He has already carried out missions in Saint-Martin after Hurricane Irma, and in Lebanon after the explosion in Beirut, but his 15 days in Mayotte will have been unprecedented for Jérôme Lopez. Here are some explanations, on his return from his assignment as a Veoliaforce volunteer for the French Red Cross.
Did your assignment involve producing drinking water?
Jérôme Lopez: Yes, we worked in tandem with Patrick Eychenne, a Veolia Water volunteer from Narbonne, to take over water production with the Aquaforce 2000 deployed at M'Tsapere and, above all, to train local Red Cross staff to take over. Two men and two women, who were already very involved in the humanitarian work on the ground, had to be able to treat the water after our departure. And they did! We were blown away by their commitment.
This wasn't your first Veoliaforce assignment. Did you come up against any new difficulties?
JL: Yes, of course, but nothing technical. The difficulties were first and foremost... us! We arrived with our energy and our determination not to waste a minute on any action. Opposite us, we have people who have known Chido and who have been trying to get back on their feet for six weeks. We have to adapt to their rhythm and take into account all the context that we can't imagine until we're on the pitch.
What does that mean?
JL: The state of poverty is shocking. And yet I'd already been overseas, particularly to Saint-Martin after Hurricane Irma. But I'd never seen anything like it. The first few days are emotionally draining. You're happy to be producing water, delighted to see the learners get to grips with the Aquaforces and become self-sufficient, and then children as young as 3 or 4 come to fetch water. And you can see the poverty in which they live. In Mayotte, people have no choice: resilience means survival.
How did you organise your absence from work in the territory where you are based?
JL: I relied on my two team leaders, each of whom was based in a part of the Oise region, where I oversee our water-related activities. They took my place in all the meetings I was supposed to attend, and that enabled them to see other aspects of the business. My job was also part of their daily lives.
