19 February 2010

Pretoria, South Africa and Georgetown, Guyana: It's been demonstrated time and time again how important voluntary action is in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters. Jonas Scherrens was volunteering with human rights organizations in Haiti when the country was devastated by an earthquake on 12 January this year.

"The ground started shaking, and it felt like it would tear apart," recalls Mr. Scherrens, who is now just starting a new assignment as a UNV volunteer Intern. "In 30 seconds everything changes. The feeling of fear and uncertainty about what will happen at that very moment. That's what I remember most."

But contrary to some international media reports, Jonas Scherrens remembers seeing people immediately helping each other. "In the days after the quake, we saw student doctors who had grouped together with all the equipment they could carry, helping in any way they could," he explains. Volunteers were also swift to help get the makeshift camps organized, he adds.

He himself supported a colleague who drove around Port-au-Prince facilitating communications and putting families back in touch. "When every single public service falls away, it's up to people to start helping each other," Mr. Scherrens comments. "That contrasts starkly with the images of violence we saw in the media."

Funded by the Government of Belgium, Mr. Scherrens will next be working with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in South Africa. "It means a lot to be a UNV volunteer," he says. "You feel you are part of a special group, from whom it's expected to promote an idea of voluntary action inside local communities."

The official UNV contribution to earthquake recovery is currently being planned, but UNV volunteers and offices have already lent another dimension in their support to Haiti.

For example, in Guyana, UNV volunteer Devashree Harrinarine joined with her host organization the Corentyne Chamber of Commerce to get a fundraising 'telethon' up and running.

"I suggested that we begin fundraising... The Office Administrator and I began calling members of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce and other persons from the business community," she recollects. Her role in coordinating the fundraising snowballed and, in her words, "some five hours later, we collectively raised GYD467,000 [about US$2,300]."

"When I had called around for pledges," she adds, "this question was most frequently asked: 'How much do we have to give?' My answer was: 'Any amount as long as it is coming from the heart'."

The collaborative efforts of the Upper, Central and Berbice Chambers of Commerce and other representatives of the televised telethon resulted in the total of GYD5,175,857 [US$25,400] some days later.  A cheque was handed over to Minister Priya Manikchand by a chosen panellist from the telethon.

UNV Country Office Teams have been playing a part too. In South Africa, a request from a rescue organization made Programme Officer Halima Chande and Country Operations Associate Lily De Gama swing into action.

"When James called me from South Africa Disaster Emergency Response, I made it my business to assist," says Ms. Chande. The NGO had problems obtaining official papers and needed advice from the UN. The UNV Country Office Team pulled out all the stops, calling every office they could until they landed a break with the Jamaican embassy.

The team is now in Haiti distributing emergency health care. Not satisfied with this, UNV South Africa is also organizing a collection of clothes for Haiti. The rescue team is collecting more medication too, and SA Airlines has offered to deliver the medication together with the clothes that have been collected.