The holidays are here, and many of the initial response organizations are leaving. The overall volunteer numbers are dropping; public attention has shifted; and the rest of the world is moving on.
Most of the tree cutting work is finished, but there is still a LOT of work that needs to be done. The majority of the work that needs to be done now is rubble and debris cleanup and removal.
Now is a time that seems to be often forgotten by others, the gap between the initial crisis, adrenaline, and cleanup and rebuilding. The time where the locals start digging through the pieces of their shattered lives, looking for their way forward. Now is the time for organizations and people who have a long term vision to stick it out and see the rebuilding process through.
While we continue with rubble cleanup, we want to bridge the gap that often leaves the surviving communities forgotten about. We are working on establishing contacts with the rebuilding organizations so we can hand off the work to them and effectively continue the care of our neighbors in these communities.
