Andy Chaggar and a volunteer constructing desks for a home school at an orphanage supported by EDV, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. EDV is committed to affecting permanent change in disaster-affected communities worldwide. Their role is to facilitate personal connections between volunteers and the survivors of disasters.  The charity is based on a proven model developed by several landmark organisations that have paved the way for citizens to become disaster volunteers. These landmark organisations have shown that supposedly ordinary people working together with the guidance of knowledgeable leaders can make an extraordinary difference in the lives of those affected by disaster..EDV believe that to provide meaningful relief and reconstruction assistance to disaster affected communities they have to do more than reconstruct buildings. They need to understand and address the factors that made a community vulnerable to the disaster in the first place. The charity's work is organised with these factors in mind so that they can affect change that far outlives their presence..EDV believes that survivor motivation is essential to the recovery of any disaster-affected community. Their operations will always be predicated on the idea that survivors may be traumatised, but they are not helpless. With this in mind, EDV encourages host communities to direct their own recovery. EDV believe that this empowerment is essential in helping survivors feel a renewed sense of control over their lives which will, in turn, help overcome the feelings of hopelessness that can follow a disaster and inhibit long term recovery. EDV also believe that social cohesion is of primary importance in any disaster-affected area. No amount of bricks or mortar will bring about sustainable improvement if communities fail to come together or are disrupted by relief efforts. Therefore, their operations will always aim to foster communication and cooperation within and between the communities they serve.
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