Christchurch, One year on – What's changed for Volunteer Co-ordinators?

On 4 September 2010 435am local time, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the South Island of New Zealand at 4:35 am causing widespread damage and two injuries to the city of Christchurch,  New Zealand's second-largest city. The quake was followed by many noticeable aftershocks.

Five months later, on Tuesday, 22 February 2011 at 1251pm local time. a magnitude 6.3 earthquake severely damaged the city, killing 185 people. The damage was exacerbated by buildings weakened in the earlier quake.

The City's iconic cathedral was damaged beyond repair. Thousands of homes were rendered inhabitable. The Central Business District was almost levelled. In the midst of this, many not for profits and community agencies lost their premises.  Employees and volunteers worked from their homes. Nothing has been normal for anyone in the city since.

A meeting of Volunteer Managers held on 8 May, 2012, reported the following impacts of the quake. This is reprinted from the June, 2012 Volunteering Canterbury newsletter with permission:

Changes for the worse:
• Unsatisfactory premises
• Isolation and reduced contact with colleagues
• Loss of a fundraising festival
• Loss of contact with volunteers who have `Gone no address'
• Loss of older volunteers who decided not to continue post-earthquake
• Broken relationships which need to be re-established
• Frequent moves leading to loss of clients and volunteers
• Funding cuts
• Internal changes leading to reduced paid staff numbers
• Paid staff and volunteers have moved to be with families in other centres

Changes for the better:
• Development of new programmes
• Finding different ways of doing things
• Office now almost paperless
• Student Volunteer Army has raised the profile of volunteering
• Increased number of volunteers in some areas
• Generosity of people – informal volunteering occurring in local
communities
• Willingness of people to participate in community activities
• New computer led to updated database
• Children have taken volunteering on board
• Increased funding

The newsletter further reports:

We've not yet seen the full effects of the earthquake. These are ongoing, and include things we hadn't expected. We must continue to be flexible and creative. People generally seem more accepting of change and more aware of their limits. We all need to be sensible and adaptable as we go forward.

I want to continue to wish the people of Christchurch, the leaders of volunteers, the volunteers themselves and the Volunteering Canterbury team all the very best as they face the future and build a new Christchurch.

Not good enough...some agencies fail at data protection

Not good enough...some agencies fail at data protection

A woman at one of my trainings objected to my insistence that agencies need to ensure their data is backed up.

She pointed out that if people in Christchurch had backed up their computers data at their offices or homes, their data would still be lost.

She's right. On the day of the second quake, many workers in Christchurch were at lunch. Laptops, diaries and records were all sitting in offices that either collapsed or have been since abandoned. This may be a more dramatic scenario than most agencies will face but how many people have all of their data on a laptop or a desk computer or usb stick that gets lost or stolen. How many records sit in offices that are burnt down?

In today's world data is vital. Could you survive without your financial records, donor database or volunteer lists?

Thats why I am a fan of backing up online. In  theory your data is safe on 3 or 4 or 5 servers around the world.  I use an online database, an online client records system, google docs and an online accounting package.

I cannot urge agencies enough to do this and it stuns me that people do not have back up in place.

A mate of mine recently confessed his charity does not back up their data. He is been one of a long list of people who have told me this.

I was recently talking to a not for profit agency recently who cannot print a list of their volunteers as "we dont know where that data is".

Not good enough. ...some agencies fail at data protection...some are probably okay..but how do we know how many. Agencies need to make it right.

A blog post about Insurance?

A blog post about insurance is not very exciting but I feel compelled to share this.

But after the multiple Christchurch earthquakes, New Zealand is having hard time getting companies to provide insurance.

After paying out billions,  insurance and reinsurance companies are saying: "no more".

So Christchurch now has no insurance coverage for about 2 billion dollars of its 4.2 billion dollar property portfolio.

This means (heaven forbid) any more nasty earth movements puts the city in an awful situation. I guess the NZ government would stump up for the costs if forced but "acting Prime Minister Bill English said the Government will do what it can to help out, but "it's not the Government's intention to replace insurance companies."


One more tough situation for Christchurch.

Liquefaction at AMI Stadium

Finally, a bizarre story:
AMI Stadium is the main sports arena in Christchurch. Massively damaged in the quakes, it is unusable and now uninsurable.  The turf in the Stadium was not insured by its owners, the Council owned Venues company. AMI who had the naming rights for the stadium is one of New Zealand's major insurers. Surely an insurance company sponsor  should have checked what they were sponsoring was insured? 

I felt safe

I facilitated a workshop on Tuesday for Volunteering Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The workshop was held at St Mark's Avonhead, Presbyterian Church Community Centre.  Nice facility.

The building has come through all the quakes unscathed.

On my evaluation sheet, we aks a question: What did you feel about the venue and the location?

There were some complaints it was cold (it was a wintery Christchurch day) but overwhelmingly people wrote something I have never seen on an evaluation form before:

It was safe


This is a very telling commentary on how the citizens of Christchurch feel after 3(some would say 4 and some 5) major quakes and 14 000 tremors since September, 2010.
Thoughts are with you guys.


(the workshop went well... 40% of the participants rated it 10 out of 10 30% gave a 9 out of ten 20% 8 out of ten and a got  10% 7 out of ten). Thank you to Ruth, Jan and the team at Vol Can for facilitating it.

Sad about Christchurch

Has anyone heard of such endless relentless rumbles in a city? I feel so concerned and powerless for the people of Christchurch, NZ.

Gutted over Christchurch

Taken in happier times, at the top of the Cathedral spire

The last time I was in Christchurch, New Zealand,  I climbed to the top of the Cathedral spire and gazed at the view before me (below right).

As I came down the 134 steps (see below left), I asked the Cathedral staff:  "what would happen if there had been an earthquake". They assured me that it has been all retrofitted.

The spire where I was standing is now rubble in a wrecked square. The 26 storey hotel around the corner that I stayed in many times is rumored to be collapsing. All because of a few seconds of quaking 10km ( 6miles), southeast of the city. Have a look at this very honest human video of one man's experiences after the earthquake.

I am gutted at the sights of the gutted city (see pics).  I am gutted over those who have been killed, injured, shocked and trapped in this 6.3 sized earthquake so close to the centre of New Zealand's second largest city. New Zealand has declared a National State of Emergency, its first ever. 75 fatalities and 100s missing.

Like many across the world, I love Christchurch and feel so so sad. In fact, at one time, I considered moving to the city.

Handling the Situation (advice gleaned from various sources). You can comment on this blog post below. Comments welcomed.

View from the top of the Cathedral Spire

1. Pray for the City
2. Donate to NZ Red Cross directly  or via  the GrabOne website which is  operating an emergency donation system for Red Cross. NZRC is not currently  accepting donations of goods or volunteers.
3. Watch Prime Minister's Press Conference on this "ruthless act of nature" where he reminds us that "People are irreplaceable" and promises us rebuilding: "Christchurch will rise again"
4. Stay away from the City 
5. Avoid movement in Christchurch. Don't sightsee. Don't go to work unless in a food related service industry or medical/emergency role- all schools are closed. 
6. Do not overload phone lines with non-emergency calls.
7. Need a bed or got a bed?
8. Free ads on Trade Me for offers of help with Emergency accommodation, Transport, Lost & found pets and Volunteer labour
9. Healthline 24 hours service is staffed by registered nurses who can assess your health needs, and give advice on the best level of care on 0800 611 116.
10. Expect aftershocks, continue to Drop, Cover & Hold when they happen
11. Welfare related enquiries help line: 0800 7799977
12. Looking for family - try Google friend finder or please call the NZ Red Cross National Enquiry Centre on 0800 REDCROSS (0800 733 276) (note this line may be overloaded) International calls can be made to +64 7 8502199 or tweet #eqnzContact and "they'll do their best"
13. Do not use any lifts anywhere in Christchurch.
14. Water is in short supply- boil water - check NZHerald website for location of water distribution points
15. Skylight have great resources on dealing with the trauma and grief linked to the earthquake- lots for kids too- call 0800 299 100
16. Agencies will need help with rebuilding efforts so connect with Volunteering Canterbury to volunteer or ask for volunteers. 
17. Plan a holiday there in a few months to put money into the economy

More pictures from happier days in Christchurch: