Edward Rabey, Director of Uniwipe, describes how he visited earthquake-stricken Amatrice, Italy, to serve the emergency crews and donate Uniwipes.
Amatrice was one of the most devastated areas of the quake that struck in Italy at 3:36 on Wednesday 24th August. As part of a charity group that assists local communities in time of need, I had the opportunity to travel to the area to join others who were providing food and refreshment to the emergency services.
There was also a need to provide a wipe for the emergency crews to clean themselves as they came off duty in the dusty and hot environment of the stricken mountain village.
Uniwipe’s newly-launched Ultragrime and our clinical wipe seemed a perfect fit so I packed four large boxes and filled a suitcase, too!
Lufthansa airlines assisted in loading it all on board. After a long road journey into the mountains and through the earthquake zone we arrived in Amatrice.
The scene was tragic. Hundreds lost their lives in this disaster and large numbers of buildings and houses had crumbled to the ground. Many others were badly damaged. Our main duty was to provide what we could in the way of refreshment to the emergency crews who were working with all their might to save as many as possible.
Their selfless acts deserved support and sustenance. We served over 1200 meals that day which gave a boost and fresh vigour to those who were gallantly giving all they could for the brave inhabitants of that town.
Uniwipe was also glad to donate the wipes and they were received gratefully, being used to their full extent in cleaning the crew’s dusty hands, arms and even heads! A nice freshen up to take away all the dust and grime and also to sanitise before they tucked into a well-deserved lunch!
I felt blessed to be part of this organisation that could offer some assistance and welfare to the emergency crews and also local people in this difficult time.
We continue to think of the work still going on and for all those who have lost family and friends – our thoughts are with you. I nostri pensieri sono con te.
