Lydia Mirembe, of Uganda Red Cross, in Hafun
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.