It was December 5, 2024, Cyclone Chido devastated everything in its path and plunged the island of Mayotte into an immeasurable human and material tragedy. Since then, the overseas department has been healing its wounds and national solidarity has been put in place to help the population.
Pride in helping disaster victims
Because they felt they had to be there and act for the island, four Jura residents, all employees of the French electricity network manager ENEDIS, will participate in the reconstruction maneuvers on site.
Leaving for Mayotte on Tuesday January 21, they will be part of a larger cohort of 57 people, including 14 from Franc-Comtois (Doubs and Belfort territory) and 4 from Jura.
If these agents leave for this mission, it is on a voluntary basis, as indicated by the head of the group, Jean-Christophe Walliser Klein.
“The volunteers expressed their desire to leave and it is a source of pride for them… This also falls within the notion of public service of our professions and it was important to be able to count on voluntary and motivated teams given the conditions of difficult work on site. »
Heading for Longonie in the north of the island
Since December 19, three waves of agents and equipment have been sent there. Jean-Christophe Walliser Klein finds himself with his colleagues taking over from teams already there with the mission of restoring the electricity network.
-« We will be based in a camp in the town of Longonie near a Mayotte electricity power plant (EDM). Our field of action will mainly concern municipalities in the North-West of the island”, explains Jean-Christophe Walliser Klein, who will have to maintain very specific objectives with his teams.
« Given the latest feedback that we received before our departure, we are hopeful of replenishing the customers concerned at the end of our stay.“, assures the electrician who expects difficult working conditions, weather-related, among other things.
« Mayotte is currently in summer, with high heat and high humidity, organisms are quickly tested and this is why we will work mainly in the morning. »
Security is another source of complexity for the job: “ The island is under curfew and the movements of our teams are sometimes accompanied by the gendarmerie“, testifies Jean-Christophe Walliser Klein.
Enrichment and contacts with the population
Beyond the restarting of the electricity network, there is also a human and supportive dimension reinforced by the geography of the place: “ We have very touching feedback from agents already mobilized in Mayotte, with photos, they often act in very small municipalities, directly meeting the population where everyone knows each other and the link becomes very strong with elected officials and associations”, concludes Jean-Christophe Walliser Klein.
Other news from the agents mobilized in Mayotte should reach us in the coming days.
