We are looking to send a team of approx 11 members to the affected areas in Samoa to distribute aid and compassion and assist with reconstruction in the affected areas. Two people have already travelled there to provide initial assistance and assess how we can provide further help. You can see some photos from their journey here.
We believe that it is important to show the continued support of Australians and the Christian Community, and believe that these situations are very much like a death in the family, where the support is great for the first week or two but once the initial interest drops the real pain and hurt starts and the support is greatly needed. Our plan is therefore for the group to leave around November 16.
We are also getting together a shipping container or two of aid to distribute. This venture is not ours alone and we are endeavoring to partner with the local Christian radio station 96.5 and Agility Logistics.
The Ululoloa church in Samoa has been actively involved in distribution of water, bread, as well as more recently using a church member’s truck to assist families in hauling building materials gathered from the wreckage of their homes from the beach/coast location up to the hill to build temporary shelter, fale. If the team has the financial resources, they could assist with distribution of that material aid. There is also the potential to provide pastoral care for those traumatised by this experience. One of the things we would like to see happen, if it was before children/young people returned to school, would be to provide activities that would encourage them and provide them some recreational activity, that would be ‘diversional therapy’ in a sense.