Vets’ DIY Plan to Combat Devastation of Tropical Cyclone Pam
(The aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Pam. Photo: AP)
What happens when a natural disaster ransacks a nation and no one pays attention?
That’s the question posed by Cameron Sinclair, who organized a small but savvy team of U.S. military veterans to help rebuild the small island nation of Kiribati after it was devastated by Tropical Cyclone Pam earlier this month.
“We created a SWAT team for good, primarily made up of returning veterans, to be on the first commercial flight since the cyclone,” Sinclair told Yahoo.
Other, larger relief organizations and international media were focused on Kiribati’s larger neighbor Vanuatu. However, Kiribati, a 300-mile island nation that’s home to around 100,000 people, also suffered massive damage, losing its sole hospital and maternity ward and 90 percent of the island’s entire infrastructure reportedly taking major damage.
The effects were so strong that residents were being told to use the local coconut trees to rebuild their homes since relief supplies and equipment were not scheduled to arrive anytime soon.
So, the challenge in Kiribati has become seeing if a small group of workers can translate their real-world skills into effective humanitarian work, with the team rolling up its sleeves to rebuild a maternity ward by hand.
The island’s hospital has been the central focus of the rebuilding effort, serving an estimated 20,000 of the islands residents on a daily basis and helping to deliver around 20 babies each month.
(Inside Kiribati’s flooded hospital and maternity ward)
For Sinclair, the priority was to assemble a team that could apply their real-life skills in a disaster zone.
First, four members from Team Rubicon landed on the island to make an initial assessment. The crew is made up of U.S. military veterans who now make use of their training by traveling to crisis areas in the U.S. and abroad.
“We truly rely on donations from generous individuals to continue our mission of engaging veterans and helping others find purpose through disaster relief” Team Rubicon’s Director of Field Operations David Burke told Yahoo, noting that they do not accept public grants or government funding.
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(Another look inside Kiribati’s flooded maternity ward)
After Team Rubicon conducted their assessment, they were joined on the island by teams from the Real Medicine Foundation, Small Works and the Young Pioneer Disaster Response.
The Real Medicine Foundation is bringing critical supplies that will address the island’s challenge with water sanitation and basic access to medicine. Meanwhile, the Young Pioneer Disaster Response team will bring in equipment to help rebuild the island’s hospital and maternity ward. Together, they will be addressing the rebuilding effort from the ground up, replacing everything from the ward’s 23 hospital beds, to helping rebuild a sea wall that is essential to keeping rising tides from overwhelming the local population.
Rather than wait for funding of the operation, the four groups agreed to front of the costs out of their own pockets, in what Sinclair called an “act first, fund later,” approach. He then reached out to the RYOT Foundation to help coordinate a fundraising effort.
“We wanted to find an opportunity to help that we could measure,” said RYOT Foundation co-founder Bryn Mooser. “This is a tangible way for anyone with an Internet connection to directly impact the lives of thousands of people affected by a disaster.”
(Full disclosure: I write for RYOT News, an independent news outlet affiliated with the RYOT Foundation.)
Once the maternity ward is fully restored, Team Rubicon may expand its efforts to assessing other damaged areas on the island.
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They’re hoping that if they can reach their $25,000 fundraising goal it will not only ensure completion of the Kiribati relief effort but also encourage small donors to support similar relief causes that are often overlooked in favor of more dramatic events.
(Photo: AP)
“What happens if a disaster strikes and no one is around to hear it? This is Kiribati today,” Cameron said. ‘We need to change philanthropy to be as nimble, collaborative and as innovative as any industry.”
Eric Pfeiffer is a reporter for RYOT News in Los Angeles.
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