Mozambique Cyclone Relief - March-May 2019
Every mission begins with a decision to take action. NATAN’s leadership met at HQ shortly after we got news of the devastating cyclone which hit Mozambique mid-March. Here’s how our mission began, in photos and video:
NATAN leadership held an emergency meeting at HQ in Tel Aviv. Chairperson Danny Kahn introduced the issues, followed by a briefing on the cyclone and the floods which followed - destroying farmland and bringing disease. NATAN decided unanimously to take action.
NATAN medical relief team members check out the contents of our ‘Go-Bags’ - EMI Emergency Response Intervention kits - to make sure they contain only fresh medicines and supplies, all intact, per international regulations.
At the airport: the first team left within 2 days of that initial meeting. Seen here: Dr Tal Hanani, MD- Head of Mission. Tal is an MD, experienced in disaster relief and WASH and a lecturer at the Israeli School of Humanitarian Action. Dr Sharon Shaul, MD- Sharon is a family doctor, who has led medical aid teams around the world. Sharon's been deployed with NATAN in almost all our relief operations in the last 10 years. Dr Eitan Shachar- Eitan is a social worker, head of the Ofakim welfare service and a professor at the Sapir Academic College. Eitan heads NATAN's psychosocial relief, Oded Gal - Oded is a paramedic and a logistics expert. He has participated in more than 30 field operations around the world.
Excess Baggage Dilemma: Too many bags. These bags are filled with valuable medicines and supplies, critical to the life-saving relief operation following Cyclone Idai in Mozambique. But according to airline regs, there's just one too many...
After a quick trip to the cashier's window to pay for the extra bag, the luggage is finally tagged and sent on its way.
We spoke to team members just before boarding the plane. In Eitan's words: "There are so many unknowns. Though we've done our best to get ready, we don't know what will happen. It's all about preparedness so that we can do good: We'll do the best we know how to do in order to help, however we can."