Helping 'hands'

Our relief team in Peru have been running camps for 100's of families who lost their homes in the earthquake. Running the camp is one thing, but helping them rebuild their home and leave the camp is another thing altogether.
Obviously, the long term solution is a full rebuild. But there are many obstacles to that - not least the cost.
As a temporary measure, the Army are setting up small wooden homes on the sites of original houses. Families can take their tent and pitch it next to their wooden home. This gives them a little more space than before, takes them back to their own area and encourages them to start working on their plot.
The hardest bit of the process is clearing the rubble from the old house and emptying the plot. The Army have created a partnership with an organisation I'd never heard of before - 'Hands On Disaster Response'. They are a group that offers volunteering opportunities. People pay their own way to the disaster area. Once there, Hands On provide dormitory style accommodation and food, then coordinate their work experience. Most of the team members I met were in their 20's. Some were just backpackers who had stopped off to do something interesting. Others had paid their own way especially to help families in Peru. They weren't doing staggering work - just lifting, shifting and cleaning. They were all filthy from days of hard work in awful conditions. But they were smiling, joking and generally making families in Peru feel good that others were standing alongside them. Speaking to their team leader he told me, 'often people who have lost their home feel overwhelmed - they just don't know where to start. We come along and offer a helping hand - all of a sudden the task doesn't seem so daunting'. Perhaps that's something we can all learn from. We might not be able to do anything fancy or grand, but sometimes just being there and helping is enough.
Hats off to 'Hands On' - I say!
I've uploaded a video (shot with my phone - so apologies for the quality) - showing the first of the Module homes being erected by SA and Hands On team members.