PIN’s Flood Committee Allocated First Grants to the Flooded; Material Assistance worth 1.3m CZK Sent to Municipalities

“The first contributions are to help the flooded so that they are able to start drying and repairing their houses. Although we wanted to provide the funds as soon as possible, we are, at the same time, obliged to follow the strict assessment method for fundraising-campaign money allocation,” Pavel Mandula, PIN Humanitarian Aid Coordinator, says. People in Need has also completed the first phase of extending the aid. The flooded municipalities have been provided with humanitarian aid worth 1.3 million Czech crowns.

Donations can be sent to the ‘SOS Floods 2013’ charity account no. 72027202/0300, online payment or via donors message service in the form of DMS SOSPOVODNE sent to 87777

(The form for tax relief of your donation can be found here)

In the field there are now 15 PIN’s social workers, who have already visited 36 villages. In more than 120 municipalities the People in Need team will conduct damage and needs assessment during which trained workers typically find out about the real estate and equipment damage, financial situation, social and health conditions of the flooded people while visiting directly the affected households.. Subsequently, the flood committee will decide on the form of assistance for particular families.

The People in Need Organization has intervened already during the sixth series of floods. Therefore it developed a sophisticated method of how to distribute aid as justly as possible among both the most afflicted and socially weakest households. It does not represent a form of compensation, but rather a way how to provide the neediest ones with such amount of aid that would play a significant role in their budget. “Contributions are always earmarked for a specific plan of housing and equipment renewal. In the first phase, for example for getting a boiler to work in order to facilitate the house drying,” says Pavel Mandula as he adds that the funds are made available to people after signing a contract and are payable by cheque.

Humanitarian operation in numbers:

1,300,000 CZK spent on humanitarian aid

4,083 litres of disinfectants went to the villages afflicted

134 wheelbarrows sent to the municipalities afflicted

919 shovels sent to the municipalities afflicted

59 municipalities have received humanitarian aid from People in Need

Non-governmental organizations ADRA, People in Need and Diaconia of the ECCB (Diaconia of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren) jointly determined the scope of their own activities so that all the afflicted municipalities are served and particular jobs do not overlap. ADRA, People in Need, Diaconia and Charity the Czech Republic will provide direct financial aid on the basis of needs assessment conducted by their workers directly in the flooded families. According to the findings of all organizations, the number amounts to 2,700. The Czech Red Cross and ADRA will also participate in the remediation of contaminated wells.

People in Need has also completed the first phase of emergency relief. As required by the devastated municipalities, the organization sent, for example, 4,083 litres of disinfectant, 134 wheelbarrows or 919 shovels and thousands of pieces of other material or tools, such as brooms, gloves, buckets or cloths worth 1.3 million CZK to the villages in Kolín, Trutnov, Mělník, Litoměřice, Ústí nad Labem, or Děčín districts as well as Prague and other places.     

Such aid was mostly needed during the first days when people were removing flood consequences after the water had receded. “People in Need sent the first humanitarian aid on 4th June and since that time they have delivered 65 supplies of material to 59 municipalities from Kamýk nad Vltavou up to Hřensko,” this is how Pavel Mandula summarized the initial stage of aid. Immediate relief during the first days after the flood was greatly appreciated by the villages.  “We thank for the material assistance and support you have provided. I would like to express appreciation and thanks for the valuable work which you do for the benefit of others and for your help during natural disasters,” Miloš Čapek, the Mayor of Štěchovice town, wrote in his letter of thanks.  

Benefit concert of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra raised 6m crowns

It is the fervour of small donors and contributions of companies that enable us to help. 37.8 million crowns have been collected so far on the account of public fundraising campaign SOS Floods 2013.  The benefit concert organized by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Czech Television to support the people afflicted by the floods also contributed significantly to the flood account. The charity event in the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum was held under the auspices of the Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek and supported by leading financial institutions and the public. The members of public had an opportunity to send money via donors message service (DMS) during the live concert broadcast. It was transmitted to the audience by Czech Television and the Czech Radio, media partners of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

“We, all of us in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra were also concerned about the destructive element speeding up and taking basic personal security away from our fellow citizens. Therefore, we welcomed the idea to organize a benefit concert for them with genuine sympathy and desire. I believe that almost 6-million proceeds donated tonight will make a worthy contribution to help the needy afflicted by the June flood,“ this is how Jiří Bělohlávek, principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic, explained the players’ motives.  

The proceeds of the concert, featuring the melodies of Antonín Dvořák or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performed under the baton of Jiří Bělohlávek, will go to People in Need’s flood fundraising campaign. The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra together with the finance minister successfully addressed almost thirty leading companies from the financial sector. They contributed the total amount of 5,075,000 crowns. Other 701,460 crowns came to the flood account via DMS sent by television viewers and radio listeners during the live broadcasting. 

PIN launched the public fundraising campaign ‘SOS Floods 2013’ on Sunday, 2nd June. Simultaneously, PIN released 500,000 crowns for emergency relief to flood victims from the relief fund of the People in Need Club of Friends. PIN has also set up a special website called ‘SOS Floods 2013’ providing all useful contacts and a manual for flooded households. Everyone can also see the donations audit reports on floods collection in 2002, 2009 and 2010.

To get more information please contact:

Pavel Mandula, PIN Humanitarian Aid Coordinator, +420 608 047 865

Petr Štefan, PIN Media Coordinator, +420 608 817 958