Thursday we (they) have another great day ‘on the tools’. I have one team manning our distribution points; care packages, feed and fodder, and the tool library. Now I know many towns have a tool library in the UK, but never was such a concept so important to a community; this is not about helping the needy, nor sustainability or effective use of resources. This was about livelihoods; bushfires are as indiscriminate as they are devastating. We also have equipment distribution today. But not as we know it, this is not Amazon; 5 drops an hour – leave it in the porch. 18 drops, as it transpired took a day and a half. Why? Because it is also the personal touch; a listening ear; sympathy, empathy if possible, but most of all something as simple as time. The other 2 teams are out doing the physical stuff; the sexy end of disaster relief. Better photo’s and all the headlines but no more important. We end the day with a treat, dinner in the pub (three is only one). It’s not really down-time though because effectively I’m ‘the man’ they all want to talk to. This is not self-importance; I simply have the role of accepting, managing and prioritising the support we are able to provide. But along with that goes the recognition as ‘the face’. So there is lots of talking. Lots of thanks and gratitude. I hear and receive it, but I’m careful to ensure it is passed on properly to the boys and girls on the ground, doing the do. It is a privileged position. And then its back to the ‘forward look’ and planning the next steps. Its not a late one though, I’m in bed by midnight and though the alarm doesnt go off untilt six, I’m already thinking of the 10 min ‘snooze’ option.
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