Earthquake & Tsunami Relief
It has been an unforgettable week. As a starter, let me share this photo of the formally picturesque village of Lalomanu where SPBD once had 21 thriving micro-entrepreneurs.
Today we delivered aid packages to 102 stricken women in 15 different villages across the South East Coast of Upolu in Samoa (including in Lalomanu). They were all extremely delighted when we showed up at their various places of encampment.
We delivered to each lady a 20 pound sack of rice, 24 cans of fish, a large bushknife, a bucket in which they can store water for washing, cooking and bathing, a wash basin, plates, cups, spoons, 24 liters of water, a box of mosquito coils, 10 boxes of matches, four toothbrushes, three tubes of tooth paste, soap, and ST$150. In total this aid package was worth about ST$400 per person (or about US$160). That is more than the average monthly income for an underprivileged family in Samoa. And so these women were quite pleased when we arrived.
The village of Saleapaga, where SBPD worked with 14 successful micro-entrepreneurs, appears to be relocating and the government of Samoa appears to be supportive. While many of our ladies are living in quickly assembled homes of loose pieces of timber, tarps and mats, the government is at work trying to extend power lines to the area. Hopefully eventually water and sanitation will also be brought to this area. For now, these families are very much out in the wilderness and so we are pleased to be able to lend a hand.
Earlier this week there was another massive earthquake in the region. (7.9 in Vanuatu). This lead to a tsunami warning which required the entire nation of Samoa to evacuate to higher ground. It was a fairly extraordinary experience watching (and participating in) the evacuation of the city of Apia. Fortunately another tsunami did not show up but it did provide an opportunity to ensure that the tsunami alert system and the responses are appropriate. On the unfortunate side, a few brave souls decided that this warning was the last straw and that they too have now decided to permanently move uphill into the bush.
On Saturday, Oct 10 SPBD will carry out another large scale aid distribution. We'll be visiting another 13 villages that have been severely impacted. Next week we plan to start working with some of the more eager women to see if they are ready to start re-launching their micro business or re-building their home. We are putting in place emergency financing packages for each of our ladies to help them do this.
Thank you to the well over 100 folks who have already donated so generously to support our efforts. That's it for now. Tofa soifua.
