{"id":104948,"date":"2024-11-25T12:03:58","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T12:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/promocionsocial.org\/nuestra-companera-maria-fernanda-villacres-desde-paiporta-valencia-el-tercer-sector-nos-ha-dado-una-leccion-de-eficiencia-y-respuesta-inmediata-desde-la-cercania-a-la-poblacion-afectada\/"},"modified":"2024-12-20T11:25:24","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T11:25:24","slug":"nuestra-companera-maria-fernanda-villacres-desde-paiporta-valencia-el-tercer-sector-nos-ha-dado-una-leccion-de-eficiencia-y-respuesta-inmediata-desde-la-cercania-a-la-poblacion-afectada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/promocionsocial.org\/en\/nuestra-companera-maria-fernanda-villacres-desde-paiporta-valencia-el-tercer-sector-nos-ha-dado-una-leccion-de-eficiencia-y-respuesta-inmediata-desde-la-cercania-a-la-poblacion-afectada\/","title":{"rendered":"Our colleague Mar\u00eda Fernanda Villacr\u00e9s, from Paiporta (Valencia): \u201cThe third sector has given us a lesson in efficiency and immediate response from close proximity to the affected population\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mar\u00eda Fernanda Villacr\u00e9s is part of our P<\/strong>rojects team based in Valencia. She lives with her family in Paiporta, one of the main scenes of the terrible DANA of last October 29th.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, Mar\u00eda Fernanda has experienced many events first-hand. Fortunately, she and her family were safe during the flood, but they have had to share the pain caused by this disaster with other neighbours and friends.<\/p>\n

Now that the first few weeks have passed since the tragedy occurred, Mar\u00eda Fernanda shares with us how she is experiencing everything and how she and her neighbors are trying to face the reconstruction process with hope.<\/p>\n

Question: \u2013 Mar\u00eda Fernanda, How did you experience the flood? What did it mean to you to witness something so wild in your own town and from your own home?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Answer: \u2013 <\/strong>I did not understand what was happening. Your home is supposed to be your safe place; it is the space where fear does not enter, but that night was different. The power went out in the houses and, little by little, the street lamps went out. We could hear the force of the water passing through the streets and the cars floating. We were left without basic services and without communication. That night changed all of our lives.<\/p>\n

Q.- We can imagine the accumulation of sensations and feelings, especially at the beginning when the shock and confusion were so great\u2026 How could you explain that these feelings have been evolving and, in a certain way, being organized over the last few weeks? <\/strong><\/p>\n

A. \u2013 At the beginning, I didn\u2019t know the magnitude of the disaster. Once I realized it, I was filled with sadness, but also with gratitude because we were alive and for the displays of solidarity that were arriving in the affected areas. I think that not all the feelings have come to the surface yet; we have not had time because we have all focused on collaborating in whatever was necessary.<\/p>\n

Q.- How do you and your family, your neighbours in Paiporta, your friends\u2026 face the present and the immediate future<\/strong><\/p>\n

A.\u2013 After three weeks, we need to have something resembling normality, to see businesses reopen, to have a place to buy food, for children to be able to return to school, there are so many things\u2026 but we know that this will take time. It has affected us directly because it has had a direct impact on our community, but thanks to the support of the rest of the Foundation team, we have continued forward. Coordination with the rest of the NGOs has been channeled through the Valencian Coordinator of NGOs. The active groups of the Coordinator have been reporting on a daily basis about all the aid, volunteering, campaigns and resources offered to the affected population. As active members of the Coordinator, we have been following communications and messages at all times, participating in meetings to be able to manage all the different types of aid that each entity can offer.<\/p>\n

Q.- Mar\u00eda Fernanda, due to your professional work at the Fundaci\u00f3n Promoci\u00f3n Social, you maintain a very close link with the execution of development cooperation and humanitarian aid projects in other countries around the world. Personally, what has it meant for you, suddenly, to experience first-hand and from your home a situation like this, that requires the direct and active participation of the third sector?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A.\u2013 I have felt how vulnerable people can be at any time, and this has led me to remember the work that the Foundation carries out jointly with local partners in different countries to contribute to improving the situation of vulnerability of the population in similar situations. I believe that the third sector has given us as a society a lesson in efficiency and immediate response from close proximity to the affected population, providing coverage for basic needs.<\/p>\n

Q.-<\/strong> Based on your own experience, do you think there is anything good or any learning to be learned from this dramatic situation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A.\u2013 What has happened to us has not only affected Valencia, but also everyone, since the effects of climate change are unpredictable and we must be prepared. Perhaps the main lesson from such a sad situation is that if we want, we can work together. In Paiporta, wherever you walk, you can see firefighters, security forces and services from different communities. I have never seen such diversity and collaborative work. We will never forget this, not only because of what has happened, but also because of the \u201cunity\u201d it has generated.<\/p>\n

Q.- How have you experienced the citizen response and the mobilization of so many volunteers in Paiporta?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A.\u2013I think that all the neighbours have the same feeling and it is that of gratitude for the solidarity of all the volunteers who have come from all over Spain and other countries. It was not easy to get there, they had to walk from Valencia, and they came loaded with shovels, water, food and everything that was necessary. Others came from different cities with vehicles loaded with supplies. I think that no image or photograph can show what have really done here. The young people have also left us a message of hope for the future, because they have worked from the first moment without resting, they changed mobile phones and computers for shovels and buckets, I think that we can no longer call them the glass generation, they are much more.<\/p>\n

Q.- How can we continue to collaborate and support so many affected people? Why is it so important not to lose sight of the medium and long term?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A.- I think that this has only just begun, the recovery will take a long time, so we need to work on planning aid and actions for when the media spotlight has passed, especially thinking about the people who have lost everything. We can continue collaborating with the initiatives proposed by the Foundation and which will be aimed at the coordinated work that has been proposed by the Valencian Coordinator of NGOs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mar\u00eda Fernanda Villacr\u00e9s is part of our Projects team based in Valencia. She lives with her family in Paiporta, one of the main scenes of the terrible DANA of last October 29th. In recent weeks, Mar\u00eda Fernanda has experienced many events first-hand. Fortunately, she and her family were safe during the flood, but they have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8864,8865,962],"tags":[9828,9832,9833,4786],"class_list":["post-104948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dest-home-en-2","category-lineas-de-actividad-en","category-news","tag-dana-en","tag-paiporta-en","tag-riadas-en","tag-valencia-en","label_imagen-noticias-en"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\t\n