Families in Savai’i receive help

By Deidre Tautua – Fanene 03 March 2018, 12:00AM

Twenty-nine families in Savai’i received food products and emergency kits thanks to Adventist Development and Relief Agency (A.D.R.A) Samoa and Rotary Club of Apia.

The two organisations are working together to help families that were affected by the Tropical Cyclone Gita last month.

“We covered the whole of Savaii starting with Fa’asaleleaga, Gagemauga, Itu o Tane, Itu o Asau, Salega, Palauli Sisifo and Salelologa. Families in those areas were badly affected by Cyclone Gita,” said programme Project Manager, Tuioti Autagavaia Sakaria.

“We have covered 29 families in Savaii, where we distributed containers of food from A.D.R.A. and emergency kits from the Rotary Samoa.”

A.D.R.A. Samoa Administration Manager for Habitat, Valelia Ausage said most affected families in Savaii had their houses damaged and that’s what the emergency kits were for.

“For some families their plantations were ruined, but most families it was their houses.

“And this is a lesson to them as well because these families weren’t well prepared for the natural disasters.

“So may this be a lesson for them to be well prepared during times like these.”

Operations Manager for Habitat, Unasa Pulou Matafeo, said families were appreciative of the assistance.

“What we are planning is to partner with Rotary during this time, we have seen Rotary trying their very best to help vulnerable families, which is a good thing for A.D.R.A. Samoa as well,” said Unasa.

“So for the future, because surely there will be natural disasters in the future, at least the families are well prepared for these types of disasters.”

Tuioti said they had covered more than 60 families in both islands.

“For A.D.R.A. Samoa, we have spent more than $40,000 to cover these families in terms of food supplies,” he said.

“We are not really sure about the Rotary.

“However one thing we do want to make clear is that when disasters such as this occur, the work we are doing in the aftermath is not for us to give out food to all the families.

“What we are doing is to provide help for the vulnerable families, which means these are the people who live in houses that are not well built, leaving them prone to natural disasters.

“During our distribution, we have also found that some families they live in small houses which caters for about 20 family members living in these houses.

“So this means they are at high risks when disasters hit them.

“So we are trying to cater for these people, for some families it’s true they have been affected, but their livelihood is still okay.

“They have their plantation to turn to and their houses are well prepared for these types of disasters, so they are not vulnerable.

“But the people who are vulnerable are the people who we have catered to with the listing from the Disaster Management Office.

“So that is the purpose of this distribution, to help those families who are vulnerable and are in dire need of help.”

By Deidre Tautua – Fanene 03 March 2018, 12:00AM
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