By Celsias
Posted on July 7, 2013. Listed in:
Would You Like A Toilet With That? The story of the North New Brighton welfare centre was officially launched last night by many of Christchurch's Earthquake heroes, leaders and those stood up and supported the community both in the immediate aftermath but also in the trying years since the Earthquakes.
Would You Like A Toilet With That? is a story that talks about how she transformed an initial $50 investment into a welfare centre in the car park of her shop, the Bowhill Mower Centre which went on to feed thousands of people a day, supplying food, nappies, water, hot food and eventually toilets. The toilets were buckets with lids with a toilet seat cut into them. They were created and distributed by the Rangiora Earthquake Express.
The book follows not only the physical history of the welfare centre but also the emotional journey of both the community and the volunteers. It also seeks to identify what went right and wrong for the whole city in the official and unofficial responses, offering a view from within the midst of the worst hit areas.
Andrea Cummings' book begins with the tale of her own Grandmother, Margaret Butler who as a teenager was in the Napier Hastings earthquake. Andrea says "I recall as a child my Nana telling me stories of how she made sandwiches for weeks in the tent city that formed after the city was destroyed. My Nanas stories were my inspiration and strength, I knew if she could experience what she did and turn around and help others, then so could I".
Mayoral candidate and MP for Christchurch East Lianne Dalziel was guest speaker and spoke about emergent community leaders at the launch. "These are people who instinctively know how to identify the strengths of others, build teams, co-opt support from anywhere and act with integrity. Andrea is someone anyone would want to have as a neighbor” Dalziel said.
Cummings says, "just as I was blown away by the response of the community during the emergency phase so to have I been blown away by the response to my book. I hope that anyone who was affected or involved during the quakes looks at purchasing the book, a little piece of history for our grandkids"
The book is available for purchase for $20.00 from , Trade Me or Kindle.
