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Sumner Community Hub
Marnie Kent
22 February 2011 was a day to celebrate as I moved my
work from home back into our red zoned office in the city.
The power was connected that morning and by 11:30am I
had half completed cleaning the mess from the September
earthquake and was ready to start cleaning the rest of the
office when the earthquake struck.
The days following were full of uncertainty. Where
would I live now that my home felt unsafe, threatened by
rock falls and heavy roof tiles collapsing into the roof space
above our heads? Pitching a tent in the grounds of the van
Asch Deaf Education Centre felt safe, even from the earth
rumbling and shaking during the week of the big event.
Three days after February 22, I was bored. I needed
to do something to help the community. My family were
safe; we had food, water and shelter sorted. I was Co-Chair
of the Residents Association and it was time for me to put
my hand up and help, so I went to the local fire station to
ask if I could help somehow. The following day another
resident, Stephan Dujakovic, called to say the Fire Service
needed people to open a local service centre, a community
hub. The two of us knew there had been nothing like this in
existence previously and we had no particular knowledge of
civil defence systems. We knew we’d need to depend almost
entirely on the skill sets of local people, but we didn’t yet
know what we’d need to do, and we had nowhere to work, as
the regular community hall was damaged in the earthquake.
The only building available was an old school hall, which
until the quake had been destined for deconstruction,
but local Member of Parliament Ruth Dyson stepped
in and persuaded the Education Ministry that a stay of
execution was necessary. We ‘took over’ the after-school
care programme and negotiated access to their IT systems,
assuring the school that we’d maintain their confidentiality.
By 8:30am the next day, the doors of the Sumner Hub were
open and hand written signs were displayed to let the public
know we were up and running.
Days passed and we spread the word around
the community using noticeboards and word of mouth.
Willing people came into the Hub and volunteered, and the
crowds grew. The Hub was open seven days a week from
10am till 6pm, with rotating rosters of volunteers from the
community. People came in thirsty for information about
power, sewage, food, housing, and safety, and concerned
to get in touch with relatives. Our volunteers helped with
queries, sorted food and resources such as hand sanitiser,
toys, blankets, buckets for makeshift toilets, and second
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