The road to recovery, Chinle residents grateful for caring help of outside volunteers
Navajo Times | Holly James
Dorothy Lillie Smith sheds tears Sunday outside her home as she recalls the last two months of the aftermath of the April floods that flowed through Chinle near the wash.
CHINLE
During June, volunteers from outside non-tribal organizations arrived here and helped and assisted some of the residents in their efforts to fix their damaged homes and roads and clean up the community.
Navajo Times | Holly James
Orlando Paisano (left) holds his grandfather’s military medals damaged in the Chinle flood two months ago. Roger Yazzie Sr. (right) was the brother-in-law to Francis Anthony Paisano Jr., who served in Vietnam from 1967-71. He was a triple star recipient, among many other honors and medals he was awarded. On Sunday, the pair walked through their childhood home in Chinle to salvage other items and family heirlooms.
According to some residents, the volunteers provided valuable assistance and needed care promptly while the Navajo Nation continues to figure out who oversees helping its people.
Chinle Chapter President Rosanna Jumbo-Fitch invited the United Methodist Committee on Relief to help her community members who still need massive recovery assistance because of the recent severe flooding.
Navajo Times | Holly James
Orlando Paisano opens a metal tin that holds his grandfather’s military medals that fell into the water that flooded his childhood home. His grandfather’s military picture lies next to the medals, which were also damaged.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief is a humanitarian branch of the United Methodist Church. It provides relief when disastrous events overwhelm a community’s ability to recover independently.
Read the full story in the July 6 edition of the Navajo Times.
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