ShelterBox Fiji 2016

 

Cyclone Winston - Fiji 2016

 

The South Pacific Island nation of Fiji was hit by the devastating Category 5 storm, Cyclone

Winston, on Feb. 20 & 21.  With winds of 320 kms/hr and storm surges up to12 meters high,  it cut a path of destruction through the central islands of the Fijian archipelago.  Close to 350,000 people (1/3 of the population) were negatively affected and 42 killed.

It has been logistically challenging to reach the remote islands of Fiji, which consist of some 330 islands spread across 120,000 sq. kms of the South Pacific.   Based in the capital city of Suva, our ShelterBox response has so far concentrated on the Eastern and Northern Division Islands.  We have delivered our aid to the widely dispersed islands working with the Fijian Military, the New Zealand military and Sea Mercy ( a Pacific Ocean aid organization), who provided air and sea transport for us. 

Because of the dispersed nature and large numbers of islands affected, we split our ShelterBox Response Teams into small groups in order to reach more islands. My ShelterBox Response Team, consisting of Mark van Alphen (The Netherlands) and myself, traveledapproximately 350 kms on board the New Zealand naval vessel, the Canterbury, to the remote island of Vanua Balavu to deliver our shelterboxes to families who had lost their homes. We lived on board the Canterbury for a week while it was anchored off Vanua Balavu, traveled each day with the boxes by landing craft to the island and distributed our aid in vehicles provided by the Fiji government with assistance from the Fiji military.

 

The intensity of the storm was terrifying for those in it’s path. I spoke with one of the surviving families who said they had warning that Cyclone Winston was approaching, but because they had been through a number cyclones in the past and did not understand the ferocious strength of a category 5 storm, they diid not abandon their wood frame home.  When the walls of their home began to collapse, they ran with their children for a concrete community building.  They said that when the metal roof of the community center blew off, their children cried out in terror.  The effects of this trauma, especially for the children, will be with these people for a very long time. 

It is very important to children’s recovery that life is normalized as soon as possible.  Returning to school is a big part of this normalization process.  Many  school buildings & teacher’s homes were destroyed or badly damaged and a number of teachers had to leave the island.  Large tents were supplied by UNICEF to serve as classrooms and we provided the teachers in need of accommodation with tents and supplies to allow them to return to the island and their classes. 

The Fijian people are very resilient and extremely grateful for our assistance.  It was heart warming to see that our aid not only brought them physical comfort and security but that it also lifted their spirits and gave them hope and the will to carry on and rebuild their homes and their lives.  We could not provide this life sustaining aid and the hope that goes with it without the generous support of our many donors.

 

Ron Noseworthy

ShelterBox Response Team