Help needed in Vanuatu

Updated 26 March 2015

Cyclone Pam has left thousands of people homeless on Vanuatu and food in short supply in certain areas. The country needs food and relief supplies, officials said, even as attention is starting to turn toward longer term recovery.

Vanuatu President Baldwin Lonsdale has said the storm has destroyed most buildings in the capital Port Vila, including schools and clinics. Power and water have been restored, while the phone system is nearly there.

Vanuatu has a population of just over 250,000 and is spread over 65 islands. Over two dozen people have now been reported killed.

The Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu (PCV), a member of the WCRC, has issued an appeal for assistance [PDF]. Everything is needed, including short term use of shipping containers to store donated supplies.

“Please pray for us that God will continue to give us the courage and strength to rebuild,” concludes the letter sent by Allen Nafuki, PCV assembly clerk and a member of the WCRC’s executive committee. Thankfully all PCV staff and their families are safe, though many of their homes were damaged.

The PCV is now targeting short and long-term needs of rebuilding schools, churches, affected pastors’ houses, etc. It is also working to subsidize school fees of students attending PCV schools, colleges and Bible schools, in lieu of the lack of family income for the foreseeable future.

• Read the full letter [PDF]

In an article on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s website, Richard Tatwin of the PCV said the poorest people were worst affected. “Shelter is the biggest need at the moment, plus, depending on the situation of each family if it’s a low income earner, food too, as well,” he said. “And clothing, if all the clothes have been blown away by the wind, by the cyclone.”

The WCRC’s Partnership Fund has sent emergency money to help in the recovery efforts.

Member churches and ecumenical partners of the WCRC are moving to supply relief and begin the recovery process:

In a response to the devastation caused by Cyclone Pam, the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand has launched Pacific Vision Vanuatu, an appeal supporting their partner church, the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu.

World Renew, the relief and response arm of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, are responding to the disaster, including accepting donations for the relief efforts.

UnitingWorld, the emergency relief agency of the Uniting Church in Australia, are raising funds to provide immediate humanitarian relief and for the rebuilding of affected communities over the longer term.

The ACT Alliance has issued an alert [PDF] and will be posting an appeal. Members of the ACT Alliance have posted an update from members on the ground in Vanuatu (March 19).

Please continue to pray for our sisters and brothers in Vanuatu and consider contributing to one of the relief efforts above.

Photographs courtesy of Act for Peace. Map from WikiCommons.