As I watched television during the last weekend of August 2017, I was moved to tears watching the devastation in Houston and all of the areas affected by Hurricane Harvey. Relief efforts will be required for months to help the region recover from the catastrophic storm and the incredible flooding that followed. Besides donating money to the following organizations, you may want to donate your time. Here are a few places to donate:
This past February, I had a plan to go to New Orleans, LA for the entire week before Mardi Gras to enjoy some of my favorite parades and festivities. Three weeks before, a tornado had hit East New Orleans and I knew I had a few days that I could do some relief work. I just could not go and celebrate the festive season and know that the community a few miles away was suffering.
I chose to reach out to one of the churches in East New Orleans to see if they needed help. It was easy, the church had a website setup where I could sign-up and they reached out to me with some options for me to support their congregation and neighbors.
Pictures from East New Orleans in February, 2017.
How do you plan for doing relief work?
- Above all, do no harm. There are times when the military and professionals need to be working and you may be getting in the way. By reaching out to a local church, the relief team could identify where my time and skills would best be served. And I would not be a burden.
- Get your shots, bring antibiotics, pain-relief, and anti-diarrhea medication. Before you go, ensure you have the right immunizations, as affected areas are prone to outbreaks of diseases due to compromised utilities, standing water, and . Tetanus shots are a must if you will be working with the clearing up of debris or on clean-up duty.
- Be prepared for what you will see. Even during the debris clean-up work, I found myself talking and counseling to some of the locals. This community was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina and many of the old wounds and fears came out with this tornado. Be strong and hug if appropriate and tell them that they are in your prayers. Sometimes you just need to hold their hand and cry with them.
- Know where you are going to stay before. Lodging in affected areas can be challenging to come by, as many displaced residents are using the hotel rooms in the area. I stayed downtown and had to travel in by Uber and bus to the sites.
- Bring your own supplies. I stopped at a local hardware store before I headed to New Orleans to get heavy-duty rubber gloves and other work gloves and a few boxes of trash bags. The church said they would supply the shovels and other larger tools. And do not forget to bring hand wipes and other cleaning supplies if needed.
- Pack your Lunch. I brought water and my lunch with me and also brought some treats for the other workers to show some love to their incredible efforts. Most members of my crew had been working for weeks and they needed some love and appreciation.
- Post-relief work. I collected the names of the crew I was working with and sent them an encouraging card from home. As it was a religious group, I included a laminated prayer and note of how much their efforts are helping their community. I knew the crew would need some lifting.
Other ideas for doing good work while traveling….
There are some 300+ travel organizations that help you become a voluntourist, but really think about the work and not the photo opportunities that you might get at an orphanage, etc… Can you make a long-term commitment and can the work you do have lasting effects? Voluntourism can help you find those opportunities.
I am a fan of the Lonely Planet series of books and they have just updated their guide, Volunteer: A Traveller’s Guide to Making a Difference Around the World, 2017.
As Nelson Mandela once said:
We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.
