I've been volunteering this week to help some of the thousands of people affected by the flooding in Calgary, the work is hard but dealing with the emotion is much harder. Some of these people have lost absolutely everything.
To see a tearful old man trying to scrape silt from a soaking wet photo of his deceased son is a memory I will hold for a very long time. The entire city has come together with an incredible response to the floods with local businesses donating tens of thousands of dollars worth of tools/equipment/food/drinks/torches/cleaning products/hand sanitizer/constant supplies of coffee/pizza, in fact absolutely everything you could think of to support the victims and volunteers. There are literally tens of thousands of volunteers too, it's heartwarming to see so many people pulling together. Little kids running around with bottles of water for everyone, housewives who have baked tons of food and just arrive randomly and give you sandwiches and cookies. One guy came wandering past the end of the driveway on one of the houses I worked on, he was dragging a crate full of iced beer, he had made the crate that morning, bought the beer and headed down the road to "buy us all a drink" . The city is incredibly well organised but still in a real mess with just days to go before the Calgary Stampede. (it has to go on really as it brings millions to the city) They have changed their slogan to 'Calgary Stampede, come hell or high water' and look like they might just pull it off. The scale of the flooding is unbelievable, it is a devastating thing but has also shown the real spirit of calgary and indeed the neighbouring towns and cities who have sent police/fire/rescue workers and volunteers too. It is both an awful and magnificent sight all at once and difficult for the senses to accept. After countless trips to the landfill site, the newness has worn off the truck and it's carrying a few 'scars' from the continuous loading and unloading but that seems such a small thing right now. The first guy I helped had lost everything after 7 feet of water covered his ground floor so we (and 8 others) spent the day removing everything, sorting what could be saved and removing what was lost permanently. A group of young guys arrived and worked so hard for so long anyone couldn't help but be impressed. I took a few shots for the memory but haven't bothered since.....it feels wrong.
4 Comments
Neil
28/6/2013 04:39:13 am
Well done Chris, you make us all really proud, not many people go and assist those in need. I do feel for those affected, it must be awful, but looking at the pics, there is real spirit in Calgary.
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Chris
28/6/2013 03:27:57 pm
Thanks Neil, I'm fortunate to have the time to do it I guess. It would be impossible to be here with the time, a truck and the physical capability to help out and do nothing. Well impossible for me anyway.
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Neil
28/6/2013 11:27:15 pm
the bit for us was your comment about the poor chap and his photograph. I am sure they are going through hell, and looking forward to plough some of our money back into the Calgary shops.
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Chris
29/6/2013 05:26:03 am
That's the perfect way to support the flood victims mate, get the place up and running and back to booming business. It's going to take some time yet and I think it will restrict us a little when you come over but you're still going to love it. Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWe arrived in Calgary, Canada on 29th December 2011 to continue our journey. This blog is intended to keep our family and friends informed whilst we explore Canada.You can use the RSS feed below to stay updated. Categories
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