천년만에 처음으로 많은 물을 담수한 오를릭 댐과 500년만의 대홍수로 완전 무용지물이 된 블타바강의 댐들이 보여주었듯이 이번 홍수는 모든이들의 상상과 예측을 뛰어넘었습니다. 그래서 그 피해도 복구단계에서 눈덩이 처럼 불어나고 있습니다.
체코형제개혁교단은 세계 형제교회들에게 급히 기도와 도움을 타전하였습니다. 그 내용을 그대로 옮겨놓았습니다.
여러분들의 기도와 도움을 바랍니다.
Prague, August 20, 2002
Dear friends, dear sisters and brothers,
as the water is going down hundreds of thousands of people find there homes in a very bad shape, in Austria, Germany or here in Czech Republic. There are many tragedies of people who lost everything in the floods. Possibly there house is still standing, but it is in such bad shape, that it has to be torn down. As I wrote you a few days ago, we want to help the victims as much as we can. Please find in the attachment information about the ways our Diakonia is trying to help. Please remember in your prayers the victims of the flood as well as all the people who are helping. And there are so many who are helping.
We think of all the victims of the flood in Austria, Germany and the other countries. When you live in such an area, plase understand this mail as information about the ways we are trying to help.
Financial help can be send to the special floods bank account: Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, Jungmanova 9, CZ 111 21 Praha 1, Czech Republic
Bank account: 400 573 203 / 0300 at the bank CSOB, Na prikope 14, 115 20 Praha 1. Please note code 628, which means
help from abroad.
Thank you for your prayers and for any help.
With many good wishes for you!
Sincerely yours,
Rev. Gerhard Frey-Reininghaus
Secretary for Ecumenical and International Relations
Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren
P.O.Box 466, Jungmannova 9
CZ 111 21 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Tel: +420-2-24 99 92 -16 (-15)
Fax: +420-2-24 99 92 19
e-mail: Ekumena@srcce.cz
<>
Help for floods victims organized by the Diaconia of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (ECCB)
The catastrophical floods started 7th August in Southern Bohemia. From the first days the ECCB Diaconia started helping the people affected by floods. From the beginning, the ECCB Diaconia was in touch with the regional and local crisis’ operation staff workers in the scope of the Czech Republic Integral Emergency System; ECCB Diaconia mobilized its centres involved its volunteers into teams of ADRA humanitarian organization which took up in the first phase of damages clearance.
As the water was going on, and a new flood wave appeared, it turned out that the extent of the catastrophe exceeded and exceeds the regional dimension, as biggest as never in the last 150 years in Czech Republic. The floods gradually reached also western, central and northern Bohemia in the basin of the rivers Vltava, Berounka, Ohre, Luznice, and their tributaries; and later the floods also arrived to the central flow of Labe river.
The Flood co-ordination centre was created at the ECCB Diakonia headquarters, where together with the workers of headquarters the volunteers are constantly working. The ECCB Diaconia, in co-operation with Flood Commission of Synod Council, organizes help in the following projects:
1. Organizing of volunteers
In co-operation with the youth department of ECCB, young people in church and also outside the church were addressed via Internet, phone and some mass-media. We are also creating the database of volunteers who are sent out for various works organized by ECCB Diaconia or another partner organizations. Flood co-ordination centre also addressed gradually all the congregations of ECCB from the seniorates afflicted by floods, and all the centres of ECCB Diaconia and appeal to them for co-operation.
2. The bases for teams
The centres of ECCB Diaconia that are located directly in flood areas or close to this areas were transformed into bases from where the help for the people from closest neighbourhoods is organized (sometimes also in more extensive region dimension). A part of providing accommodation to evacuated persons, these bases are focused on creating necessary background for volunteers who are sent there by Prague Flood co-ordination centre. Their task is to participate especially in flood consequences eliminating, in process of cleaning and clearing out of flooded objects, and in another helping works based on requirements of local crisis operation staffs. The centres provide to the volunteers accommodation, board and all the needed services, including the work aids, means of protection, hygiene and infection of prevention. The material is either bought or collected at the place from donations, or in case of need the material is ensured from Prague center. The concrete work activities of the teams are operated by experienced chief instructors who participated in rescues during several last floods in Moravia or in Eastern Bohemia. In the beginning the volunteers are getting acquainted with basic rules and warned of prospective dangers. They also have the disposal of various sources of information for persons affected by floods. The volunteers stay approximately for 4-5 days.
3. Mediating of the volunteers to other institutions
Another function of Flood co-ordination Centre of ECCB Diaconia is to mediate the volunteers to other institutions. Beside the above-mentioned ADRA humanitarian organization, which operates in rescues mainly in Southern Bohemia, is especially going on requirements of various local crisis operation staffs, municipalities and various institutions. The biggest partner on this field is the crisis staff of city council of the capital city of Prague. ECCB Diaconia also co-operates with other churches and brother organizations, Czech Catholic Caritas, YMCA, Scout Organization Junak, voluntary fireworkers staffs, etc.
4. Material help
The CEC Diakonia is not widerly involved in gathering, transport and distribution of material help for people affected by floods; (for example supplying of flooded areas of drinking water, food, sanitary means and detergents, etc.) ECCB Diaconia passed this task to the big humanitarian organization, which are except the other tasks concentrated also on this field, mainly to Czech Red Cross, Czech Catholic Charity, and to the others. However, the ECCB Diaconia did not refuse the direct offers of material help in individual cases. ECCB Diaconia is also trying to comply with concrete requirements of material help, especially in cases where is not possible the help from elsewhere. In the field of material help, the ECCB Diaconia concentrates on supplying volunteers organized by Prague Flood Co-ordination Centre.
5. Psychosocial help
The workers of Flood Co-ordination Centre, together with specialists from the local SOS centre of Prague Diakonia looked out among its cooperators trained specialists who are sent out together with ADRA teams or work together with volunteers sent out from the Diakonia bases. Besides of demanding work with people who experience the traumas caused by losses of their homes and by shocks because of tragedy extent, is the work of psychosocial teams also focused on help to those who are helping. Taking into account that the groups of volunteers consist mainly of young people, the pastoral workers are sent out with them to help to manage the psychic burden. In addition, the Prague SOS Centre of Diaconia works constantly with help phone line.
6. Post-floods help
Having experiences with floods in the last years, CEC together with another churches wants to focus its attention also on help to the individuals. There are a lot of families or individuals who have lost their homes or whose equipment is destroyed. The insurance companies (in the case that the property was insured) cannot cover all the damage compensates. Also another state grants are not high enough so that the families would be able to deal with the damages from these resources. However, monitoring of the concrete situation of individuals demands enourmous efforts of many volunteers and perfect co-ordination with other organizations. The co-operation with the Catholic Caritas and another church organizations acquited oneself well. Except the other things, we co-operate also in processing the identical formularies for damages monitoring and also our negotiations with local authorities during verifying of social situation of affected families.
The workers of Flood Co-ordination Center are seeking out for volunteers who will commit themselves to damages monitoring and to following processing of indemnity requirements. All of them will be immediately trained for first-quality processing of information and for communication with people in post-traumatic state.
7. Flood co-ordination center of ECCB Diaconia serves also as an information center which communicates with other crisis operation teams from partner organizations and mediate the help where is it necessary – first of all information about the free capacities of volunteers, about material equipment, accommodation for evacuated people etc. The team also communicates with mass-medias and prepares the bases for fund-raising in Czech republic and abroad.
Financial help is needed in these areas:
A. Enabling the teams of volunteers
For the volunteer teams it is very important to have good equipment, which is bought be the centers or by the headquarters of Diakonia.
It is necessary to finance the meals for the volunteers.
Besides this transport of the volunteers to the various places and back home is quite a big amount of money.
It is not possible yet to say how mach money we will need for the volunteers, but we have already more than 450 volunteers, who are already in the flood areas or are preparing their work there.
B. Purchase of technical equipment
Most important for the work of the volunteers is technical equipment to get the water our of the basements and to dry the houses and apartments. For this it is planned to purchase pumps and drying machines. We do not have a budget yet, but in these hours we try to find effective and not expensive machines.
C. Humanitarian financial help
We assume, that it is not possible to raise so much money as it would be needed to help the victims of this floods, because there are hundred thousands, who were very much affected. The Diakonia wants to concentrate mainly on old people and young families with children, because for them it is most difficult, to cope with all the losses.
D. Financial help to social institutions like homes for the elderly, nurseries and schools
If there will be finances, we would like to support such institutions, which care for people, who are socially in a more difficult situation.
Please indicate, if you wish, the task you would like to support. In the other cases the money is used where it is most needed.
Prague, August 20, 2002
Diakonia of the ECCB
