This weekend, a long, full day of coordinated volunteer work unfolded at the VFW site, under the leadership of Faraz Ahmad, Humanity First’s site commander and volunteer manager for HFUSA’s response to the devastating floods in Kerr County, Texas. 40 HF volunteers from Dallas, Austin, Houston, and Fort Worth joined forces with hundreds of others—between 400 and 500 people from various organizations—to support ongoing search and recovery efforts. A large number of our volunteers came through the HFUSA–Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya partnership, while others joined independently, responding to the call for help in whatever way they could.
The operation is growing in scale and urgency. As more victims are found, the search area continues to expand. Volunteers are navigating a wide range of terrain—dry fields, muddy patches, and waterlogged areas—often following difficult clues like personal belongings or even unpleasant odors. It’s physically demanding work, and as Faraz reminded the group, “This is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Throughout the day, teams split up and covered multiple locations, working under the supervision of State Representative Josey Garcia. She addressed the group in the afternoon after our search mission, acknowledging the gravity of the situation and expressing deep appreciation for the volunteers’ commitment.
HF teams identified two areas of interest during Saturday’s search. As with previous days, any findings—whether visual markers, scents, or items—were carefully documented and flagged for follow-up by state search teams. On Sunday, rain and stormy conditions limited everyone’s search efforts to keep volunteers safe. But our teams will be back to search this week and weekend.
Thank you to the dedicated volunteers and thank you to all who support this critical work.
As time marches on, the urgency to find 170 missing people increases day by day. More areas need support to search. Humanity First USA and our volunteers will be working for the rest of this month, and maybe longer.
