrong, you can use these tips to turn the day from disappointment to success.

Disaster relief tips groundwork, Tip#13 Face the music

As I have mentioned before, things may seem grim on the ground. You have planned, traveled and arrived ready to change the world, or at least make a difference. Instead, you find yourself holed up in a bleak landscape. Heading to Moore, OK I was ready to rebuild after a tornado tore a swatch out of town. On the contrary, the drive alone almost ended in an ice storm that closed the interstate several hundred miles from my destination. By a fluke of luck, following the snowplow,  I limped in into Moore a day late.  Gradually it dawned on me that the tornado was the least of the problems in the community.

Disaster relief, Tip#14: Do what you can

On the ground, landlines were down, water lines froze and then burst, government offices closed. On the bright side, I had found a contact who answered his cell phone with good news.  Simply, all I had to do was show up at a site where the Serve Moore group were working across town.   Hesitantly I put my car in first and rolled out of the parking lot. On the city streets, cars careened in slow motion like roller skaters on ice.

Disaster relief tips groundwork, Tip#15 Love those small favors

Several hours and a day late I discovered an enthusiastic, skilled group of people attacking the guts of a house trailer. With a warm welcome and tools in hand, I walked inside. In an instant, I saw that in the middle of this wrecked structure, a whole family lived by the gas stove with their belongings on the floor by their feet. Taking heart, wearing my official Serve Moore tee shirt, I introduced myself and proceeded to the back room and the team at work.

In the background of my mind, the idea began to form that, compared to this family, I had everything a person could want. No longer a hypothetical disaster relief problem, here it was up close and personal. Behind the damaged walls were tangled webs of wiring and broken pipes. In some places, the flooring bowed and bounced us as we walked.   But every time I passed by,  mothers, fathers, grandfathers, and friends offered smiles, snacks, and local wisdom.

Disaster relief tips groundwork, Tip#16: Own the day

For a moment if you can, put yourself in my place. From the ice storm and hazards and frustration I had faced, I was now offered a gift. I could accept the option to change my life by taking up the challenge of that day.  With gusto, I dug in and shared the jobs at hand until the fading daylight stopped our work.  As we watched the residents light candles around their stove and close the plastic curtains draped in doorways, we gathered tools and drove off, ready for next day’s work ahead.

Moore offers other work

During my stay in Moore, I had the chance to put in a day preparing boxes to deliver from the Food Bank.  For this assignment, I had to maintain a fast pace at my station in the assembly line.  Although at some points, I felt more like Lucy at the candy factory than a coordinated team member, I got my job done without losing face. That day, we processed 490 packages.

Atlantic article on tornado

Last tips to master disaster relief