Raising Emergency Support for German Flood Victims

HAND IN HAND - STRONGER TOGETHER

Update 4 December 2021:

Hello lovely ones,

I've been back in England for almost two months now. A lot has happened as you can imagine. 

I wanted to send a big thank you for your contribution to my fundraising efforts to support flood victims back home. We've raised an amazing £1,235 via the fundraising website as well as my online courses. As a result we were able to help 2 families with three and five children respectively who had no insurance against this event. 

Both families are so very grateful to you for your contribution and both asked me to pass this on to you. We've shared many long hugs and healing tears, such gentle moments however awful the situation.

You feel so powerless looking at the devastation, and then it's the most wonderful feeling to be able to do at least something. To gather funds from wonderful kind people like yourself who are offering up some of their resources to help. Thank you so much.

Here's a little video clip that the Syrian family in my home village asked me to pass on to you - they're saying a heartfelt thank you to you all: https://1drv.ms/v/s!Ap809dqJy7wyqxjmtwHQjw08AM-a?e=puJfqx

I wish I could share with you the feeling of seeing the gratitude and small relief, the warmth in their hearts, however drop in the ocean it might seem. It's what we're here for, right? To support each other, lift each other up. To know we do not have to walk this life alone, to know no-one is left out or left behind or forgotten.

It has been and continues to be the most difficult time for so many in the valley. There's a lot of healing and trauma processing that is necessary. A lot of the houses are being built up again, some won't. Some people have moved away as they're scared this might happen again, for some it's their home and they would never consider leaving, no matter what.

I've got some very sad news as well. Facho, the dad of the Syrian family in our village that we've been able to help (above video), died 3 weeks ago following a brain surgery to remove a metastasizing​ tumor in his head. He's been battling with cancer for the past 4 years. I got to know him and his family this summer. We had long conversations about the relationships, nutrition, spirituality and life. Both he and his wife Zenab are the kindest, gentle and loving people, full of joy and love towards each other, their children and everyone who walks through their door into their lives. They opened my heart every time we got together and I feel so blessed to have got to meet Facho before he left this world.  

In light of this development, if I could ask you to consider making another, one last small contribution of £2 or £5 or even £10, whatever small or big, that I can pass on to Zenab before Christmas, I would be so grateful.

I will leave this Gofundme page running, though am stopping my online Yoga membership fundraising, though we're now looking for another sustainable way to continue helping Zenab and her children through this time.

Thank you so much, for all you've already done.
With so much love and light from my heart to yours,

Eva xx

Update 19 August 2021:

4 weeks ago, this freak "apocalyptic" flood has devastated most of the valley back home (and other parts of the country).

I've since been able to drive from England back home - every day I hear horrific stories of friends, neighbours, family friends who have literally battled to stay alive, on roof tops, in trees, clinging on bridge lampposts, sitting on top of their high kitchen cabinets - there were no warnings -  simply unable to get out/away in time as the water had risen so quickly. 

One mother and her daughter went to rescue some animals across the river, they got stuck on an old, big stone bridge, unable to get back as the water had already taken down part of the bridge. Fire rescue came, unable to do anything as their vehicle was too small to get across. Help they promised came 2 hours later. Luckily, neighbour came with a digger and managed to get the two across into safety. Left absolutely traumatised.

There's people whose whole houses were swept away, with them in it. A family managed to climb into another house through the top floor window. Just before, the little son had asked "Mum, how do I breathe under water?" An 80 year old I heard sat on a tree clinging on for life for about 18hours before he was rescued.

Every day I pray and feel so grateful for being alive. For my parents, my sister, niece and nephew to be alive. For all our friends and neighbours to be alive.

The area is devastated, in ruins, but we're alive.

There's been huge support and help from the population, grass-route movements of people organising themselves locally to provide whatever is needed to help everyone in need. It's still ongoing and will be for a long while to come.

Help is still desperately needed. There is still tons of messages like these (FB translations)"

"A cry for help from Dernau in the Ahrtal, which should shame us all...
Hello everyone. Since yesterday we are no longer being supplied with hot food in Altenahr-Reimerzhoven by the official side - the delivery has been stopped. [..]
In the future, we are supposed to get ourselves food in the neighboring town of Mayschoß. This is especially difficult on the weekends, as we would have to go there and back with approx. 50 people from our place or transport food in the crowd in private cars and containers.  
We will probably not be able to expect electricity and water supply via the pipelines in 2-3 months, we were told today. This doesn't make it any easier for us.  
If anyone with warm lunches on board from 28.8. on the weekends still has capacity, we would be very happy and grateful if you could think of us and supply us.   In the surrounding, larger villages, the supply seems to work well and also very extensive. You often hear that there is ′′ more than enough ". Unfortunately, that is not the case with us.  
Next weekend we will be taken care of by the lovely Claudia Dinkler-Pütz.  Thank you so much! "

"- Please don't forget! -[..]
- Help is still needed everywhere! -
Supply stations are gone; if you still can, you somehow have to take care of yourself. Still no electricity, still no water.
The portable loos are gone; people step behind the mountains of debris for their "emergency", because there is no other way.
The paramedics are gone; wound care takes place through volunteers who happen to be trained in this area.
Debris and rubbish block the properties; it's only pushed from A to B because of lack of excavators, wheel loaders and trucks.
Please don't forget us!
Please remember this part of Sinzig!!!
People need food! Although brave young helpers are dragging through the streets with hand wagons, distributing potato salad, sausages and coffee, but for this whole area it's a drop on the hot stone.
We need a supply station for Saturday and Sunday and probably many weekends afterwards!
You amazing people who put their blood in the supply of people, whether with a grill, salad, cake or all those other food, please help us in Sinzig to keep shoveling, gutting, kärchering and so much more can!
We can provide a fixed and secure location for a supply station.
Please don't forget us!"

Please help me help them!

There's only so much we can do, but a little goes a very long way. 

I've now been able to set up withdrawal and receive the donations via GoFundMe. The first €500 went to a family with 5 children who have lost their whole ground floor and garden. Received with a huge thank you to you all!

They had their children put up elsewhere as they started the cleaning works. They've lost all of their produce and ability to grow food for a while. I believe Maria said they've been so lucky as they didn't have toxic waste in their garden/house. She walked with us for into the village. It's still partly devastated. You can see crosses on some houses, meaning it is not structurally safe anymore and has to go. I got overwhelmed and so upset seeing it all. Emotions just took over. She comforted me, gave me a big huge hug. She seemed so strong. 

She said everyone is supporting everyone. They're all there for each other. Like one big family. Together in this chaotic time.

I'll leave you be for now. I'll include some pictures below (*they're still uploading, it might take a while...)

Please help me in donating a little. Or a lot.
It'll make a huge difference in someone's life.
I'll be so grateful to you.

Sending much love and light to you guys back in England.
Eva xxx

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Update 30 July 2021:

Two weeks ago, a catastrophic "apocalyptic" flood has devastated large parts of my home country in west Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. I don't know the exact number, around 200 dead and hundreds still unaccounted for.

The force of the water swept away everything that was in the way - cars, busses, houses, trains (!), gas tanks... The stories I've heard are horrible and heartbreaking, and there's not a day that goes by that I sit and fail to comprehend what's happened. 

My home village, my parents and sister, are right in the middle of it all. I'm so relieved to say they're all ok, they're physically unharmed and alive. My sister lives on top of a hill and was relatively quickly able to get through to me. The 2 days not speaking to my parents was awful. We had contacted everyone we know in the area who could go check on them. All made difficult by the lack of phone connection, no power. There was no water, whole bridges being swept away by the flood, roads impossible to use or gone completely due to uprooted trees, metres high of mud everywhere ... The pictures really look like the villages have been bombed.  Our family, neighbours and friends are alive - we're so unbelievably blessed and grateful and relieved.

Many many others haven't been as lucky. Just 4km up the Ahr river in Schuld, there's been huge devastation, houses collapsed, roads wiped out, people who lost absolutely everything over night. And now after two weeks, it shows there's not one village along the Ahr valley that's not been massively effected by it all.

Insul, the village between Dümpelfeld and Schuld, from above looks like it's been completely under water. Now, there's mud and rubbish everywhere in the smallest corners of the houses, streets, cars... Even big old stone bridges are gone, disappeared, taken by the unbelievable force of the water.

Dernau, and the whole Ahr valley is devastated. Friends have lost their homes. They say it came so quickly. From thinking they won't need sandbags as they weren't effected by the big 2016 floods at all, to standing ankle deep in water in the groundfloor in one moment, and hip height in the next. They spent the night in the loft, as they didn't know how high the water would rise. Others spent the nights on their roofs, in the rain, not knowing whether they would survive the night. 

Watching the scenes online feels surreal, unbelievable, absolutely heartbreaking and scary.  To me being so far, it feels as if I'm watching a movie. Maybe in denial, not wanting it to be real. It might be a stage of the processing for me, until I see it with my own eyes.

The big rain has gone for now and the clean up works are well underway. Areas e.g. around the Steinbachtalsperre, a local dam/reservoir, I believe is still critical, so are many others in the area. Emergency services have been working to lower the levels.

Despite it all and from what I've seen and heard, the spirit is one of community, of love, of kindness, of coming together - everyone is helping, getting stuck in, shovelling dirt, providing food, shelter and clothes, for anyone in need. People come from all over Germany to help. No matter whether you know the other person or not. Offering emotional and mental support too, comforting hugs to say no-one is alone in this. To somehow try to begin consoling those who've lost a loved one or their house, or all of it. Kind and comforting smiles in-between the devastation and surreality of the scenes... Community, coming together as one offers strength. The power of that is immeasurable... I heard that both sides have been overwhelmed by the true solidarity.

There continues to be an urgent need for emergency funds and immediate help. Please please consider donating!

I would love you to join me in offering financial support to families directly effected/hit the most. My sister and I are currently looking at where to donate the funds to - Dümpelfeld, Insul, Schuld, Dernau and Bad Münstereifel, to be able to help them directly. I will of course update you here as soon as I can.

I know the current fundraising total is only a proverbial drop in the ocean, but your contribution, anything you can spare, will be a huge help and so much appreciated. Please continue to send your love and prayers too - thank you so much in advance.

Go to my website www.evejuniper.com to find more details on how/where to donate to local centralised organisations and emergency services directly, more images/videos, as well as where and how your money will be spent.

My plan now is to head home very soon and get stuck in as soon as I can.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Your kindness and generosity is so needed and so so much appreciated.

I love you all very much, so much gratitude. Eva x