Simon Cox Blog: The Louisiana Flooding, Part 3: On The Ground With Relief Agencies And How You Can Get Involved

Thursday, 25 August 2016

The Louisiana Flooding, Part 3: On The Ground With Relief Agencies And How You Can Get Involved

More on what's happening and how you can help.

Ed: What is your organization doing right now to help those impacted by the flooding in Louisiana?

Tim Haas, Manager of U.S. Disaster Relief, Samaritan’s Purse: Samaritan’s Purse is leading volunteer teams to mud-out homes that have been flooded in this deadly event. That work includes taking out furniture, flooring, sheetrock, soaked insulation, so that the house can eventually dry out. Currently, we have two base locations of operation: one in Baton Rouge, the other in Lafayette. Our sites are designed to work 100 or more volunteers a day per site. We will be working for several weeks, even months from now to continue to give relief assistance to homeowners.

Kevin Watterson, Response Director, ReachGlobal (EFCA): We are currently gutting damaged homes, gutting and cleaning up a church in order to host volunteer groups, and collecting needed items to help families rebuild their homes when gutting is complete. We are mobilizing local churches in the area to serve with us until we get more volunteer teams from throughout the country.

Gary Fairchild, Director of Global Response, CAMA (the relief and development arm of the U.S. Alliance): CAMA has partnered with the Alliance Southern District to coordinate and assist in recovery efforts. Two small Alliance church plants are located in the disaster area: Burning Heart Fellowship in Greenwell Springs (near Baton Rouge) and New Hope Community Church in Gretna (just outside New Orleans). Both buildings were spared, but more than half of the folks they know in their communities experienced some sort of flooding.

Ed: What is the philosophy of disaster relief within your organization, and how long have you been engaging in relief efforts?

Haas: Samaritan’s Purse has been ...