This Tuesday, September 19, marks two years since the start of the eruption of the “Tajogaite” volcano on La Palma. A natural tragedy that affected more than 7,000 people and destroyed more than 2,600 buildings and almost a hundred kilometers of roads on the island. Twenty-four months after that tragic day, Cáritas Diocesana de Tenerife continues to care for and accompany affected people, many of whom lost their homes and all their livelihoods. Specifically, to date there have been more than 3,700 services and 1,300 families and 3,300 people (including 720 minors) have received some type of help from the entity, thanks to the contributions received within the framework of the Campaign. Emergency and Solidarity with the Island.
Many of these families are attended to periodically and continue to be accompanied by the institution, while others came in recent months for the first time due to the lack of responses from public administrations, or due to the insufficiency of the aid received.
With the donations received (6.9 million euros), Cáritas Diocesana de Tenerife has invested 3.8 million, mainly in rental aid, basic care and renovation works and purchase of furniture for families affected by the eruption and in situations of vulnerability. Likewise, emergency aid continues to be granted (including medical expenses, payments for supplies, etc.), and six parish spaces were enabled and conditioned in various municipalities on the island, carrying out renovations to masonry, painting, equipment, furniture, etc Two families who were in a situation of extreme residential exclusion continue to be relocated there. A process of continuous social intervention is carried out with these families to improve their well-being and their socio-labor inclusion.
A support line was also opened for the most vulnerable families, economically disadvantaged, for the reconstruction of homes in areas affected by the volcano, in those cases in which the homes are not in habitable conditions and need to be renovated. In addition, we continue to support affected families in the construction of new habitual homes, both in the purchase of materials and in the procedures necessary for habitability. The purchase of furniture, fixtures and appliances for homes that were affected by the “Tajogaite” eruption and that are not yet in habitable conditions is also being supported. Financial support that is granted per family unit.
Rural zones
Cáritas Diocesana de Tenerife continues to work, in coordination with the work teams that accompany the families hosted in the hotels that were enabled, with Cáritas being one of the entities that two years after the end of the eruption continues to respond to specific needs. of these people, so that they can return to their habitual residence. The entity is also providing support to those affected in rural areas in labor matters, since in most cases they have lost their tools and means to recover their farms.
Thus, work continues on employment matters, referring people who are unemployed or ERTEs, to offer them a guidance and support service during the labor reintegration process.
Since the beginning of the emergency, Cáritas Diocesana de Tenerife has had a technical team hired for the volcanic emergency project, which has carried out all the aforementioned actions. In addition, it has also had the involvement of volunteers who, among other issues, have participated in the implementation of an accompaniment and support service for older people who were affected by the eruption and were displaced from their usual environment, carrying out with them leisure and free time workshops, as well as activities linked to improving their personal autonomy and self-esteem.
To all these actions were added at the time the Daughters of Charity, who freed two nuns to accompany affected people from the communities of the Aridane Valley; and the Congregation of the Camillian Religious, who have formed a team of volunteers to launch a Listening Center for people affected by the eruption. Along these lines, our technical team of the emergency project and the Camilos religious themselves consider it necessary to reinforce the psychosocial care of the families affected by the volcano.
Not in vain, two years after the end of the eruption, we are at a point on the path where taking care of the psychological part is essential; It is about caring for the person in this area to be able to offer a comprehensive response to their needs.
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