When the shout out for emergency response was most recently heard around the world, Team Rubicon Canada local member Cristian Silva rose to the challenge.
The core operation was created to answer the distress call when Category 4 hurricanes Eta and Iota caused horrific damage after rain and high winds blew through Honduras causing loss of life and thousands left with no shelter, food or water.
Team Rubicon Canada, established in 2010, consists of military veterans who join first responders on disaster relief missions. The non-profit organization offers those who have left military service a way to utilize their specialized skills as they regain a sense of purpose.
The seven-member team of Silva and six Americans flew out Nov. 17 and returned Dec. 6. These volunteers and others like them are called Greyshirts.
The group joined the pilot program established in La Cieba, Honduras, that provided clean water to those in need. The effort was called WASH, which stands for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and saw the team provide equipment and training to 30 people, who will continue to provide clean water to thousands of people for the next two years.
Those who now have access to the clean water are in remote jungle and mountainous areas that lost accessibility due to extreme flooding the hurricanes created. The team had to use a helicopter to gain access to those who live in remote areas of Honduras.
"Almost every year the people of Honduras get hit by a storm or hurricane and we needed to understand the best way to approach and help them," Silva said.
"So they asked me if I wanted to come down and they didn't have to ask me twice."
Silva started volunteering with Team Rubicon during the 2017 BC wildfires. He works for School District 57 and since he gets summers off, he made the decision to agree to help when Cariboo-Prince George MP Todd Doherty called him with the request.
"So Todd got a bunch of veterans together and we started to help," Silva said.
The first emergency shelters in Prince George were set up at the College of New Caledonia and that's where Silva and other veterans were stationed to help welcome and organize services for wildfire refugees coming from Williams Lake and Quesnel.
He met a Team Rubicon representative there and decided to join their emergency response efforts around the globe.
Silva said there is always a reconnaissance mission done to assess every situation so that those who have the right skills and experience can be deployed to address the immediate needs of those in distress.
Silva is an ideal candidate to participate in this project as he had lived and worked in Honduras in the past and knows the language - Spanish - and understands the nuances of the culture and its proud people.
The group of seven came together very quickly and bonded well, Silva said.
"There was no question about what we had to do and without thinking about it we did what we had to do," Silva said. "They put us on the ground and we got the job done."
These projects can only be done through generous donations provided by sponsorship like that given by the local Canadian Tire owner Selen Alpay, as well as nationally and internationally, Silva said.
There are about 30 members of Team Rubicon Canada in Prince George and that includes members of the Rocky Mountain Ranger Army Cadets, emergency responders and civilians.
For more information about Team Rubicon Canada visit https://www.teamrubicon.ca/.
