Rebuild Christchurch- Habitat for Humanity

I just finished a week working with Habitat for Humanity in Christchurch on Earthquake Relief. It has been an amazing experience- I have met amazing people and now have felt and seen the power and effects of earthquakes; it has also been a very revealing process- the physical destruction and effects upon families have been devastating.

My first night I was briefed about Habitat Christchurch. They have a strict outline as to who they can help- this includes- age restrictions, non-insured status, and they must be home owners, they must also be in the green zone. As part of the recovery process Christchurch has been divided into several zones designating the amount of damage- they are assigned colors

Green- habitable, may need some repairs

Red- not habitable, most things will be knocked down.  

White- in a state of engineering flux- not being worked on. 

The main focus of that conversation was that we were they to fix lives not just houses.

On Monday we worked on adding another layer to a foundation to make it level. It was pretty cool to see how we added rebar to connect the two layers as well as how we made the frame for the concrete. I had a nice conversation with the owner, and told him the only natural disasters we have are tornadoes- which they don't really have here. We finished the day with a generous meal, I think this is going to be a very rewarding week. I have also learned a little about house building and complying to code- which looks very difficult. No wonder we need carpenters. Also, it is so important when building to ensure that everything is square- if not it can really mess up things later. 

On the the ride to the build I learned about the a house in Sumner that is almost falling off a cliff. I hope we can drive by it. Look at those strata below.

The following day I helped fix cracks in walls, painted buildings, and helped fix cracks in foundations, I was everywhere. It was great to see the homes transformed into livable spaces again and give them back to families. One family that I will especially remember is a Japanese couple with three adorable girls. One of the people I was working with just happened to be named Tom. So when  they heard us be referred to as "Tom and Jerry" the little girls just cracked up. It was great to see that project get finished.

I also felt 5 earthquakes- one of which was a 4.2 and another which was a 5.2. We also saw the effects of liquefaction- which is when the earth shakes so much that solid material becomes soupy and buildings can easily shift in it. By the end of the week earthquakes just felt like another way of life to me.

I also met this cool school group from a university in the north Island. They were a pretty cool- easy going group of students studying to be builders.

Overall it was an incredible experience and I would recommend it to anybody who has a spare week in NZ.