Restoring Dignity After Disaster: A Week in Valencia with Cash for Voucher Distribution

In early July 2025, I returned to Valencia, Spain nine months after devastating floods overwhelmed parts of the city and its surrounding rural districts. In the night of 29th October 2024 floods disproportionately affected the elderly, migrants, informal workers, and low-income families and many of whom were still struggling to recover.

This time, I came as both a volunteer and a researcher. Over seven days (7–13 July), I actively involved  a cash-for-voucher humanitarian distribution programme and engaged in conversations with community members, volunteers, and local humanitarian actors. What unfolded was a powerful reminder that while material aid is essential, restoring dignity, trust, and visibility in disaster response is just as important.

Voucher Distribution and Hidden Vulnerabilities

Each morning began in a modest community centre on the city’s outskirts, where Tzu Chi volunteers (mostly Taiwanese) gathered to review logistics and prepare for another long day of voucher distribution. The process was guided by a pre-verified list of eligible recipients, mostly households previously assessed during initial relief phases. But each day brought a new wave of people not on the list: elderly widows, migrants, informal renters, and those recently plunged into hardship.

I recall one woman, Maria (name changed), age 84, who had lost her kitchen appliances and much of her belongings in the flood. “Nobody came to see my home,” she said softly. “I never imagined I’d be begging for food in my own country.”

These encounters exposed deeper gaps in the system: people falling through administrative cracks due to a lack of documentation, rigid procedures, or simple oversight. As volunteers, we debated whether to make exceptions. For me, these moments represented the ethical heart of humanitarianism, how to act justly when the rules fall short of the realities we face.

The Power of Choice

What distinguished this programme was its emphasis on choice. The vouchers allowed people to purchase essential items of their choosing, from food and hygiene supplies to school materials and basic home repairs. This flexibility mattered enormously.

One of the single mothers told me she would use the voucher to buy the food who would love to eat most and shoes for her son. “No food package ever gives you what you really need,” she said. “But this… this let me choose.”

These words stuck with me. Choice is not just about consumption; it’s about autonomy, dignity, and being treated as a person, not just a recipient.

Engaging Local Faith and Local Humanitarian Leaders

Midway through the week, I had the opportunity to meet with key figures shaping the local response. I was deeply moved by my conversation with the Spanish Red Cross Valencia officers, who openly shared the operational constraints they faced. Despite their commitment, they highlighted gaps in coordination with municipal services and difficulties in reaching undocumented families, particularly in the peri-urban zones where displacement and informal housing were prevalent.

At Caritas, the Catholic humanitarian organisation, I sat down with their local coordinator to understand how they were supporting vulnerable groups beyond material aid. Caritas had been providing legal assistance to undocumented migrants, emotional support for flood survivors, and food security aid for elderly residents. The coordinator stressed the importance of "continuity" that facilitates support that extends beyond the emergency phase and addresses long-term recovery needs, something often missing in formal disaster governance frameworks.

My visit to Chiva and Utiel, two rural towns heavily affected by the flood, led me to meet the local Fathers of the Catholic Church. These priests were not only spiritual anchors for their communities but had also become critical informal leaders in flood response. They spoke about organising shelter, mobilising youth for clean-up drives, and distributing food through church managed kitchens.

One of the Fathers from Utiel Catholic Church told me, “The government came late, and even then, only to certain areas. But we were already here, always with the people.” Their words reinforced what I’ve witnessed in many parts of the world: when institutions falter, local religious and community leaders often step into the governance vacuum with humility and speed.

Compassion and Contradiction

Even as we made progress, distributing over 3300 vouchers by the end of the week, there were contradictions that weighed on all of us. How do we justify turning away someone who is visibly in need because their name isn't on a list? What do we say to those whose vulnerability doesn’t fit into our eligibility categories?

These moments tested the boundaries between formal humanitarian protocols and the messy, deeply human reality of disaster recovery. As a disaster governance researcher, I know that systems need order. But as a volunteer on the ground, I also know that compassion must be allowed to challenge that order when people are falling through the cracks.

Community Leadership in Action

Perhaps the most hopeful aspect of my week was witnessing affected residents become active contributors to the recovery process. Several recipients came back to help as volunteers. Migrant women helped with translation. Young men set up chairs and table in distribution points. An elderly couple offered free water bottles to people waiting in line to get vouchers. The quiet resilience and generosity I witnessed was humbling.

In one particularly moving moment, a local youth leader in Chiva said: “We don’t want to depend on outside help forever. But for now, your presence (Taiwanese peoples’  presence)  means we are not invisible.”

What Valencia Taught Me

My time in Valencia has left me with lessons that I’ll carry into my ongoing work in South and South East Asia and beyond are :

· Humanitarian aid must be flexible, capable of adapting to new needs and unregistered vulnerabilities.

·  Cash and vouchers restore autonomy, allowing recipients to act on their knowledge of what they truly need.

·  Faith-based actors and local leaders are essential, not as gap-fillers but as primary actors in inclusive disaster governance.

· Data systems and coordination mechanisms need improvement, so no one is excluded simply due to paperwork or residency status.

Above all, this week reminded me that disaster recovery isn’t just about reconstruction. It’s about recognition, of who was affected, who was left out, and who rose to lead.

As I continue my research on collaborative  disaster risk and response governance, I always carry the stories of Valencia with me. Stories of injustice, yes, but there is  also of hope, solidarity, and dignity rediscovered through community, compassion, and choice.