18 February 2010

Lalomanu, Samoa: Whether it's earthquakes, tsunamis or extreme weather, when disaster strikes it's not the aid and rescue agencies who are the first on the scene to assist. It's volunteers who were there already.

When Samoa was hit by a tsunami on 29 September 2009, UNDP staff member Mika Maiava put his United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination training into full effect.

"Our car was the first to arrive at the scene, and that is when I started the evacuation," says Mr. Maiava, who usually works as an Information Technology Manager and was recently attached to UNV headquarters in Bonn, Germany. "The Government people could not arrive at that time since they were all stuck where the road was blocked."

Tourist Maurice Brown was staying at Lalomanu beach at the time, and after escaping the waves proceeded to a makeshift shelter nearby. "It was here that many of those affected were assembled, some in a very poor state of health, and clad only in minimal clothing," says Mr. Brown.

He has the highest praise for Mika Maiava's "assurance, compassion, leadership and extraordinary organizational skills".

"The site was transformed under his guidance into a recuperation centre for all present. Food and water was organized as Mika liaised with local villagers who set up cooking facilities and fresh water. Medical assistance then arrived and those who needed immediate evacuation were attended to efficiently."

Some months later, Samoa celebrated International Volunteer Day on 5 December. Small island nations like Samoa will be particularly affected by climate change, so volunteers both marked the tsunami and took measures to help mitigate future disasters. Leotele Leaupepe, who works on Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change projects, explains.

“We booked two buses and took some people from the town with us to the tsunami-affected area," she says. "The volunteers got into four groups, representing the four villages of the tsunami-affected region. All the four groups walked to their destined villages and then we started planting climate-resilient trees along the coast of the affected areas."

This was followed by a clean-up of all the rubbish on the shore from the tsunami (e.g. TVs, fridges), she adds, and a small sausage sizzle some fun sporting activities were organized too.

These examples illustrate the fact that, whether highly-trained or simply willing to assist, after natural disasters it is the people on the scene who often are the most qualified to help.