19 May 2014 – Germany’s Interior Minister Dr. Thomas de Maizière and Philippine Ambassador to Germany Maria Cleofe R. Natividad expressed their appreciation to the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (Technisches Hilfswerk or THW) volunteer relief workers, the “Blue Angels,” who went to the Philippines to assist in the Typhoon Yolanda relief and recovery operations during a reception in honor of the volunteers.

The reception was organized by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and was hosted by the Bavarian Representation to the Federal Republic of Germany in Berlin.

Some 130 volunteer relief workers and officials of THW, and Ambassadors and representatives from the Philippines, the Slovenia, Jordan and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq attended the reception.

Minister de Maizière praised the spirit of volunteerism of the THW emergency workers in the latest THW international relief missions to the Philippines, Jordan, Kurdistan-Iraq, and Slovenia.  Minister de Maizière expressed his appreciation to the companies and employers who allowed their employees to take vacation leave on short notice, and continued paying their salaries even if absent from work. 

The THW is a federal agency for civil protection under the Ministry of the Interior specializing in providing emergency relief. Ninety-nine percent of the more than 80,000 THW workers nationwide work voluntarily without pay to provide professional help to people in distress.

When Typhoon Yolanda struck the Philippines, THW was among the first humanitarian aid organizations to reach the Philippines.  Its teams  provided some two million liters of drinking water to the population between November 2013 to January 2014.  They also restored wells and groundwater sources.  In cooperation with the United Nations, THW teams helped in setting up the camps that would be used by other humanitarian workers in Guiuan and in Bantayan Island.

THW workers are easily recognizable by their blue uniforms as volunteers who provide help during naturals disasters and emergencies.  “This is our standard uniform here in Germany, but in the Philippines, we wore a lighter uniform which is more suited to the tropical climate there,” volunteer Mr. Andreas Häcker said.

He added that he was impressed by the positive spirit of the people he met in Leyte and Bantayan Island.  “They had lost everything, yet they were full of hope; it was the other way around- we ourselves were the ones they encouraged by their attitude,” he said.  “We work as self-contained units, we bring our own tents, tools, and food.  But the cooperation of the local population is very important in our work,” he added.

“What impressed me was the friendliness of the Filipinos everywhere we went,” volunteer Mr. Michael Nätschen said.  “I felt I had an obligation to give assistance to those who have lost everything in the typhoon, just as my parents’ generation in Germany were also recipients of emergency assistance after the war six decades ago,” he added.  He was filled with emotion as he recounted these to Ambassador Natividad.  “Ich kann es nicht in Worte fassen,”  (I cannot say it in words) to describe the experience of friendliness, resilience and optimism among the Filipino victims he encountered.

According to THW President Albrecht Broemme, THW deployed a total of 72 task forces to the Philippines from November 10, 2013 to January 31, 2014 to help in coping with the damage wrought by Typhoon Yolanda.  The THW volunteers told Ambassador Natividad how much they appreciated the support and cooperation they received from the population and the local authorities.

“I have experienced the friendliness and cooperation myself when I was there,” Ms. Anne Zimmermann said.  A full-time worker at THW’s main office in Bonn, Ms. Zimmermann coordinated all the THW task forces to the Philippines and supervised the organizational arrangements needed by the emergency teams.

Ambassador Natividad thanked the THW volunteers to the Philippines for their personal sacrifices and commitment, and expressed to them her hope that a similar system based on volunteers can be institutionalized in the Philippines for disaster relief. END