[Don’t worry this is not going to turn into a dear diary!]
After a warm night on a hard bed, today started with a breakfast of bean curd soup, a rice ball and cold black tea in a street side café in central Kaohsiung. I had awoken to the sounds of bird song in the meditation garden below me, but the birds were soon joined by the commands of what sounded like a martial arts class, but in fact was senior citizens aerobics.
After vacating the aged care facility we were on our way to another meeting, another temperature check and sanitisation. Each time I enter (not just me!) a government building or a hotel, I have had an electronic temperature gun aimed at my forehead, my hands sprayed with sanitiser and either a sticker or stamp applied to signify I am N1H1 safe. This morning was no different as I headed into the Kaohsiung County Government building to meet with the Governor’s staff – my temperature in the safe zone (36.5 degrees), my hands sanitised, and another cup of Chinese tea.
The Taiwanese people are a gentle, generous people – and so far the reception by all the people I have met, regardless of status and faith ideology, has been welcoming and grateful. (Even Starbucks gave us free coffees when they heard who we were and why we were here.)
The Salvos have been involved in the response and recovery of Typhoon Morakot since 8/8 and at the moment are assisting 42 schools in 3 counties with materials for students, water filters and generators. This assistance (in excess of $100,000) has been very gratefully received and will continue for a while yet.
The challenge now is to identify the gaps in response needs. The Taiwanese government and the ‘big’ NGOs have the material aspects of the recovery fairly well sown up – or so it seems at the moment. But there are numerous gaps – so with the help of local Salvos, and in partnership with local governments, we are currently conducting a needs assessment of the affected peoples in 4 areas – so that we can deliver some hard facts and design a focused portfolio of response options.
I’m now back in Puli (IES base) so that I can be briefed on the response so far, and officially take over as Team Leader from Captain Julian who heads back to Singapore in the next few days. Something tells me there are some ‘fun and games’ to come.
