Giving Compass' Take:

• Judi Heichelheim discusses the progress and problems PSI saw in a visit to Beira, Mozambique following the devastation and beginnings of recovery of Cyclone Idai. 

• How do follow-up trips like this one help to improve relationships and ensure long-term impact? 

• Learn more about disaster relief and recovery. 

Witnessing the devastation and relief efforts in Beira was impactful, but our real objective there was to see our team, led by a brave woman named Lourdes.  25 staff work for us in Beira, and at the time of the storm we had 40 promotors who focused on SRHR services in the surrounding communities.  After Cyclone Idai, we ballooned our staff in Beira to 350 to ramp up our response.

In the early days after the storm, it was impossible for anyone to get up to Beira without special clearance or helicopters.  We knew our staff in Beira were accounted for through WhatsApp. Our Deputy Country Representative, Benicio, was the first to deploy from PSI Mozambique’s office in Maputo, the capital, to Beira. He has 15 years of experience working in humanitarian relief and was able to quickly reorient the team into action.  Benicio told me that when he arrived, PSI’s staff in Beira were still in shock, carrying out basic tasks, but too frozen to make any decisions.  They needed him to see their homes and listen to their stories of fear as they lived through the storm.  They shared some of that with us during our visit.  What struck me most was their description of the terror they felt as they heard the storm’s extreme howl of wind. It is hard to imagine what that would have felt like, not knowing if you would survive Mother Nature’s fury.  They will never forget that sound.

Our staff in Beira needed to be heard and witnessed; they needed their pain, loss, and suffering acknowledged.  They also told us that getting back to work has been a key form of therapy to help them get on with their lives and assist in the recovery efforts. As we wrapped up our work at the office, Ryan (the Country Representative), Benicio and I all stressed that PSI is not front and center of the humanitarian relief efforts, but how critical it has been that we’ve contributed with what we know best – our product, Certeza, which treats water, and as a result, helps stem the Cholera outbreak.

Read the full article about recoving from Cyclone Idai by Judi Heichelheim at PSI.