It is not hard to image that this place used to be a popular tourist destination. A village at the ocean with sandy beaches, good waves for surfing and beachfront bars. Abandoned beachfront bars. There are almost no tourists here, everything looks deserted. Buildings are closed with “Inseguro” signs written on their walls. If there are walls left. It is a terrible sight to see the destruction of this once before beautiful village. Some buildings are crooked, most are missing roofs, some look like they were left in a hurry with their owners never to come back. Of those houses that are left, it’s only a few that you can enter.

The earthquake from 16^th April hit with a magnitude of 7.8, followed by severe aftershocks. The damage was tremendous: More than 660 people lost their lives, many more were injured and over 20,000 left without homes.

Tourists are swerving this area, as there is not much left to do. Everything needs to recover.

As we wanted to help rebuilding homes, we signed up to be volunteers. Daily life was straight-forward, simple and organized: Every morning after a porridge breakfast at 7.30, all teams went out to their different sites. Work was physically challenging, especially considering the heat. Needing to wear long-sleeved clothes, due to the fear of being bit by mosquitoes that can infect you with all kinds of diseases, didn’t make it easier. From chopping bamboo, carrying and sorting donation boxes to even building an entire home from scratch.

After a day of work, you are simply exhausted. But in a good way, after spending all day outside contributing to helping locals to get a new home. The other volunteers are the most interesting people with fascinated stories that you share at the camp dinner. Locals who have lost so much and who don’t just get their losses covered by an insurance, are yet surprisingly uplifting and positive. In contrast, at home people have more than they need and still complain about not having the latest phone or are resentful of friends or colleagues, instead of being happy for them – it seems to be awfully far and ridiculous now.

Special thanks to All Hands Volunteers for this unique experience.