Red Cross worker Maritta Vuori helps flood victims in Pakistan

Maritta Vuori

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Finnish Red Cross aid worker Maritta Vuori, 44, arrived in the flood-ravaged areas of Pakistan two weeks ago.
      The first thing that she saw were women and children who had fled their homes crowded into schools, and men salvaging belongings in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the north of Pakistan.
      “Shocking”, was her assessment of the situation.
      “People are still trying to find shelter. Some have built shelters for their families by putting beds together, for instance, and making roofs out of them. Some live in schools and some live in tents.”
     
Many people in Pakistan remain isolated and without food. Homes are engulfed with mud and water. About five million people have had to leave their homes, and about 1,500 have died. There is a shortage of clean drinking water and latrines.
      “Infectious diseases spread easily when large numbers of people crowd together in primitive conditions.”
      Health care expert Vuori is part of an international group of experts, which is assessing the extent of the disaster, and is guiding the Red Cross and the Pakistani Red Crescent in the coordination of the aid.
     
Vuori sounds calm on the phone. She is now in the capital Islamabad, where the situation is relatively stable.
      “Human desperation always affects me no matter where it happens. It’s something that a person never gets used to.”
     
Vuori is especially concerned about the massive scale of the destruction in Pakistan, and its impact on the future.
      “Those who are in the weakest position, and who live in remote areas, have lost the little that they had.”
      At first, she assessed the situation in the flooded areas of the provinces, and tried to reach the local people. She has also helped coordinate the supply of medicines to mobile health clinics.
      “One always feels so small in the midst of a disaster, when one should be able to respond to people’s needs.”
     
When she first heard about the floods in Pakistan, Vuori already made preparations for departure. She has worked in connection with many disasters. She is part of a group that is contacted from Red Cross headquarters in Geneva when a disaster occurs.
      Vuori was at home when her mobile phone rang. She asked her husband if he had anything against her going. Then she packed her rubber boots, a mosquito net, a water purifier, and medicines in her luggage, and left almost immediately for the airport. Vuori is unlikely to ever turn down an invitation.
     
“Already while studying health care, I specialised in disaster work. This is a lifestyle of sorts. The desire to help is so strong."
      The aid workers of the international group of experts usually stay about a month in a disaster area, because of the arduous nature of the work. Vuori is scheduled to return to Finland next week.
     
Vuori is worried whether or not Pakistan’s health care system can be sufficiently restored during the disaster and in its aftermath. Hundreds of thousands who have fled their homes are showing up in areas where basic health care is inadequate to begin with. There is a great danger of epidemics.
      Vuori has seen hope in people’s eyes, even though they have lost very much. An aid worker cannot be cynical.
      “You can’t take an attitude like that if you go to help people. You need to give people hope.”
     
     
Donations to the emergency fund of the Finnish Red Cross can be made in Finland by telephone: 0600 12220 (a donation of EUR 20 is automatically added to the telephone bill) or to bank account number 221918-68000.


Links:
  Finnish Red Cross

Helsingin Sanomat