KIRF Field Report: Women's Sports & Health in Playa Gigante, Nicaragua

Playa Gigante, Nicaragua

 We returned to Playa Gigante, Nicaragua in December, this time with our kids, to help out two local non-profits that are doing a lot to keep this part of the world beautiful and the locals healthy and economically self-sufficient: Sweet Water Fund and Project WOO. We also came to enjoy the still pristine tropical beaches with world-class surf breaks and the see the native flora and fauna. The native fauna include flocks colorful squawking parrots and at least one troop of wild mantled howler monkeys who live in the tree canopy above the town.

Women's Sports

We ended up doing  all those things.  We started by helping the Sweet Water Fund's project supporting the local women's softball team, Las Estrellas de Gigante. We purchased building materials needed for their field's dugouts and trucked them back to Playa Gigante. For me, going out and purchasing building supplies in Spanish (I'm not even close to fluent), without a car, in a city an hour away that I've never been to, and on New Years Eve was an interesting challenge. New Years is a big holiday in Nicaragua that is noteworthy for its exuberant revelry, effigies of "Año Viejo, and fireworks.  This "mission impossible" was made possible through the loan of Dale Dagger Surf Lodge's ancient-but-indestructable-4x4 truck and its Spanish-speaking American expat/local surf tour guide/dirt road commando and Sweet Water Fund volunteer Shawn. He got us thru the crowded (with venders, ox carts, goats, chickens, children, family motorbikes) streets of downtown Rivas to a friendly Spanish-speaking building materials shop called Ferromax. With his guidance, and our son's help translating, we were able to get the building materials we needed for the softball field.

Kai, Shawn & volunteers loading up
our donation of building materials in Rivas

KIRF is helping out the local women's softball team because being a part of a sports team can help women help each other through team spirit and solidarity, thus helping them get a better future for themselves and their families. Sports also has the incredible ability to bring people together and increase understanding among people from different backgrounds. As Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said,

Sport is a universal language. At its best it can bring people together, no matter what their origin, background, religious beliefs or economic status. And when young people participate in sports or have access to physical education, they can experience real exhilaration even as they learn the ideals of teamwork and tolerance. (Annan 2005)


Playa Gigante is going through profound social and economic changes right now as it transitions from a small fishing village accessible only by a dirt road into an international surf and tourist destination. Its local families, who for generations have relied only on fishing, farming and each other to live, will need all the help they can get to adapt to a new cash economy based on tourism. Competitive sports have the ability to increase group solidarity while at the same time, increasing tolerance for diversity and an atmosphere of trust among its players and fans according to several recent studies in contexts of social change (Barrio 2009; Jarvie 2007; Jonsson 2001) As "hard cultural forms" competitive sports also teach their values of team work, personal accountability, achievement and leadership to players through its rules and particular sport culture (Appadurai 2010).  KIRF has a history of supporting sports programs and physical education since our first donation of soccer balls to devastated communities in coastal Thailand after the Andaman Tsunami and our support of free athletics programs for street children and the rural poor in Bihar, India since 2006.

Family Health

We also came to check out the piece of property that was donated by a local landowner for the town's first Community Health Center. A 2011 census and needs assessment survey produced by Project WOO,  indicated that not only has the town's population increased 13% since 2008 (to 481), but that tourism-related employment has jumped 400% during the same period. According to the same report, the top three community development initiatives desired by local residents are:

1. Access to health care: The closest health center is over 15 kilometers away–too far away for many of the local residents who get around by walking or biking; there is no emergency medical care for local families and no pre- or post-natal care available to women in town
2. Education: The local residents desired better education options for their children as well as continuing education options for adults such as English, arts, environmental sustainability, health and family planning
3. Community center: A communal area for residents to meet, learn, and celebrate traditional festivals, performances and other events together

Future site of Playa Gigante's
Community Health Center

We aim to help out with the new Community Health Center working in partnership with the people of Playa Gigante and other non-profit organizations. KIRF has a dual mission of disaster relief and of helping people help themselves thru educational programs, which foster economic, health and environmental sustainability. In Playa Gigante, locally needed educational programs include physical education through their local women's softball team and health education at the new Community Health Center. Working with other non-profit organizations like the Rotary Club of Ventura, we feel that Playa Gigante has a chance to remain a beautiful and friendly place to visit as well as a great place to live for local "Nica" families. Part of our time in Playa Gigante was to work on behalf of the Rotary Club of Ventura to assess a location for a well for the proposed Community Health Center.

We came to Playa Gigante wanting to experience its famous surf breaks and help out two local humanitarian organizations. We left wanting to help the people keep their town a great place to live. We hope that the people of Playa Gigante can keep their little town by the sea free of the cycle of poverty and hopelessness we saw plague some other communities in Nicaragua. In these places we saw street children begging, garbage in the streets and littering the hillsides,  fouled streams, and young boys passed out from drug use. We also hope that in the years to come,  Playa Gigante and the other picturesque towns along the Pacific coast, will remain a great place to live for it's plentiful wildlife as well.  Colorful parrots, howler monkeys, sea turtles, spider monkeys, translucent-winged butterflies, all kinds of tropical sea life and other treasures call this part of the world home, too.  It is my hope that with what we know now about environmental sustainability and social change, that we can keep little towns like Playa Gigante awesome.

Thank you,
Angela (co-founder of KIRF)

* Here are a few resources that I cited about how sports participation teaches values of team work and increases group solidarity, tolerance of diversity and peaceful adaptations to social change in communities:

• Annan, Kofi (2005) "International Year of Sport and Physical Education", United Nations, http://www.un.org/sport2005/index.html (February 1, 2013)
• Appadurai, Arjun (2010) Modernity At Large, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 90.
• Barrio, Maria (2009) "Herramientas Para Promover el Interculturalism en Contextos Postbelicos, en el Marco de la Cooperacion Para El Desarrollo. Un Proyecto Realizado en Guatemala (Centroamerica)" (English: "Tools for Promoting Interculturalism in post-conflict contexts, in the framework of development cooperation. A project in Guatemala (Central America)")
• Jarvie, Grant (2007) Sport, Social Change and the Public Intellectual," International Review for the Sociology of Sport,  42(4): 411-424.
• Jonsson, Hjoleifur (2001) "Serious Fun: Minority Cultural Dynamics and National Integration in Thailand," American Ethnologist 28(1 ):1 51 -1 78; 

KIRF Field Report: Hurricane Sandy Relief in New York City

On Friday, December 7^th, Mark Kirwin, founder of KIRF and member of the Rotary Club of Ventura, with Steve Doll, who is also a member of the Rotary Club of Ventura, traveled to New York city to help the on-going Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.  After landing at JFK, they met up with KIRF board member Patrick Rea, a resident of New York. Patrick had been doing on-the-ground assessments of post-Hurricane Sandy relief needs was ready to help.

That Friday night we visited several shelters in Brooklyn and found out that they were no longer providing aid to Hurricane Sandy victims. The people at the shelters suggested that we travel to the hardest hit areas: Staten Island, the Rockaways, and Coney Island–areas where there was still a lot of need. According to the New York Times, most of the flooding and deaths from Hurricane Sandy occurred in these areas. Of the people who died from Hurricane Sandy in New York City, 34 of the 43 deaths were elderly residents on Staten Island.

On Saturday morning we met with local volunteer relief workers at the area’s Occupy Sandy headquarters. Occupy Sandy is a New York City-based disaster relief group of local citizens, humanitarians and tech-savvy volunteers that has been quick to to deliver relief supplies directly to Hurricane Sandy victims. When we arrived we saw a logistically well-organized relief effort being run by an Occupy Sandy volunteer group headed by a relief worker named Kelly. From what we understood, the Occupy Sandy group had volunteers working in different neighborhoods of the region’s storm ravaged areas.  These volunteers worked with local resident councils who advised them on their most pressing needs.  The councils then distributed the provided aid to their residents who made the requests. Many thanks goes to the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew for their incredible kindness in offering the Occupy Sandy group a safe and secure place from which to direct their volunteer disaster relief.

We purchased relief supplies that were requested by the resident councils of two areas devastated by extensive flooding: the low-income housing complex of Ocean Towers on Coney Island and the Red Hook neighborhood in Brooklyn. After purchasing the relief supplies for the Ocean Towers complex, we delivered them directly to their resident council. The supplies they requested included baby food, diapers, and wipes, toiletries such as shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes and feminine sanitary products, and cleaning supplies: mops, construction gloves, sponges, garbage cans, construction garbage bags, bleach (for cleaning the mold from the water surge); and school supplies such as pencils, crayons and lined paper. And, we purchased non-perishable food items that were requested such as canned soups, tuna fish, and stews. We then purchased and delivered similar items requested by the resident council of the flood damaged Red Hook neighborhood with the assistance of Occupy Sandy relief workers.

There are piles of ruined furniture and garbage from cleaning out water-damaged homes lining the streets in the coastal neighborhoods we visited.

It still amazes me as to how much aid is still needed even five weeks after a major disaster, especially for low income families with children and the elderly, in a major American city like New York.

A special thanks goes to the Rotary Club of Ventura who partnered with KIRF to provide the funds to purchase the aid for this disaster relief effort.  We also thank the manager of the Brooklyn Path Mark grocery store who gave us a discount when we purchased relief supplies.  Our relief effort would not of been possible without the tireless efforts of the people of Occupy Sandy, including Kelly, Lev and the rest of the volunteers. These people made the efficient distribution of aid possible from the private sector. Five weeks after the disaster, they continue to get aid to families still suffering from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. And, last but not least, I thank Steve and Patrick for volunteering their time and joining me in this effort.

Peace,

Mark Kirwin
Founder of KIRF (KIRFaid.org)

Empowering Young Women Through Softball in Playa Gigante, Nicaragua

Mark Kirwin at Playa Gigante

Surf nomads discovered the perfect surf breaks of the west coast of Nicaragua about 30 years ago. From Playa Colorado to Playa Popoyo, surfers from all over the world have made the Pacific coast of Nicaragua a popular surf destination in the past decade. Some people are concerned that the traditional small farms and fishing villages on these still pristine beaches and hillsides will be overwhelmed by the influx of tourists and unskilled outsiders looking for work–or easy targets for crime.  What the locals do not want is to lose their beautiful sandy beaches to gated tourist lodges and luxury homes surrounded by crime, garbage and poverty.

In the coastal community of Playa Gigante local residents and two non-profits are working to make sure that it doesn't happen there. There are several community-wide development projects in the works that aim to help the local people adapt to the new tourist economy in a way that is socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. The feeling of the town reminds me of the Hawaiian concept of ‘ohana, in that the small town is like an extended family and that no one should be left behind. The town, at about 450 residents, is small enough that everyone knows everyone else but is big enough to require its own school and a healthy economy to support it's local families.

Assessment work in Playa Gigante
for Ventura Rotary Club

Mark Kirwin, founder of KIRF, came to Playa Gigante as a volunteer field worker for the Ventura Rotary Club to help them with their project assessments of the aid requests to help the local families of Playa Gigante.  To read more about the Ventura Rotary Club project, please see the Rotary website post "Three Ventura Rotarians Conclude a Successful Trip to Nicaragua." After meeting with local community leaders  and visiting project sites while working for the Ventura Rotary Club in August 2012, Mark realized that his own foundation KIRF could make a difference, too. Mark met with the inspiring founders of two local non-profits in town, the Sweet Water Fund and Project WOO, that are actively working with the town’s leaders to improve education, health services, and create economic opportunities in the surf tourism economy for local families. The result of those meetings was KIRF's sponsorship of the Estrellas de Gigante, Playa Gigante's women’s softball team, with its donation of new sports equipment.  Baseball is the national sport of Nicaragua and many towns have a local team.  Playa Gigante's local women's team has not only been a source of pride for the women, it has strengthened their social ties within the community. The team was also founded as a means of improving local the women's health and fitness. So far, it’s been a great success!

Outfitting the Playa Gigante Women's Softball team:
Ben and Kassidy (Sweet Water Fund), Ed McCombs
(Ventura Rotary) and Mark Kirwin (KIRF)

Sports equipment purchased by KIRF included new bats, balls, bases and new softball mits for each player including a left-handed mit for a pretty young lefty named Martita. The softball field still needs a lot of work including a "real" dugout and stands for spectators but we hope others will come forward to help out these amazing young ladies and their team soon.  To see photos of Playa Gigante's women's softball team with their new sports gear, please checkout the Sweet Water Fund's post "KIRFaid.org outfits the softball girls".

Mark Kirwin with Bo (Project WOO) and
Ed (Ventura Rotary)

We are looking forward to returning to Playa Gigante in December and visiting the inspiring folks at Sweet Water Fund and Project Woo.  While there we will assess other needs (such as a well and a health center) and see what more we can do for a community that has been so generous with its natural gifts of smiles, delicious meals, and, of course, those perfect waves.

KIRF Field Report: Oranges de Bainet, Haiti

Mark Kirwin at the unfinished primary school in Oranges de Bainet, Haiti

Right after the 2010 earthquake, KIRF helped supply food staples to a remote village in Haiti called Oranges de Bainet. Since that relief trip, I have been in contact with people from Oranges. They have told me that a non-profit had built them a new school, but it was not finished. And, although they had a partially competed school, there were no school supplies to use to teach the students.  Further, as a mediator and conflict resolution professional, I have often wondered if Haiti needed any conflict resolution assistance or training because of all the tragedy and possible civil unrest from the tragic earthquake. It is for those reasons we returned to Haiti earlier this month.

With KIRF volunteers Patrick Rae (a member of the KIRF board), and Dr. Thomas Fiutak (whom I have worked with for a number of years at the United Nations Conferences on Climate Change regarding conflict resolution and mediation) we returned to Port-Au-Prince on July 16, 2012.

The first thing I noticed that was different from our trip in 2010 was the absence most of rubble on the streets. And, that many of the tent camps we saw during our last trip were gone.  The tent camps near the airport are still there, but many of the vacant lots and parks around Port-Au-Prince no longer have earthquake-homeless living in them. I also noticed that just outside of town, to the North, where many people fled and had constructed simple temporary living shelters on the dry hills after the earthquake, the government was building a reservoir to supply that new community with water.

I talked to many people while in Haiti about the current state of affairs.  As with any set of interviews on a subject, there were a variety of opinions on what needs to change in order to get the economy going stronger. But unanimously, each Haitians I spoke with wanted me to let the world know that Haiti is recovering, that the people of Haiti do have hope, that there is a good labor force in Haiti that wants to work, and Haiti is ripe for investment to start new businesses with it's new government and a sense of stability.

Inside a classroom at the new school in Oranges de Bainet, Haiti.

Once again, we experienced a lot of generosity and a willingness on behalf of the Haitians to assist us in helping their fellow citizens.  After arriving in the late afternoon, on Monday the 16th, we left the next morning at 4:30 a.m. for the long drive to Oranges, via the road to Jacmel. Several local people volunteered their time to assist us with this project–of which we are very grateful.  As one drives over the mountains to reach Jacmel, we took a left off of the paved road for a dirt road that went to Bainet.  A two wheel drive vehicle would be hard pressed to travel this very rough  and rocky dirt road.  After several hours of winding through the mountains, with beautiful vistas, and street markets full of people selling all manner of  produce and other foods, we finally arrived in Bainet.  It took about 2 minutes to pass through Bainet when our dirt "road" dropped down into the bed of the Oranges River.   That is where our four wheel drive was absolutely essential.

We drove up along the Oranges River for hours, crossing the river  bed at least 15 times, with water rushing up past the bottom of the vehicle doors.  Then, finally, we were there: Oranges de Bainet. The town was a small community of houses, with a church and partially constructed school.  We were met at the school by Father Maxis who has worked in this community for the last three years. The priest explained to me why education was so important for the children of the village.  Not only does it educate the children for better jobs and a better future, but it gives them a sense of pride and will benefit the community. Hopefully, when children get an education and go on to college, they will return to the community to work and share ideas on how to make it a better place for all to live. Education also helps reduce violence in the community the priest said. 

Father Maxis and lumber for the new school.

After we were given coconuts from which we drank fresh coconut juice, we toured the recently constructed school.  It has a roof and walls for six classrooms and a room for teachers,   but it did not have any finishes including windows. It's rooms are empty: no seats, desks, or black boards. And, it did not have any supplies to use to teach the anticipated 150 students who will attend.   And, the latrines had not yet been constructed before the money ran out.  Father Maxis had it wired with electrical outlets should electricity every reach the area (or someone donates solar).  He also had the walls reinforced so that is earthquake safe, and so that a community center could one day be built on top of the school.  Simply put, Father Maxis is a forward thinking, very bright individual who believes in the power of education to help raise the community out of poverty. It was indeed an honor to meet and to work with him.

So after this assessment, we returned on the long and windy road to Port-au-Prince. The next day, it was decided that the best way to help Oranges school was to provide Father Maxis and the community with the needed school books and teaching materials for grades K-6. We worked with many kind Haitian businesses who sold us the educational materials at a discount since supplies were for the new primary school in Oranges de Bainet.  We also purchased raw wood and building supplies for the community to use to build the desks, benches and chalk boards to fill up the now empty and unfinished classrooms.

Haiti's future: A beautiful young girl in Oranges de Bainet.

Father Maxis is still looking for donations so he can hire some full-time teachers for the school.  Right now, he teaches the classes himself with help from some people in the community. However,  he is looking for trained teachers to run the school.  We estimated that with room, board and salary, $2,000 would be sufficient to pay for one teacher for one year.  However, now that the school is finished enough to teach classes, and they have the books, Father Maxis is hopeful that he will be able to receive the funds to hire the teachers.

Dr. Fiutak and I also met with community leaders in Port-Au-Prince who discussed issues of gender equality  and climate change as well as the need for mediation training to assist them with conflict resolution in their communities, especially in some of the poorer parts of the city and outlying communities.  We are  looking forward to working with these folks in the future regarding these issues.

Thank you for all who get out there and make it happen- in any way you can!

Peace,

Mark Kirwin
Founder of KIRF (KIRFaid.org)

KIRF's Sewing Center in Shekhwara village, Bihar, India

Most people understand that the best way to help people who are in economic need is to help them in a way that allows them to help themselves become financially self-sufficient. Doing things this way not only assures that the economic goals are the same for both the giver and the recipient of aid, there is also a means and intention by the giver to truly help others become less dependent on them and, ultimately, have a better future. It is for this reason that KIRF strives to do long-term and sustainable relief through education for families in need. KIRF's mission is not only to help people help themselves in a disaster with disaster relief, it is also to help people have a better future through education. 

The Sewing Center in the rural village of Shekhwara in Bihar, India is an example of an annual in-kind grant and educational project that was founded by KIRF. The Sewing Center is located at the Kirwin James International School near World Heritage site and ancient Buddhist temple called the Mahabodhi in Bodhgaya. The school is primarily a vocational training center for young mothers who need to earn an income to feed, clothe and care for their children. There are between 20 to 25 students, many of whom have no formal academic education. In addition to sewing and embroidery, they are taught some basic literacy skills  at the Sewing Center.

KIRF started the Sewing Center in 2009 with a donation of three non-electric sewing machines, sewing supplies, textiles and a small stipend for a part-time sewing instructor. Today, dozens of young women have graduated from the KIRF's sewing program with a moneymaking skill and a high status certificate of ability that is proof of their ability. The program is a popular one in the rural village where it is located and there is a waiting list to attend.

The Sewing Center is located at the Kirwin James International School, a free school established by KIRF India in 2009. KIRF India, a separate non-profit organization from KIRF, is an Indian Charitable Trust established by Diane Kirwin with its own board of local Indian trustees. This school is the only quality academic education available to its 100 to 110 students in the rural area. Some students walk as far as 3 ½ kilometers (about 2 miles) to school each day. There are currently five classes at the school and snacks are provided five days a week for the students. There is also a Saturday yoga class. KIRF India also provides free health and medical services to families of the school’s students at its Health Clinic that is open on Saturday mornings at the school. About 40-50 patients, mostly women and their children, get treatment each week.

For more information, see KIRFIndia.org.

Snack time at Kirwin James International School. See KIRFindia.org

To support KIRF's Sewing Center at the Kirwin James International School or the Kirwin International Health Clinic, please contact us or make a donation at KIRFaid.org/donate. Please indicate that the donation is specifically for "KIRF INDIA". Thank you. :)

Below are recent photos of the Health Clinic at KIRF India's Kirwin James International School in Shekhwara in Bihar, India.

Refugee, migrant and IDP children in Burma get school supplies from KIRF

KIRF has been getting needed school supplies and some food aid to IDP (“internally displaced people”) children in conflict areas in the Eastern Karen State of Burma and to child refugees in northern Thailand since 2008. We have been able to do this through an aid network coordinated by the Community Schools Program. This non-profit organization based in northern Thailand has provided access to education, medical care and basic necessities to refugee and migrant families from Burma as well as IDP families in Burma since 2001.

The local community-run schools we are supporting are the only source of formal education to their young students. Resisting regime pressure to shut down, they rely on international support through the Community Schools Program to prevail in the conflict areas of eastern Burma. Every year since 2008 we have been helping these kids have a better future through education with the help of the Community Schools Program. The first two photos (top left and bottom right) of this article were taken in a few months ago at an IDP school inside of Burma. As you can see, it is easy to fall in love with these kids!. We try to support them and their teachers as much as we can.

In 2006 the Community Schools program was recognized by the World’s Children Prize Foundation of Sweden and received funding for 25 of their community supported schools. As part of this recognition, a formal needs assessment was done that identified the action areas of child abuse in the Eastern Karen State of Burma. According to the "Activity Report of the WCPRC in Burma - May 2011" report published by the Community Schools' Program, here are those areas of concern:

• Parents cannot afford the children to go to the schools due to poverty.
• In Burma there is still a civilian war with killing and displacement; many children are threatened and the Burmese regime has burned down houses, community schools and have killed innocent families
• Children have been forced to become child soldiers
• Child trafficking that includes forcing the children to work as housemaids, market workers and in brothels is occurring
• Due to poverty there is the lack of the opportunity for studying when children can attend school
• There is often no local school in the home village of children and parents cannot afford the transportation to schools in other villages
• In some schools, children are beaten for infractions such as not doing their homework

In response to the needs assessment and report, formal workshops to provide basic child rights training for teachers and a global vote for the World's Children Prize was organized in schools in Burma and in Thailand migrant schools and schools inside of refugee camps by several organization. Unfortunately, some IDP schools in Burma could not safely participate for security reasons due to conflict. For many children (excepting the ones in the conflict and refugee camp schools), the global vote was the first time they have ever left their village and became aware of a global community that supported their rights.

We have wanted to publish more photos about KIRF's support of Community Schools a long time ago but didn't due to our concern for the safety of thir many volunteer aid workers and the teachers inside and outside of Burma. The photos above are being published with permission of the Community Schools Program. More news and photos from this non-profit will be available online once their new website goes live.

In 2008, KIRF co-founder Mark Kirwin purchased and helped deliver school supplies, food aid and basic living supplies to migrant and refugee children from the Eastern Karen State of Burma. The photos below were taken in 2008 and were chosen in order to not reveal the identities of these migrants from Burma.

IHC fiscal miss-management has hurt hundreds of non-profits, including KIRF India

[KIRF India's students and staff at Kirwin James International
School, Shekhwara August 2011]

We are very saddened to hear of the sudden closure of IHC (International Humanity Center) and the tragic consequences for hundreds of non-profits; including KIRF India. 

Please note that our non-profit KIRF is a separate and distinct organization from IHC and KIRF India. KIRF is not affiliated with IHC and has its own registered charitable institution status – 501(c)(3) – with the Federal government and the state of California. 

KIRF is also a completely separate organization from KIRF India with it's own board of directors and financial management. As such, our non-profit is not affected by the IHC closure. KIRF India, a registered Indian Charitable Trust with its own local Indian management and staff, entrusted IHC as a fiscal sponsor to manage donations and accounting in the United States. KIRF India provides free education and health services for lowest caste under-privileged children and women in rural villages near the ancient city of Bodhgaya, a World Heritage site, in the state of Bihar, India.

We are proud of our independent support of KIRF India's programs in Bihar including the popular Sewing Center program at KIRF India's Kirwin James International School located in the rural village of Shekhwara. The free school is the only educational option for lowest caste under-privileged children in the area. KIRF is also proud of its support of water well construction and repairs, which has provided safe drinking water for students and families at KIRF India-supported educational centers in several villages as well as our in-kind donations of high quality text books and other educational materials for the children of KIRF India supported schools. 

The sudden closure of the IHC has been financially devastating for KIRF India. It has also been a betrayal of trust for KIRF India's supporters and donors as well. KIRF India is not alone in this situation as hundreds of other non-profits have entrusted the IHC as their fiscal sponsor to handle donations and book-keeping for a fee. We are looking forward to a quick and just resolution of this matter. In KIRF India's case, it will be the young students of the Kirwin James International School and the families that rely on KIRF India's free health services that will be the most hurt by the financial miss-management by the IHC.

Field Report: KIRF’s Earthquake Relief in Christchurch, NZ

On February 22^nd this year a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch, New Zealand.  The earthquake destroyed or rendered un-inhabitable most of the downtown commercial district in Christchurch and the neighboring harbor city of Lyttelton (where it toppled the once famous Volcano Café). 

 

Destroyed businesses in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Photo: Kai Kirwin

KIRF, through its director Mark Kirwin and volunteers Kai Kirwin and Totaea Rendell (KIRF’s South Pacific Representative), assisted Christchurch’s earthquake relief efforts from April 1 to April 9, 2011.

Our first day of assessment showed us the immense devastation the earthquake had caused to the city.  Block after block of the commercial and community center of Christchurch was destroyed.  This area was the heart of Christchurch supporting much of its business and tourist attractions.  Business owners and residents had still not been allowed back into their shops and homes since the earthquake to retrieve good and personal items due to the danger of further building collapse.  In fact, we felt three aftershocks during our relief work efforts!

We saw house after house and business after business with major structural damage and a red “UNSAFE” Earthquake Inspection sign. The red signs indicated that the buildings were not only un-inhabitable but residents and business owners were not allowed to enter them for any reason.

During the first few days of assessment we interviewed business owners and residents regarding how they were coping with the effects of the quake.  Many businesses had been forced to shut down and residents were living with friends or relatives. The government had installed port –a- potties along the streets and large tanks of water.  The sewer and water lines had broken throughout the earthquake zone causing the drinking water to be contaminated.  Much of the sewer run-off was, by unfortunate necessity, directed to open water such as the ocean and the various creeks throughout the city. 

We were advised by the government earthquake relief center in Lyttelton (RAC Center) that the eastern suburbs needed the most help.  We were told that many people in poverty lived in these areas.  We were also told that we were the first Americans (Kai and I) who had come to the center to offer aid.  Through our contacts we were able to set up a meeting at The Pacific Hub, which provides community services for the Maori and other Pacific Islanders in and around the eastern suburbs of Aranui and Wainoni.  The Pacific Hub is a small organization supported by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs.

Christchurch Cathedral destroyed
by the earthquake. Photo: Kai Kirwin

Through meetings with the kind folks at The Pacific Hub we found out that the last food aid available to the Pacific Islander families, donations from the Salvation Army, had just ceased. Even though these families would be without adequate food, there was no more non-profit-provided aid expected for them.  As you can well imagine, the local government is overwhelmed with the assistance effort, trying to repair the sewer /water lines and provide temporary housing for the displaced as well as rebuild the commercial zones.

We learned that many Pacific Islanders in the area had lost their homes and were living in cramped quarters with other families; one home had 29 people in it.  Respiratory infections were becoming a health concern because so many people were sleeping on damp floors caused by the liquefaction mud and water that came up through the surface of the ground right after the quake.  Many people had lost their jobs and had no income because of the quake damage to the commercial sector.

We found out these residents needed food, blankets, wind up torches (flash lights), water, generators, raised beds and other basic needs.  So, off we went to find out how KIRF could help with some of these items.

Through the generous support of several New Zealand businesses, such as the Wainoni Pak N’Save (where we purchased food), clothing manufacturer MOKO (who supported the travel and hotel costs for this trip as well as donated supplies) and MOKO’s suppliers: Texco International (where we purchased discounted blankets) and Headwear Specialists (where we purchased beanies at a significant discount). We were able to provide the needed and requested food supplies, blankets, socks, and beanies for 100 impoverished Pacific Islander families who had been severely affected by the earthquake.

After purchasing the food items and other relief supplies, we worked with police officers, who had been transferred from Auckland to help with the recovery effort. Together with them, a local police officer and more people from The Pacific Hub, we were able to create care packages for each of the families.  All of these people provided a tremendous help to us and were very kind and generous in their own time and efforts to help out the local community.

As special thank you goes out to MOKO who provided the relief volunteers with some cool t-shirts and a generous sponsorship for this relief trip. We thank our anonymous donor from Canada, and others from the US, who all made this relief trip possible.

Thank you.

Mark

Director and President
Kirwin International Relief Foundation, KIRFaid.org 

KIRF's earthquake relief volunteers and their new friends at
The Pacific Hub after helping out families who lost their homes.