Reset Password
Reset Link Sent
| Blogs > > My Blog |
|
Member Deleted Post This post has been deleted by |
|||
|
The Catholic charity Caritas is always one of the first responders in Italian disasters. It is the largest charitable institution in the country. This is a copy of their three stage plan for a previous earthquake (L'Aquila 2009) Earthquake in Italy: Caritas Italiana intervention versione testuale The second phase of the emergency and Caritas work has started in the Dioceses of L’Aquila heavily hit by the earthquake of the 6th of April. Activities are coordinated by the Coordination Center of Caritas, a team set up in the parish San Francesco d’Assisi of Pettino, operating since the day after the earthquake to assess needs, coordinate relief efforts and volunteers coming from all over Italy . Caritas intervention Phase 1 More than 300 volunteers were mobilized immediately after the earthquake, whom together with the staff (15 people) of the diocesan Caritas of L’Aquila have worked day and night to assist the many displaced families hosted in the centers provided by the Civil protection authorities:106 tent centers for 57,000 IDPs. Activities in this first 10 days were mainly those of : - Management of relief aid (food, medicines, clothes, hygiene items, beds, sleeping bags, tents), conveyed in the main Caritas store. The volounteers have gathered the material coming spontaneously from all over Italy and distributed in the tent centers set up near almost all the villages affected and in the several small, self organized groups of people created in quite a lot small villages. - Assistance to these families with counselling, listening and support for all basic needs. - Assistance to displaced families, about 24,000 people, gathered in hotels on the coast. Staff and volunteers of the diocesan Caritas of Pescara, Teramo and Chieti worked tirelessly to provide material necessities, but especially to follow daily these people, far away from their houses. - Assistance to the diocesan Caritas of L'Aquila, whose premises were totally destroyed by the earthquake, helping its professionals and volunteers, who have worked without interruption together with Caritas Italiana’s staff, to organize the relief intervention. Caritas intervention Phase 2 Meanwhile, the Coordination Center has started assessing in all the 46 parishes involved the damages and emerging needs of the local communities. The territory affected by the earthquake has been divided into eight areas, and "assigned", each of these, to a group of Italian diocesan caritas that will be “twinned” with each local communities of these territories, under the coordination of Caritas Italiana. These twinnings will involve collaboration with communities, parishes and local authorities in the identification and assistance for reconstruction and in supporting people. through Thanks to the presence of volunteers it will be ensured a long term assistance and collaboration 3/4 years). Approximately 1.400 volunteers who will be involved in these areas. The twinning is a key element for Caritas work, in order to give continuity to the work of counselling, to ensuring a long term presence, to define reconstruction plans according to the people real needs. Caritas intervention Phase 3 For the reconstruction phase, Caritas Italiana has already given the availability to rebuild - Schools; - communities centers to be built in the temporary centers, foreseen by the government near the affected villages (these centers will be available for the communities for all functions and activities that are normally organized by the community itself); - social housing for vulnerable groups (elderly, families in difficulty, disadvantaged). Future plans are: 1.000 students accepted at schools reconstructed 42.000 people served by the community centers (around 40) For social housing activities, it will depend for public authorities reconstruction plan. Around 10/12 % of the collected funds will be used for socio economic projects (micro-credit) that will be set up later on, after the major emergency has been overcome. In order to start up this 3rd phase, Caritas Italiana will have to wait that civil protection authorities have completed the work of viability analysis of the buildings and draft out the reconstruction plan.
|
×
×