In the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, millions of dollars have been given to Rīpeka Whero Aotearoa - New Zealand Red Cross to help Kiwis in need.
Gabrielle and extreme weather events have affected homes, businesses and infrastructure across much of the North Island, the recovery will cost billions of dollars and years of work
Red Cross New Zealand Secretary General Sarah Stuart-Black told Checkpoint about its plans for the donations.
More than $10 million had already been donated and paid out to the Red Cross fund earmarked for the cause, she said. And Red Cross Special Appeals, such as this one, were set up so administrative costs were not covered from the donations - for every dollar donated, one dollar reached those in need.
Meanwhile, the Red Cross response had begun immediately, as the three weather-related disasters unfolded, and was running in parallel to the fund growing, Stuart-Black said: "We were swift to provide immediate support to those affected on the ground."
Supplies already distributed include generators, fuel, VHF radios, satellite phones, bedding, first aid kits, clean up kits and dehumidifiers, and more than $600,000 had already been spent in the past week on the response.
A Red Cross worker during the Cyclone Gabrielle response Photo: Supplied/ Red Cross
Stuart-Black said that in deciding where to distribute more assistance, three factors would be considered:
- Response to early recovery - "What is happening now, today, tomorrow, and next month".
- Partnerships - "Not duplicating. We're working with other [organisations] where it makes sense, where they already have things up and running ... to enable them to keep doing what they're doing".
- Investment - "Looking at what are the things that will take a bit longer, so we are supporting communities for when future emergencies happen - working through that".
"We want to get money to ... the most affected ones ... those facing huge hardship or where there's vulnerability," Sarah Stuart-Black said.
"We're looking at the majority of it being spent across that response and early recovery, and the partnership areas, and doing that as quickly as we practically can whilst making sure that we're doing our due diligence along the way.
"So as an example, we've got psychosocial first aid training for civil defence, emergency management, council and health personnel being rolled out from today to help them support clients or members of the public that are already affected from this emergency, to be able to support them with the level of distress that they're already experiencing.
"So, in the next week, we'll have trained up 100 people to do that."
Part of Red Cross' investigations into how to get assistance to communities and individuals where they were most needed involved ongoing discussions with local mayors in affected areas, to find out more about what the mayoral funds were working on.
"The natural disaster relief funds ... have applications processes and criteria - we're working with mayors and their teams and local government to understand what the scale of need is and whether that's the fastest way to meet those needs - to support not just individuals, but needs on the ground which could be whole groups or communities affected."
"The scale of damage and where the need is, is likely to be different. ... So we want to make sure that we're able to take in those nuances."
Red Cross would also look into the existing support that was already working, but which would need ongoing funds to keep going. For example, food parcels were still being provided, but were there providers that had exhausted their stocks, and would they need more funds to keep stocked?, Stuart-Black said.
"We might be able to provide additional support so that they can just keep on doing it rather than us set up something in addition."
"What we're really conscious of is not wanting to duplicate effort or find we're dealing with issues that actually were last week and not the current issues, but also to make sure there's enough robustness around where this money goes, from the generosity of New Zealanders."
Stuart-Black said the Red Cross would report at least fortnightly on what the donated money was being spent on.
The organisation had internal processes staff had to meet around how funds were allocated, including requirements to make the data publicly available: "So that we can be really transparent", she said.
"We've got a special appeals working group that includes an independent person who used to sit on our foundation that is providing advice around the criteria that were applying for decision-making.
"And we've got thresholds of investment, where above a particular amount it actually needs a decision from our board. So above $750,000 I need to take it to the board, above $250,000 I need endorsement from our national president, and below $250,000 I'm able to make those judgement calls around the criteria that the fund set out -what it would be used for, on the advice of that special working group with the independent member on it."
"We're going to provide regular reporting publicly, on what the money's being spent on and ... to provide those updates both for those that have been impacted on the ground. But those who actually have been incredibly generous. We're going to be looking at at least fortnightly to start with.
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