The solidarity of the inhabitants of La Palma is overflowing; any help seems to them to be little when it comes to alleviating the suffering of those who have been affected by the eruption of the volcano of Cumbre Vieja. Beyond donations of food and clothing, there are families on the island who, selflessly, have decided in the last few hours to open the doors of their home to those who have lost theirs.
ELA, a German woman who had to flee the lava and leave her house behind, is one of those people who were robbed by tragedy of her roof overnight: "they came and said,'ma'am, you have to get out.'I had to leave very quickly and I was carrying nothing. I found a friend who had a caravan and I was sleeping there," he explains in TVE's La Hora de la 1.
The fate of this woman was to run into Alexis, a man who had long been at home to perform the electrical installation. He recognized her, approached her and, seeing that he was sleeping in that vehicle, said, "pick everything up and come home."
With those words, Judit, Alexis's partner, tells him, along with her daughter and Ela herself, who is now one more at home.
"it was amazing. We didn't know each other just before, but they were very kind. I'm now the new grandmother," says the woman, who shows herself very grateful for the affection received, even if she expresses herself with difficulties in Spanish.
Alexis and Judit's daughter is at home because her school is closed and she says she gladly gave her room to that "grandmother" who gave her the volcano: "I'D rather give it to her than have the comforts and more because she's the guest. I Don't mind sleeping on the couch."
Her mother says that caring for those who need it is "the everyday" in her family and says that, after what the island of La Palma is experiencing, solidarity comes out even more innate: "we have to help no matter what."
"we have to push forward and help, help, help."
The latter can also be seen in the testimonies of other evacuees who have been welcomed by family members or friends, as well as in the words of the hundreds of volunteers who work relentlessly in the assisted centres located in different parts of the island.
"the people's capacity to help is amazing. We palmers are all in one fist," says Rita Santander, coordinator of the collection center for clothing donations and items at the El Paso Fair Building to assist evacuees. "we are all in one fist," says Rita Santander, coordinator of the collection center for donations of clothing and goods at the El Paso Fair Building to assist evacuees.
Red Cross volunteers are also attending to those affected day and night. The organization has about 70 people working on the ground in La Palma and has a reserve of another 300 in the rest of the archipelago to take over, apart from the management of the military hostel in El Fuerte, where there are still people evicted and will remain open.
They are also responsible for the provision and rest of security personnel involved in the eruption.
Laura Hernández, one of these volunteers, is a nurse at the Hospital de La Palma and dedicates her "free rats" to help altruism. "to touch you this is hard, but you make guts because we are for it (…) I cannot be in my house with my arms crossed. In the face of adversity, we have to push forward and help," he says on TVE.
The President of the Red Cross in the Canary Islands, Antonio Rico, pointed out that the organization has already invested 100,000 euros of own funds to meet the social needs of the island and is preparing programs to combat the loneliness of the elderly, improve the mobility of the disabled, strengthen school support for children and promote equality and employment among young people.
Help to "ameliorate" the social and emotional impact
He has also pointed out that the needs for food and clothing are more than covered and ensures that it is preferable for money to flow to help the victims, so they have opened a donation line. "other needs begin to appear" such as "remedying" the social, personal and emotional impact of displacement, because "there are people who have lost everything they had, all their memories, intimate things, what unites them to the earth have lost everything, they need support, accompaniment, that they be heard as they face that loss in order to get to normal," he says.
The Cabildo de La Palma has also enabled several channels in order to centralize the contributions. The bank account number authorized to formalize national donations through bank transfer is ES47 2100 9169 0122 0017 9456, while in the case of international ones it is CAIXESBBXXX. In addition, people who want to make their donation through Bizum should access the 'send donation' tab and enter code 03747.
The municipalities of El Paso and Los Llanos de Aridane have also set up bank accounts for the same purpose. Los Llanos is ES06 2100 1921 1902 0014 1752, while El Paso has two, which are ES26 2100 7109 3122 0015 5652 and ES57 3076 0480 6710 0761 6723.
