Hot
Topic Archive
January
2005
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The
Tsunami Effect
by
Andy Fryar
Director
& Founder, OzVPM
The
tsunami disaster that struck on December 26, 2004
has captured the headlines like no other story since
the terrorist attacks on NYC and Washington DC in
2001. It is an absolute tragedy on a scale most of
us still cannot begin to comprehend.
While
a total of twelve countries have directly experienced
the frightening reality of nature at its worst, I
doubt there will be any place on earth that will not
experience a loss as a result of this catastrophe.
At the time of posting this hot topic, 125,000 people
(including many Australians and New Zealanders) have
already been confirmed as dead, with thousands more
missing. The final death toll is certain to rise to
even more horrifying levels.
Within
this scene of total destruction, amongst the debris,
the bodies and the emerging disease, we find a human
response unlike anything that has come before it,
for the effect of this disaster on the earth's citizens
has resulted in the mobilisation, without doubt, of
the single largest movement of volunteers, working
for one cause, that the world has ever seen.
While
the Indian Ocean tragedy is not the worst loss of
life ever experienced* , never before has a disaster
been so widespread affecting so many countries. Never
before has a natural disaster seen the death of so
many foreigners. Coupled with technological advances
that enable each and every one of us to experience
first hand, via out TV's or computers, the horror
that is unfolding, the response by citizens both at
the front line and in their local communities the
world over, is truly amazing to witness.
Consider
the following examples of volunteer effort:
- those caught up
in the tsunami themselves who, having survived the
initial experience, began immediately to help others
- and who remain in the worst affected areas today,
continuing to assist
- the many doctors,
nurses and aid workers being deployed to the hardest
hit areas daily from all around the world
- the multitude of
organisations all around the world stepping in to
give aid to people from their own area of concern
(eg Diabetes organisations seeking to provide insulin
to the area, child welfare organisations seeking
to establish safe areas for children affected by
the tsunami to play and resume some sense of 'normality')
- the many other
professionals volunteering their time to renew vital
infrastructure in the worst affected areas
- the relief agency
volunteers working tirelessly behind the scenes
preparing aid packages and supplies to be shipped
to tsunami ravaged regions throughout the world
- airlines offering
free aid flights whose staff have crewed these flights
in a voluntary capacity to assist the relief effort
- fundraising volunteers
who are taking calls for millions of dollars worth
of pledged donations
- others mobilising
themselves and their workplaces to raise funds their
own funds in a whole range of other innovative ways
for the relief effort
- on-line volunteers
establishing online fundraising forums resulting
in the raising of millions of dollars
- individuals giving
money instead of their time
While
much of this voluntary work is by nature 'informal',
such a massive deployment of volunteer effort would
suggest that we are also currently witnessing the
greatest volunteer coordination / management effort
in history .
It's
a sobering reminder that the work we are involved
in as volunteer program managers is important work
that really does have a major impact in so many ways
through our communities. Not just in times of disaster,
but everyday. While volunteering is often portrayed
and interpreted as being only 'soft and fluffy' activities,
the tsunami disaster is again a timely reminder that
for many volunteers, their activities and actions
remain at the cutting edge of society.
The
truth is that many volunteers work on a daily basis
with individuals experiencing the worst day of their
lives - in emergency rooms, intensive care units,
palliative care programs and in the emergency service
arena.
It
will be interesting to see what acknowledgement the
international volunteering community gains from this
experience - and what lessons we can all learn from
the coordination of a volunteer effort on such a massive
scale.
In
the meantime, let me encourage you all to think about
ways that you can offer and use your expertise as
leaders of volunteer effort to aid the situation in
your own local area.
Please
share your thoughts
- How
can we as the volunteer management community, offer
our expertise to assist individuals and other agencies
through this situation?
- Share
your own experiences Are there other ways that volunteers
are being involved in the relief effort that haven't
been listed above?
- Please
feel free to share any other thoughts you may have
about this terrible event
*
900,000 lives were lost in China in 1887 when the
Yellow River broke it's banks in Huayan Kou,
an
estimated 830,000 lives were lost in China in 1556
as a result of an earthquake in the Shanxi and Henan
provinces while a cyclone in Bangladesh in 1970 killed
500,000 (source: BBC News)
It's
not too late to...
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