The DANA was one of the most difficult tests that the Valencian Community, and possibly the whole of Spain, has faced in the last century. But it was also a tremendous demonstration of the power of volunteerism. A little more than a month after the terrible DANA that hit Valencia, Volies & Voluntare in collaboration with Raff & Battavia, present the documentary “La Voluntad. The Impact of Volunteerism in the DANA”.
“La Voluntad” narrates the first-person experiences of those who lost everything and those who helped try to rebuild their lives. “We couldn’t stay at home knowing what was happening here,” say Maria and Ana, carrying buckets and shovels to Zone 0. We feel useful and grateful to be able to help. Because there are people who want to and cannot. We leave with a full heart,” says another volunteer.
And the fact is that “with the water and all the mud, the photos and the memories were gone. Our lives. This is the heartbreaking story of Lucía, a neighbor of Massanassa, from the patio of what used to be the beautiful family home. “This house was built by my grandfather, I was born here. My sister and I grew up here.” “All I did yesterday was cry. Because I thought I would never see the floor of this house again. Today, finally, thanks to all these people who have come to volunteer, we see the floor again. We are starting to see the light thanks to them.”
Tribute to volunteers at DANA
And is that “La Voluntad” not only seeks to remember what happened, but to make visible and pay tribute to those who turned chaos into hope. Precisely for this reason Voluntare and Volies have chosen December 5th, the day on which the International Volunteer Day is celebrated every year, to premiere the documentary in two of the affected towns: Picassent and Alaquàs, as a tribute to all this wave of solidarity, to convey the power and impact of volunteering.
And that is what both organizations have been doing for more than 15 years: leading the professionalization of corporate volunteering, the Voluntare network, and putting into practice the daily management of volunteering, the company B Corp Volies. Last year alone, it coordinated more than 2,000 actions mobilizing almost 59,000 volunteers and benefiting 650,000 people.
Raff & Battavia is the third key organization in this production. A Valencian audiovisual agency that since 2015 is focused on creating human content with high social impact. Jon, the director of the documentary, had it clear. “Since I stepped in the mud as a volunteer I knew that this story deserved to be told”.
"What has happened to us is a lesson of hope in humanity. Working together for the will of the people to move Valencia forward. I have come here to help, but I am saving myself.”
