Farmy Army

I survived.

I survived helping to organise the Farmy Army.

What a great team

Carly, Shona and John

leading the charge.

Lisa, Sarah and Jeanette

organising the troops.

Sonya, Anna, Gillian and Linda

organising the jobs, the maps, the equipment.

Me?

I just took instruction and sorted out the welfare cases.

I found the church water,

lots of water.

Water in 1,000 litre tanks.

Water in thousands of 1.5 litre bottles.

I found water for the church,

I found it for the Sallies foodbank and foodstore

I found it for Sue who is feeding 400 people out of her house.

This morning I found margarine and milk

and only one jar of peanut butter

for yet another foodbank depot.

Peanut butter is at a premium around here.
I did get them lots of blocks of cheese.

I found that the Red Cross and the Sallies

get out to visit people very quickly.

And that they visit every day.

I found that there are lots of older people

in our community who need care

and thanks to the earthquake

have got that help they needed before the earthquake.

Just like our roads and buildings

there are lots of cracks in our social services.

I figured the Farmy Army put

about 4500 labour units

out on the streets on the end of shovels

in the past eight days.

This is Nic's dad, Nic, Lucky, Tony and Tinky

on probably the worst street.

Way to go Young Farmer's staff.

The only way to get the silt from around,

from under, from inside the houses

is by shovel and wheelbarrow.

But when teams from the Farmy Army have been in the neighbourhood for a week

you get this much silt in the street.

Unfortunately the entire street is condemned.

And tomorrow I need to find one family help to leave their house

forever.

Makes you cry thinking about the lives ruined by this earthquake.

The stories I've heard from our guys in the streets are things like

the 80 year old man who cooked the rugby boys sausages and damper

on his BBQ squeezed into what was left on this porch.

And then showed them all the photo of his recently passed wife.

He had silt through his house.

He wandered behind the volunteers saying

that there must be someone else more needy than him to help.

Or the young mother terrified of earthquakes

but trying to hold it together for her little children.

But she can't dig a toilet in her backyard cause there is only silt

and there is so much under house

that it's pressing on the floorboards

and there is raw sewerage flowing across her front yard.

Or the young guy who has to give away his beautiful dogs

because his rented house is condemned

his parent's house is condemned
and he probably won't find a place to rent with dogs
when there aren't enough places to rent anyway.

Even though my heart is breaking for all these people
the ones I haven't heard about
the ones I have heard about
the ones I've visited
the ones I've talked to on the phone
and in the street.
 People are so grateful for the help.

Many of my friends spent today out checking on
 houses and the welfare of the owners.
They had a great time.
It seems strange to say
but everyone helping has had a great time.
They have enjoyed listening to the stories
and checking on the residents.
It feels good to help people even when all you do is make a phone call
to tell someone else to get that old man,
that young mum,
that young man
the help they need.

It's God's work and there are lots of people doing it in Christchurch at the moment.