How Can They Go On? The Amazing Answer from the People of Richwood

BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. - Aug. 5, 2016 - PRLog -- When we all saw the national news pictures and videos of the June 2016 West Virginia flood conditions, you had to wonder "how will these people survive?"  To say that the flood was devastating to the already hard luck West Virginia community of Richwood is to understate the impact on the people living there. The news cameras shot the water above the houses and filling the streets, but didn't stay in this town long enough to see the layers of mud covering the broken debris, stained family photos and ruined possessions that were under the flood waters.

Richwood is not important because it is unique, it is important because it is a too common story of rural Appalachia. Once a bustling coal and manufacturing town of 10,000 proud residents, Richwood, West Virginia has shrunk to less than two thousand citizens. Many of the people left when the coal mines closed and the lumber industry went bust. Many of Richwood's workers and their families left without a cent left of the money that the coal and lumber the Appalachian Mountains had given them for their backbreaking work. Those people that remained loved the area, and proudly have withstood the excruciating pain of poverty that has hung over this community.

Don't be surprised if you have never heard of Richwood. Not many people have. It is two hours from any major city or television station. There are no malls, high rise buildings or five star resorts on four lane highways. Their big industry now is welcoming tourists that are running away from the stress of modern technology.

Picture what has happened to the community of Richwood and others like it. When the poorest of the poor lose what little they have, creeping despair and muck stained tears that are unseen by most of the outside world is often what is left. These people want none of that. They want hope and survival.

There are many individuals and volunteer organizations that are bringing their sweat, talents and donations into the community. World Servants is one such mission group that has been bringing volunteers into this community for more than a decade.  They do mission work all over the world, but this one in West Virginia is every bit as important as any in the poorest areas of the world, especially now.

World Servants is a non-denominational Christian 501(c)3 non-profit organization. This time, they organized a group of 88 volunteers to rebuild 10 to 15 of the flood ravaged homes in Richwood. Those homes had mold and need treated to preserve the health and safety of the volunteer workers and the families the mission project is serving.

Green Home Solutions' Pittsburgh North franchise owner, Tim Swackhammer heard the message of need and answered the call to help the people of Richwood. Green Home Solution's Pittsburgh South franchise added Thaddeus Westley to the mold remediation work force. They teamed up to make a difference in the homes that World Servants prepared for mold treatment. Tim & Thadd were changed forever by the deep need and appreciation of the homeowners lavished on them in return for their help.

In addition to treating the homes, Green Home Solutions created and provided information sheets about cleaning and saving the belongings that could be saved. When you own so little, being able to keep anything is important. World Servants and Bob Henry Baber the Richwood mayor, are dispensing those information sheets. In the hands of World Servants, that important information can traverse the world. It also has a home in Richwood's City Hall.

Green Home Solutions (GHS)  www.GreenHomeSolutions.com is a national mold remediation franchise company with headquarters in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania. The Green Home Solutions treatment eliminates mold with an "environmentally green" enzyme based product that is safe for homeowners and workers alike. The safety of the missionary workers and homeowners is a critical consideration for World Servants. The added benefits of the GHS product are that because it is an enzyme, it continues to work after application and the restoration work on the homes can safely and quickly resume after application.

The essence of the story of the "rise up once again" attitude in this West Virginia town is on the Facebook page: "We are Richwood". There is a beautiful video by Misty Loggin "West Virginia Strong."  #WestVirginiaStrong   It is about hope and recovery. It is about strength and kindness. Misty sings of "a spirit that no flood can drown." That is the story of Richwood, towns like it and the volunteers that have come to help them

For me and others who plain just did not know what can be and hopefully will continue to be done to help the people of stricken towns like Richwood, this is a story not only worthy of telling, it is a story that should be heard and become an example that is followed.