Most thirsty people had a bottle with them to refill, but some were also happy that there were cups to drink from. In addition, arche noVa distributed canisters to the stalls where food was cooked for the #unteilbar guests. Water was also needed for washing up and cooling down. In total, more than 35,000 people had to be supplied with water in midsummer temperatures.
Of course, arche noVa itself was also present at the demo. With blue, environmentally friendly balloons made of natural rubber, the team of the Dresden-based aid organisation marched from the Yenidze to the rally at the Altmarkt and from there through the city to the Cockerwiese. The motto of #unteilbar was also the motivation for arche noVa: "Solidarity instead of exclusion. For an open and free society.
Als international agierende Organisation brauchen wir ein Umfeld, das weltoffen, solidarisch und tolerant ist. Deshalb waren wir bei #unteilbar dabei. Außerdem haben wir den Sommer vor der Landtagswahl ganz bewusst dafür genutzt, um mit einer Social-Media-Kampagne Gesicht zu zeigen.
Universal human rights, equal opportunities and humanity, these are the values arche noVa stands for. The aid organisation works worldwide to provide and distribute clean drinking water. The fact that this very competence is suddenly also in demand in Dresden came as a surprise to the helpers, but not inconveniently.
"As an aid organisation, we are prepared to react quickly and professionally in disaster situations. We have everything we need in terms of material and equipment for drinking water supply in stock and are practically ready for action at any time," explains Lorenz Ewers. The arche noVa logistician has himself been on numerous emergency relief missions abroad, so he was happy to accept the request from #unteilbar.
And while a lot of know-how and highly sensitive filter technology is needed after tsunamis or earthquakes to obtain drinkable water, all that is needed in Dresden is a standpipe meter rented from DREWAG, several metres of hose and a simple filling plant.
The costs for the water are covered by the organiser, arche noVa supports with experience and volunteers. The paper cups used to distribute the water were provided to arche noVa free of charge by Peters Paper Processing in Radebeul.
