The DANA that crossed Valencia was a tragedy for hundreds of people who, in recent weeks, saw how their homes and the streets of their towns were devastated by the water. This disaster makes more and more people in Europe agree to help in a voluntary and coordinated manner.
This leads some Spanish users to opt for the creation of different non-profit platforms, with the sole aim of helping those affected by this disaster. Ultimately, it is important coordinate and organize resources so that their access is the best possible for the user.
In EL ESPAÑOL – El Androide Libre we spoke with Andrea Ruiz Cruz and Eva Gierloff Romera, respectively creator and coordinator of DanaValenciaSOS, a website dedicated to bringing together several of the most useful services and resources to mitigate the negative effects of DANA. , including direct access to free psychological services or a lost car consultation file.
This website received more than 400,000 visits in two weeksand has already been used by more than 1,800 people to travel to Valencia and provide help to those in need. It is one of the various initiatives launched by users to coordinate aid and make it arrive in a more direct way.
It’s a private but non-profit projectand it is one of the best ways to make different and very useful websites available to those affected. In addition, they even have a search engine with which you can more easily find what you are looking for.
All kinds of help
The idea behind creating this page is simple, as it seeks to gather as much information and useful websites as possible for people affected by DANA in Valencia. First of all, it appears list with six platforms of interest. The first are those dedicated to connecting people who need help and volunteers who want to lend a hand.
In addition to this type of platform, you can also access others, such as the Instagram account of missing persons, the registration and consultation system for lost vehicles or even a platform with reviews and meeting points for people who need help of all kinds.
Beyond these types of platforms, the site also brings together resources that can be useful to all those people who want to help from the outside. For example, it is possible to see the aid collection points that exist in the different autonomous communities, as well as access a platform to find a transfer and accommodation in the province for those who want to go as volunteers.
It also has access to Telegram and WhatsApp groups to coordinate help, in addition to listing other websites dedicated to free psychological help with volunteer psychologists, as well as donation campaigns and even legal aid .
Better than social media
This platform is a perfect portal for everyone who needs help or wants to help. It was developed thanks to information collected from the groups in which the help platforms are organized. The information provided by those involved was also very helpful. The platform is based on “collecting information that we see on the Internet or that other users send to us and we develop sections that do not exist and which we believe meet a need, for example”. example, that of transfers to Valencia”, according to Ruiz.
Being able to quickly and unifiedly access all information related to helping affected people is key to the platform’s vision. Social networks can also fulfill this objective, but it is true that they represent a less direct alternative when it comes to finding information, and the platform is aware that “they are very disaggregated and depend for the most part on the algorithm or the ecosystem. ‘.’ that the user created”.
Additionally, it is always difficult to have an account on one of these websites to be able to view their content. The main difference is that from DanaValenciaSOS you will be able to access all the basic and relevant information, with direct access to the platforms from the same site. They do not forget that with the great reach of the Internet and social networks, it is very difficult to collect absolutely all the information and resources useful in this situation, which is why they decided to sift through to offer the more important.
“On our website, there will not even be 10% of all the information that circulates on the Internet, but we have made sure that the platforms that have the most movement or critical mass are there,” says its coordinator. Regarding the best way to help, they think the best thing to do is to spread the content. “Statistically, someone in your contacts will be committed to the cause and the information you share will help them in their decision-making.”
