Early Disaster response

While there were many international organizations supporting the flooding disaster in Kerrville, one local humanitarian was making a huge impact to the most devastated area in Kerrville.  Dondi, pictured above, started the found-project after to 2025 Kerrville flooding.  Dondi and a team of volunteers scoured the areas along the river to find people's personal valuables lost in the flooding.  More information can be found on www.found-project.com 

We set out from Negril to reach Black River where the eye of Melissa passed leaving unimaginable destruction in its wake.  Along the way, we stopped to deliver filters wherever people were congregating including: Villages where neighbors were helping to rebuild homes, at food distribution centers, and beside rivers and streams where people were bathing and washing clothes. During our 2 trips, encompassing 10 days in Jamaica, we stopped in 8 communities and delivered 300 water filters to people in need.

Randy Smith was introduced to me by a friend from college who lived in Negril for many years.  Randy, who runs a taxi and tour service, has many local connections and could get us into places that we would have never been able to access without him.  After 10 days working side by side with Randy, we can attest that he is one of the finest people that we have ever met. Kind, generous, reliable and always with a genuine smile, without him, we would have not have reached people who most needed the filters.  Even more impressive than his driving, he jumped right in and helped us assemble the filter systems and trained people how to use them.  In total, 300 water filters were delivered to 8 of the hardest hit communities.

This is our first time as early responders to a natural disaster.  Initially, trying to find out where the hardest hit areas were located was a challenge; however, we managed to hook up with Elizabeth Porter, a local humanitarian organizer with www.humanitariantraining.org  Elizabeth guided us to some of the hardest hit areas including, Barnardsville, Fairview and Canton….exactly where we needed to be.  700 Waterfilters are enroute from Florida.  They are being hand delivered and expected to be in Asheville, NC tomorrow morning.  Our dear friend Linda who is keeping our dog Sanuk had no power and electricity last week in Tryon, NC.  She said if she had to choose  between the two.  She would pick water. 

Phase 1 of Care4oneAnother Helene Relief effort is winding down.  We had great collaboration with Waves For Water Clean Water Corp, to deliver Sawyer Faucet and Bucket filters to people in Canton, Fairview and Barnardsville North Carolina. In an heroic effort, Janiece Marquez (Waves for Water) drove 700 filters from St. Petersburg Florida during the evacuation of Hurricane Milton to get the filters to Asheville in time.  Other Waves for Water members came as far away as North Dakota and Texas to support.