Download PDF: Issue 54 - New Zealand Fire Service

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Helping Others 16 Issue No. 54 Jim Stuart-Black and Ian Pickard – back at work after their hectic deployments. Making a difference Most New Zealanders only experience an international disaster via the six o’clock news. For Fire Service staff Ian Pickard and Jim Stuart-Black it can be a grim but rewarding reality. Jim and Ian are two of the nine New Zealanders who form part of the 240-strong international United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team (UNDAC). Members are deployed at the request of foreign governments to help with aid coordination, information management, and impact assessments. Recently Jim (Fire Service National Manager Special Operations) was sent to Samoa to help out with the tsunami relief effort while Ian (Arapawa Fire Region Manager) went to the Philippines following the devastation caused by tropical storm Ketsana and typhoon Palma. Ian with the San Isidro Village Council for discussions around the help they need. “It’s come as quite a jolt to see death and destruction on a massive scale right in front of you. But it’s fantastic to be able to see the difference you can make in a very short time,” said Ian who spent much of his 16-day deployment trudging through mud and floodwaters. “You can be in an evacuation camp one day, working out the priority needs, and see the supplies arrive by helicopter the next day,” he said. The days are long and often difficult, filled with travel by truck, jeep and helicopter, meetings, and report writing. “The first few days you’re lucky if you get just two or three hours sleep a night,” said Ian.
Temporary living for many of the villagers above the hills of Lalomanu in Samoa. Flooding outside the hospital at Pateros City, Manila. An illustration of the wreckage left by the tsunami in Samoa. Basically, UNDAC advisors work with local agencies to determine exactly what is needed following a disaster and then help put a process in place to make sure the right help is distributed fairly and efficiently. They look at the priorities for health, food, water, shelter, agricultural impact, local government infrastructure and capacity as well as public and personal safety issues. Jim, who spent 11 days in Samoa, says like Ian, he also finds the UN work incredibly satisfying. “There were two of us from UNDAC but we also called in support from an IT specialist and someone from the World Food Programme. That’s the thing about UNDAC – you have The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine access to support from anyone in the international aid community.” Jim says that the UN team generally tries to strengthen the local effort, provide guidance and then hand over to the locals as soon as they are able to sustain the relief effort. “The response in Samoa was phenomenal. The government, aid groups, matai (local chiefs), NGOs and all the others involved in the disaster were very well organised.” Both men say they have come back with a strong impression of how generous people can be under the most difficult of circumstances. “The people in these countries have often lost everything but they still Promotions help each other and welcome you with smiles and offer you whatever food they have left,” said Ian. The UN payment for the emergency management expertise of Ian and Jim is a princely $1 (US) a year. “That’s a contractual amount for the UN insurance coverage,” explained Ian who admits he’s never declared the income to the Fire Service. Jim and Ian’s advice for those people wanting to support an international aid effort is to donate money – that way you can be sure it will be spent on what is actually needed by those who have been struck by disaster. November 2009 17
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