Paul Walker's inspirational charity work across the globe - PHOTO

21:00 | 06.12.2013
Paul Walker's inspirational charity work across the globe - PHOTO

Paul Walker's inspirational charity work across the globe - PHOTO

Far from Hollywood, the fast cars and his sex symbol status, these poignant images show how Paul Walker dedicated himself to helping those blighted by natural disasters across the world.The Fast & Furious star can be seen in fields as far flung as Haiti and Chile working for the charity he set up, Reach Out Worldwide, most recently secretly plowing money into the tornado-struck  Philippines.JD Dorfman, who is the charity's operations manager, worked closely alongside the 40-year-old star and speaking for the first time since his death, told MailOnline: 'We lost one of the good ones, but he’s left a lasting legacy.’And tonight, Paul's griefstricken dad Paul Walker Snr added: 'If there's one good thing to come from any of this, it's that we can raise the charity's profile - that's what Paul would have wanted.'Over the last three years, Paul was on the ground in destroyed villages of Haiti, Chile and Alabama and set up makeshift hospitals to areas ravaged by tsunamis and tornadoes, much to the amazement of local people - and unbeknown to many of his fans.Speaking about the side of the star which many barely knew, ROWW Operations Manager JD said: 'Paul started the organization in 2010. It didn’t ever have a goal to be this big great organization. It was an organic start of just him trying to do as much as he could for other people around the world hit by disasters. ‘Paul saw what was happening in some poorer countries and wasn’t content to donate to the Red Cross, but got ROW started. He would literally get on the phone and kick down the doors to get doctors, nurses, specialists, and put together a team to get out to disasters. Haiti was the first one.’After the earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010, Paul and a team went straight out there to help save lives.  ‘He knew there was a need for personnel there, as people in some areas weren’t getting the treatment they needed, they were being ignored. So Paul got this team together – all volunteers, all people he begged to come and they dropped everything in their lives to help. It was pretty much fly by the seats of our pants stuff,’ explains JD.Showing off unseen pictures of Paul, which sit proudly in frames in the offices of ROW in Burbank, Los Angeles, JD added: ‘He used his connections to get a helicopter to meet the team at Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince to get them to a remote harder hit area, and set up a clinic. It took 34 hours to get there. 'As you’ll see in one of the pictures, the only place that was still standing in the town was the orphanage, so we used it as a makeshift hospital and used doors as beds for the patients. Paul was helping in every way from looking after kids with broken legs to helping with check ups and more major operations.’After Haiti, Paul knew he could never see another natural disaster without doing something about it, according to JD.He adds: ‘Doing what he did in Haiti, treating people and seeing every horrific image, well, you don’t leave that experience without taking something away.  Paul had the connections to open doors, and to use them for good, but he never, ever wanted publicity for it.‘The next time was Chile two months later when it hit all the poor towns on the beaches. He made connections, used his influence to set up a hospital on the beach. We’ve got a picture in the office of just an empty shell of buildings on the beach to remind us what devastation that caused and the impact we made on the locals. ‘We were the only team to come to this tiny village and the locals were amazed, they couldn’t believe that people would care about them, but Paul did. He’d be helping in the clinic checking blood pressure and doing basic medical checks. He worked as hard, if not harder, than anyone. We were presented with a flag to show their appreciation.’After Chile, Paul wanted the organization to grow in stature and moved from a tiny one-room office to bigger premises. ‘After Chile, he really went for it. We moved offices and it grew bigger. Small idea with big dreams. We never had full-time, paid workers, it’s all on a volunteer basis, and Paul always had people like medics who he could pick up the phone to and say: “Hey, you’ve got to drop everything and help me.” They just wanted to be part of something,’ says JD, who began working with Paul during their work in Alabama, which was hit by a devastating tornado in May 2011.He adds: ‘Some of hardest hit were the poorest who were either trapped in their homes or had their houses completely destroyed. Paul went with no fanfare and spent thousands on equipment to cut through the debris. ‘He went to work immediately, he ran the chainsaws to get through the debris. He was out of pocket, as he had purchased these Stihl chainsaws, but it was worth it even if it just saved one person. ‘I’ll always remember Paul cutting through the debris to get to one person’s house. When she realised who it was, she teared up, she was overtaken with emotion. She knew his name, and magically he was on her doorstep, she couldn’t believe it. “But I’m just a poor woman from Alabama and he’s fighting to get my possessions,’ she said. She was dumbstruck.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az
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