Getting the ‘heavy lifting’ done as relief efforts continue in Vanuatu
The Australia Territory continues to support The Salvation Army in Vanuatu following the devastating earthquake that struck the South Pacific island nation last month. In this Global Focus report, DARYL CROWDEN, The Salvation Army Emergency Services General Manager, outlines the ongoing relief and recovery efforts.
It was a beautiful sunny day on Tuesday 17 December in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu. Elizabeth was sitting with dozens of other women at the outdoor market near Numbatu, selling produce from a market garden leased by the Salvation Army women to raise funds for their ministry in Tagabe.
Elizabeth says, “When the earth shook, people were screaming and running out of the shops onto the road.” She saw two elderly women carrying full market bags being shoved aside and losing their footing but no one helping. “I left my mangoes and went to help them,” she shares. “I just stood behind them so that people had to go around me until another man saw what was happening and came to help us.”
It took Elizabeth three hours to get home, which is only 5km away in the Tagabe community, where The Salvation Army has a base called ‘21 Jump Street’.
“People were afraid,” she says, but eventually, her cousin came and picked her up.
The Salvation Army in Vanuatu is led by Lilyrose George, but she was on holiday in Australia at the time of the earthquake.
In her absence, Elizabeth Utissets and Dora were providing leadership to the fellowship of about 30 people. For the community of approximately 490 people at 21 Jump Street, The Salvation Army property – with its church building surrounded by greenery and flowers – immediately became the place to be.
Electric power and mains water were down all over the town, and “for seven days following the quake, people came to us to charge their phones from our solar system and to fill containers from our three (damaged but functional) rainwater tanks,” explains Elizabeth. “No one could get cash; all the banks, ATMs and post office were closed; and even if they could find food, they couldn’t buy it.”
So Elizabeth, with her team of Salvos volunteers, travelled daily to their garden, collecting fresh fruit and vegetables: “We cooked kai kai (food) in our ‘kitchen’ and shared it with our neighbours for free for the next seven days.”
While Vanuatu is a country of churches on every corner, The Salvation Army has a very small presence. Supported by the Australian Territory for the past 10 years, it has become well-known in the 21 Jump Street community since Cyclone Pam hit the country in 2015.
On 27 December, Major Darren Elsley (Remote and Rural Chaplain, NSW) and I arrived to support The Salvation Army community.
We went straight to the corps, were greeted with hugs and kisses all round, and there was an immediate outpouring of story and experience. The first few days were spent with the fellowship members, worshipping together, assessing the damage and introducing The Salvation Army to the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and the other cluster agencies.
Within the first four days, with the help of the local community, we repaired, replaced and reseated the 5000-litre and 1100-litre water tanks, the two communal shower blocks and handwashing facilities to ensure a safe and clean water supply to the church, and, by default, to the broader Jump Street community.
The funding for the deployment and program activities has come from The Salvation Army Australia and International Headquarters.
On New Year’s Eve, we all joined for worship, sharing stories of faithfulness throughout the year. However, a theme of gratitude for safety during and support after the quake became evident. Almost three weeks after the initial 7.3-magnitude quake, daily tremors – some as strong as 5.8 – continue to shake the island.
There is still fear and uncertainty, and with other relief agencies, including World Vision Vanuatu and UNICEF Pacific, we have provided age-appropriate psychosocial first aid to church and community members.
Elizabeth says, “We want to help our community ... we pray for them every day, and we ask God to help us help them.”
While the community was not as badly impacted as the town centre, many in the community have lost kitchen equipment, need help with tools and equipment to repair buildings and, with school going back at the end of the month, their resources are tight.
Last Thursday, volunteers from the fellowship – including teenage girls who were amazing – knocked on every door gathering household data so that this week, The Salvation Army – thanks to International Headquarters and International Emergency Services – can provide a voucher to every impacted household in 21 Jump Street. We targeted 115 households (447 people).
In the next few days, we will facilitate a distribution of vouchers purchased from a local business so that people can replace broken or damaged household and kitchen items, buy tools for small repairs and back-to-school supplies.
As the tremors continue and the central town area remains indefinitely closed due to extensive damage, The Salvation Army is better known by the government and NGO (non-government organisation) sector and is certainly punching above its weight in the response it is providing to its own people and the community of people to which it belongs.
Estimates are that the (infrastructure) recovery program will take all, if not more, than a year. Fifty per cent of the town centre is destroyed or will be condemned. Tourism, including cruise ships, is the major earner for the island, and with the port closed and the ‘main tourist area’ destroyed, the economic recovery could take as long, if not longer, than the infrastructure.
Pray for the leaders of Vanuatu as they hold an election on 16 January. Ask for the continued resilience of the people and the support of the international community for the long haul of recovery.
Take a trip to beautiful Vanuatu and support the economy!
To donate to The Salvation Army Australia Earthquake Response Appeal, click here.
