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Flood Alert
By Elio
Montiel, SGI-Venezuela
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| SGI-Venezuela General Director Enrique
Regalado (second from right) visiting the Education, Culture and Sports Bureau (February 2000) |
In December, my brother Alejandro and I moved to a new apartment in Caribe. We never imagined that a few days later our lives would be overwhelmed by a real disaster, that we would see everything around us destroyed. We never imagined, when we saw pictures of floods in countries like India, Bangladesh or other Latin American countries, that this would ever happen to us.
It had been raining nonstop for eight days. We were worried because in other places it had caused landslides, many deaths and much material damage. Fifteen days after Alejandro and I had moved to our new apartment, the city began to flood and enormous mud waves destroyed a number of cars and houses.
We were cut off in our apartment building, with no form of communication except for a battery-run cellular phone that my sister had given me just a few days before. This became the telephone center for our neighbors. The entire building was without electricity, water, elevators and services, and the basements were flooded. We were worried about the health of many of our neighbors because the majority were children and old people.
Creating security groups was one of the first priorities. People who had lost their homes and property were looking for places to stay in the middle of the tragedy, and many of them were out of control. Rape and looting were common during those days.
The second night of the tragedy we received a phone call from one of our friends from SGI-Venezuela, and in the background I could hear the familiar voices of other SGI members and friends. We learned that, throughout Venezuela, SGI members were chanting to support us to overcome this problem. My mother was with us throughout that time. She had traveled across the whole disaster area to be with us and support us. People around me couldn't believe she had done that.
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| Toys are presented to 700 children at a relief center in the Federal District of Caracas. (December 24, 1999) |
During this ordeal we drew encouragement from the writings of Nichiren Daishonin and President Ikeda not to despair and to try to understand what value we could create in these trying circumstances. My brother reminded me that President Ikeda had said that, as Buddhists, we have a responsibility to work in our community, and this was an opportunity for us to be of help to others. Alejandro started to help people with his medical skills, and I helped rig up an electricity supply from a pole in the street. I also busied myself by collecting water from a well, removing garbage to avoid infection, helping conserve food and generally trying to improve conditions for everyone.
Everybody told us to leave the city, but it took us a long time to decide to do so. We were concerned about our possessions, but mainly we felt that by being there we could help people get over the disaster. We realized that people were putting their trust in us, and we decided to do the best we could until the moment we left the building. We continued to receive telephone calls from SGI members offering their support and concern. We were encouraged to chant for the wisdom to make the right decision about whether to leave or not. Alejandro, my mother and I discussed leaving and, after chanting about it, we decided that we would leave. It was a difficult decision to make.
We went to the rescue center, and three hours later we were aboard a helicopter which took us to the International Airport of Maiquetia, where we took a bus to Caracas.
A family of SGI members was waiting for us. They gave us shelter and food, and a very warm welcome. We began to hear about the efforts that the SGI had been making to help each of the members of my district. I was very proud to learn how the SGI-Venezuela organization, supported by the SGI, had quickly mobilized to provide relief for the many disaster-stricken people in the country. Much of this relief came in the form of donations of various kinds.
SGI-Venezuela made a list of aid bodies so the money and materials raised for relief work could be equitably distributed. We donated 700 toys to the government of the Federal District for children sheltering in schools in Caracas, and learning materials and a radio-cassette recorder to the Education, Culture and Sports Bureau for young children sheltered in a military fort. At the request of the Ministry of Education, we held a workshop on April 28 for 60 teachers from poorer areas in the Federal District affected by the tragedy, in which I had the opportunity to participate. The workshop was based on Soka Gakkai founder Tsunesaburo Makiguchi's value-creating pedagogy and other educational activities.
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| The "World Boys and Girls Art Exhibition" in Valencia |
We donated provisions and foodstuffs such as milk, rice, grains, etc., to the government of Miranda State, where part of Caracas is located. Falcon State was also badly affected by the rains. In this state, SGI-Venezuela donated baby supplies and gas kitchenettes to the governor's relief efforts. We also gave UNICEF Venezuela a donation of US $3,000 to be used in relief activities for children injured by the tragedy. A special donation was made to the Environmental Bureau for building permanent houses for people affected by the tragedy.
Venezuelan Central University and Simon Bolivar University had also been badly affected. Here we made a donation for students who lost everything during the tragedy.
The Venezuelan Institution for Child Protection (VICP) is a national institution working with abandoned and disturbed children. This institution asked for equipment to organize new sheltered housing for injured children from La Guaira. Many of the child refugees in VICP participated in a painting workshop held by SGI-Venezuela members, and some of their paintings are in the Venezuela section in the "World Boys and Girls Art Exhibition." We also made donations to the Child Foundation, led by the wife of the Venezuelan president, Mrs. Marisabel de Chavez, and Carabobo University.
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I now have a stronger understanding of the heart of this humanistic organization and why I belong to it. My personal experience during this disaster, and being a part of the broader relief efforts of the SGI, has opened my eyes to the great compassionate core that exists within people. Through this I feel a strong determination to help strengthen and renew this spirit within each person I meet.
Many things have changed in my life and in my surroundings, but the support and optimism of my fellow members in SGI-Venezuela has helped me broaden my vision and enabled me to continue with hope and joy.
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