More from Day One - Meeting an old friend
By Rich Crook, Rapid Response Manager
Tomorrow we start our day with a helicopter ride with the military. One of our first stops will be at the office of the Minister of Agriculture (already arranged) this is where the camera thing comes into play. Curious yet? Ok, this was the deal: only certain people were allowed to take pics, so I slipped my camera to the representative from the Minister of Agriculture (he was allowed to take pics), then most of us had to step outside the hanger and eventually had to leave all together prior to the president coming out, so I had to leave my camera behind. He has since called and said he got some good shots, and we can swing by tomorrow to pick it up. Hopefully, when we stop by the Minister himself will be there and we can chat.
After we tour the city (and hopefully get some good pics), I plan on coming back to the hotel to begin contacting some of the local groups to see where they stand and get their side of the story. I’m sure at some point we will hook back up with the Minister of Health (companion animals) to further our discussion from today. That’s the plan as of the moment.
One last bit of information, when I returned to the hotel after press conference I ran into Dick Green from IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare). Dick is a friend and also a member of the coalition. We had a lengthy chat and swapped information. It appears at the moment that they will be focusing on the livestock issues, I said, "Sounds good! I think our focus will be on companion animals." So Dick said he has a fair amount of local group information he is willing to share and will get that to me tomorrow evening over dinner. I thought our conversation went quite well all things considered.
Karen Otoole, is an independent volunteer that worked with me (and many others) during Katrina, she speaks awesome Spanish and has done a phenomenal job so far.
Photo: Rich Crook / Flooded street in Villaharmosa