World Renew Joins in Cyclone Pam Response
A boy called Samuel kicks a ball as his father Phillip searches through the ruins of their home which was destroyed by Cyclone Pam in Port Vila.
REUTERS/Dave Hunt/Pool
World Renew has joined other relief and development organizations in responding to Cyclone Pam, which killed 12 people and left thousands of people homeless on the island nation of Vanuatu.
Vanuatu is home to about 267,000 people and is spread over 65 islands.
The storm, which touched ground on Friday, March 13, destroyed 90 percent of the buildings in the capital city of Port Vila. It flattened large swatches of the entire Pacific archipelago.
The winds of Cyclone Pam reached 300 km/hour in strength, comparable to those of Typhoon Haiyan which devastated parts of the Philippines in November 2013.
It is by far the worst disaster to have ever hit Vanuatu. Homes, schools and clinics have all been destroyed. Since 80 percent of the population makes their living as farmers, the economy of Vanuatu is also in jeopardy as crops and fields were completely washed away.
“World Renew is part of several church-based alliances that enable us to respond quickly and effectively when disasters strike,” explained Ken Little, World Renew Senior Program Manager.
“Even though we don’t have staff on the ground in Vanuatu, we have connections to reputable organizations which do. Through them, we plan to provide assistance to those most in need.”
Through the Integral Alliance, World Renew will be channeling funds to its partners in order to meet the needs of people on Vanuatu.
Richard Tatwin, a member of the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu, said the poorest people were worst affected, according to a news story sent out by the World Communion of Reformed Churches, of which the Christian Reformed Church is a founding member.
“Shelter is the biggest need at the moment, plus, depending on the situation of each family if it’s a low income earner, food too, as well,” Tatwin says. “And clothing, if all the clothes have been blown away by the wind, by the cyclone.”
The WCRC’s Partnership Fund has sent emergency money to help in the recovery efforts.
Donate online to World Renew. 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
