Two weeks after a DANA flooded several towns in the south of the Spanish region of Valencia, leaving 214 dead (seven more in Castilla-La Mancha and one in Andalusia) and dozens of missing people still being sought, the recovery process continues to move slowly.

The aid focuses on cleaning streets that continue to accumulate mud and debris from vegetation and vehicles swept away by the water, as well as the distribution of water and food, and basic necessities.

But there are also initiatives that try to respond to other needs of this tragic reality. For example, housing.

Many people have been temporarily housed in temporary shelters in pavilions while waiting to receive the aid promised by the national and regional governments.

“The DANA has left many families in extremely vulnerable conditions, losing their homes and belongings”, explains Juan Saldarriaga, businessman and member of the Batterfly Association, which coordinates the reception and distribution of donations in five centres in the city of Torrent.

“The need for help is constant, and our priority is to support families to regain a minimum of stability”, he says.

One of the projects Saldarriaga has set up is to furnish homes that have been damaged by the floods.

Recovering the home

The idea comes from Saldarriaga's contact with some public personalities and his desire to help. He was in a café waiting for his partner when he met well-known Spanish footballers and their wives.

“They had gathered precisely to do something about it and, being there, I realised that I could be an umbrella to channel all that help through Batterfly”, he recalls.

The entrepreneur explains that for this idea they are taking advantage of the structure they already have in the association and the collaboration with evangelical association Diaconia, “to better coordinate efforts and achieve a real impact”.

“We want each family to be able to return to a house that becomes a real home again, giving them back not only material things, but also a sense of hope and belonging”, points out Saldarriaga.

The initiative, which has already been covered by some national television stations, has the support of companies, celebrities such as the talk show host and model Tamara Gorro, and footballers such as Tino Costa, Daniel Parejo, Ezequiel Garay, Roberto Soldado and Vicente Iborra.

“The gospel provides a refuge”

For Saldarriaga, a member of a local church in Valencia, “the gospel provides a refuge and a promise for those who receive it”.

“In such dark times, the words of the gospel remind us that we are not alone and that we are part of something bigger. It is a call to love and accompany, as we have been loved, in every step of rebuilding the lives of others”, he says.

That is why his motivation to help comes from his Christian faith and “the commandment to love the Lord your God [...] and your neighbour as yourself”.

“This love for God leads to love for others, especially in times of need, and I see in every gesture of help a way of expressing that love for my neighbour”, he adds.