(Vanuatu) “I was frightened as the wind just didn’t stop,” Daniel Willie said about the day last week when Cyclone Pam tore through his town in Vanuatu and destroyed homes, churches, buildings, stores, schools and much of the fabric of his community.

The sixty-seven year-old pastor is old enough to remember the last major disaster to hit this island nation – Cyclone Uma in 1987 – but says that this storm was far worse.  “It sounded like a non-stop bulldozer for five hours straight,” he said.

Using knowledge they had learned following Cyclone Uma, Willie and several members of his community took precautions to protect his home from the pending storm.  As a result, his home only suffered minor damage.  This isn’t true for many of his neighbors.

Thirty-eight year-old Mela Tom, for example is a farmer and a single mother of three children who lost everything.  “We lost our entire house – it is all gone. We also lost all of our crops.  I think it will take us at least two or three months to rebuild.”

According to local officials, around 3,300 people lost their homes in this storm and are now living in evacuation centers. World Renew is responding by working through the Integral Alliance – a consortium of 20 Christian relief and development agencies who work together to present a more effective response to poverty and disaster worldwide.

Together, they have already distributed tarps to families whose homes lost their roofs during the storm.  They will also provide food, wash kits, and programs to restore people’s livelihoods.

The response will likely take several years and urgently needs your prayers and financial support.  Please also pray for families like Daniel and Mela’s as they work to restore their communities.

“For me, the hardest thing has been our church,” said Daniel who is the pastor at a church that was completely destroyed in the storm. “It was built over 27 years ago and now it is completely ruined. I feel so sorry for my community as this was their building to use too.  I don’t know how we will ever rebuild again.”

Please donate online (choose "Cyclone Pam" from the drop down menu) or mark your gift “Cyclone Pam 2015” and send it to:

World Renew US
1700 28th Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49508
Ph: 1-800-552-7972

World Renew Canada
3475 Mainway
P.O. Box 5070 STN LCD
Burlington, Ontario, L7R 3Y8
Ph: 1-800-730-3490

By Kristen VanderBerg with reporting from Helen Manson (Tearfund New Zealand)

 

Photo above: Pastor Daniel Willie, (L) amputee and his wife and two grandkids sit inside their church that is now destroyed.