Somali
Red Crescent Society (SRCS) volunteers have since 29 December
been engaged up in a massive cleaning operation in Hafun, a
thriving fishing town sitting on a peninsular in the Puntland
region, which now lies in ruins.
Immediately the tsunami struck, SRCS volunteers were mobilized
from different parts of Bossasso branch and ferried to the scene
of destruction: five from Bossasso, seven from Ufyen and eight
from Iskushban. The other 17 were recruited locally in Hafun
to make the 37 volunteer workforce on the ground today.
In the first days, the volunteers were mainly involved in first
aid and tracing services as these were the most urgent needs.
Many people had sustained injuries when fleeing the mighty waves
while others had been separated from their families in the ensuing
panic.
Later on, the volunteers started the clean-up, to restore some
semblance of environmental sanitation. The volunteer team leader,
Abdi Ali from Iskushban, says the operation has taken so long
because there is an incredible amount of rubbish and debris
in the ruins.
The young volunteers have established a daily routine, which
starts at 7 am with a brief meeting at the shed which serves
as their office. By 7.30am they are all armed with spades, shovels,
wheelbarrows and spraying cans, and they set to work, digging
up rubble, spraying puddles of stagnant water, burning rubbish
and heaping the non-combustible items to form a barricade at
the shores.
At 11.30 they take a break and then resume their tasks at 3
pm before finally finishing their work at 6 pm.
To increase efficiency, the volunteers have divided themselves
into four groups to deal with different issues concurrently,
all geared towards ensuring the restoration of good health and
hygiene in Hafun.
One team collects garbage, a second works with the only health
post in the community, the third team concentrates on raising
hygiene awareness in the community and the fourth sprays insecticide
and chlorinates water.
Working in this operation has been a very challenging, but also
great learning experience for the volunteers, says Ali Dhere
from Hafun. “We have learnt many lessons, especially about
disaster preparedness and response,” he explains.
He lists some of the tasks the volunteers have carried out:
helping affected people to settle into their new shelters; identifying
and registering the dead and tracing the missing; averting the
outbreak of diseases through their cleaning activities.
Ali admits that members of the community sometimes hinder the
clean-up by asking volunteers to search for lost valuables in
the rubble, or sometimes not to clear the remains of their former
houses at all.
Apart from that, Ali notes, the community needs are overwhelming.
Although the SRCS volunteers focus is on environmental sanitation
now, the community expects them to meet other needs like distributing
food and relief aid, and health assistance.
As Red Crescent volunteers, they cannot ignore people’s
needs, yet their capacity is limited both in scope and resources.
As such, the volunteers are working closely with other organizations
on the ground to contribute to a general intervention aimed
at assisting these vulnerable people.
There has been a noticeable increase since the tsunami in the
incidence of previously uncommon diseases: diarrhoea, dysentery,
upper respiratory tract infections, and skin and eye infections.
This has been largely attributable the breakdown of the area’s
main water system and the contamination of water sources. But
a major outbreak of diseases has so far been averted thanks
in no small part to the timely intervention of the SRCS and
UNICEF, which is ensuring a regular supply of clean water and
building latrines.
SRCS volunteers have been playing their part, going door-to-door
to raise awareness among the people about good hygiene practices,
especially using latrines and disposing of human waste.
Meanwhile another team of SRCS volunteers works closely with
the health staff in the only functioning health clinic in the
region, helping them to mobilize communities for immunization,
referring cases requiring clinical attention and conducting
health education on selected diseases.
The task facing the volunteers in Hafun is far from easy. Many
volunteers have been working to clear the debris without face
masks, heavy duty gloves or protective gear. Having taken charge
of the cleaning up exercise, the SRCS volunteers often come
across not only the decomposing bodies of humans, but also those
of livestock or sea creatures.
“At times, we have dug up human body parts,” says
Abdallah, a volunteer from Bossasso. “With 131 people
still missing, you never know what you will find in the rubble.”
His fellow volunteers nod their agreement.
Some of them, especially the local ones, still dream that the
tsunami will return, while those from other areas, as well as
feeling homesick, fear they may be caught up in another show
of ocean rage.
The volunteers from Hafun are victims of the disaster, just
like the community they are serving. Sometimes they have to
leave work to attend to their families or to queue up to receive
relief aid.
What keeps them all going the cooperation and appreciation of
the people of Hafun. “This is a community of hardworking
and honest people and they have made it very easy for us to
work with them,” says Daoud, from Iskushban.
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Volunteers
from the Somali Red Crescent clear debris from homes destroyed
by the tsunami. It is physically hard and emotionally
draining work (p-SOM0003)
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A
Red Crescent volunteer sprays disinfectant around houses
in Hafun to prevent the spread of disease (p-SOM0008)
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The
Somali Red Crescent provides essential health services
to vulnerable communities, including here at the Galeyraale
camp (p12598)
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Water
points like this one have become essential since the tsunami
destroyed Hafun’s main water system and contaminated
water sources (p-SOM0009)
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