Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa, is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and Savai’i.
The country is located east of the international date line and south of the equator, about halfway between Hawai‘i and New Zealand in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean. The main island of Upolu is home to nearly three-quarters of Samoa’s population, and its capital city is Apia.
On the 30th of September 2009, a large tsunami hit the coast of Samoa and American Samoa, causing many fatalities and significant property damage. To read more about this disaster you can read the ABC News story. You can also see some photos of the devastation taken by some of our members from the Reach 4 Samoa project.
Several members of the Logan Church of the Nazarene have family and friends in Samoa who were either directly or indirectly affected by this tragedy, which is why we are especially keen to help out our Samoan brothers and sisters in any way we can. We appreciate your contributions, prayers and support in our endeavours.