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2021
Assamstadt: Silent hero who actively lends a hand
Step by step, numerous "electricians" are paving the way back to normality for the flood victims in the Ahr Valley. Electrical engineer Patrick Megerle, who works for Ansmann in Assamstadt, also lent a hand.
Step by step, numerous "electric chaplains" smooth the way back to normality for flood victims in the Ahr Valley.
Electrical engineer Patrick Megerle, who works for Ansmann in Assamstadt, also lent a hand.
Main-Tauber district. The "Elektroseelsorge(r)" association, which is financed by donations and works on a voluntary basis, is recruited from around 250 electricians, telecommunications technicians and other volunteers from all over Germany, some of whom always come to the Ahr Valley for a while, explains Patrick Megerle in an interview with the Fränkische Nachrichten. Their task, he says, is to repair muddy and previously soaked electrical equipment such as drills, cordless screwdrivers, food processors and heaters in order to make them functional again.
Employed by Ansmann
"But we are also there to knock slots in the houses, install sockets and switches, or hang lamps," says the trained industrial electronics technician, who is employed by the Ansmann company in Assamstadt, giving an insight into the challenging work on site.
So far, he has spent an entire weekend in Walporzheim in the Ahr Valley - and has already successfully repaired many things. His attention was drawn to the "Elektroseelsorge" by an acquaintance - "and it was immediately clear to me that I would get involved," says Megerle.
For him, it was a matter of course to help. In 2016, during the severe flooding of the Kocher River in Niedernhall, his family experienced firsthand how it feels to lose a large part of your belongings. At that time, they experienced a great wave of willingness to help in order to get their feet back on the ground.
"For me, the whole thing is a mutual give and take," Megerle told our newspaper, adding that he can well imagine going there again. He is aware of the plight of the people in Rhineland-Palatinate and wants to do his part to help them overcome this difficult time.
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Even more than four months after the disaster, its consequences are still far from being eliminated. That's why it's all the more important that "there are well-organized initiatives like the 'Elektroseelsorge'," which help all those who are worst affected. "The only people who benefit from our help are those who have not taken out natural hazard insurance and have lost everything," explains the Niedernhaller.
Many grateful faces
"I looked into many grateful faces," the Hohenlohe native makes clear. This allowed him to return home with a very good feeling - in the knowledge that he had done the right thing in the right place. Solidarity and cohesion can achieve a lot.
"I can also always rely on the support of my employer Ansmann"
- Patrick Megerle
For the two board members Thilo Hack and Markus Fürst, it was already a matter of course shortly after the flood to send a truck with rechargeable batteries, batteries or flashlights to the Ahr valley. And now, too, the world market leader is showing its generosity and supporting the "Elektroseelsorge" campaign with, among other things, battery lamps.
These days, MdL Jens-Peter Nettekoven visited Ansmann in Assamstadt. He reported on unimaginable scenes that took place in the flood area and said: "I would also like to personally thank all those involved at Ansmann who promised their help so unbureaucratically and quickly. The powerbanks and flashlights were distributed on site directly to those affected. I was personally involved in the distribution and was able to experience first-hand what the help meant to the people on the ground."
Help is gladly accepted
Patrick Megerle, however, would do the same thing again at any time. He is not the only one who knows that in times of climate change, anyone could be affected by such a storm disaster in this country. And then any support from outside would be gladly accepted - as the flood victims in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia are currently experiencing.
The great gratitude he experienced during his stay in the Ahr Valley was and is the best motivation for the electrical engineer to act in exactly the same way again in the future - as a silent hero who actively lends a hand.
Klaus T. Mende Editorial Board Member of the Main-Tauber-Kreis Editorial Board with focus on Igersheim and Assamstadt
