Samoa

Blog Post:  Posted November 4, 2009, 8:24 pm by Steve Mitchell

Honored to be back among a people I love

Country: Samoa

Topics: Emergencies

It had been 33 years since I had lived there. When I heard that an earthquake and resulting tsunami had struck the Samoa Islands on September 29, I was taken back to a time when I had lived among the Samoan people as a young missionary.

The Samoan people I knew were a friendly, open and culturally rich people with deep traditions of respect and honor. I was deeply concerned, and felt Mercy Corps could be of assistance.

With support from Mercy Corps’ generous donors and assistance from Western Union, I knew that we could do much to assist the traumatized and devastated communities along the southern and eastern coasts of Upolu and Manono, two of several Samoan islands hit hard by the earthquake and resulting tsunami.

Upon arriving in Samoa, and after a long drive from the capital city of Apia, my fellow Mercy Corps colleague Carol Ward and I arrived in the southeastern district of Aleipata in Upolu, one on the most severely affected areas. Relying upon my rusty Samoan language skills acquired so many years before, I spoke with a village chief doing repairs with members of his family on his badly-damaged home near the beach.

As I expressed deep condolences for his village’s losses, he immediately interrupted me to express his profound gratitude and deep appreciation to all the people of America and abroad for their support of food, water and shelter. He even wished the blessing of God upon us as we conducted our work. As he thanked Mercy Corps for being there, I could not help but think that the Samoan culture of courtesy and gratitude that I knew so many years ago persisted even in this time of deep suffering. Under the worst of circumstances, I felt honored to be among a people I had come to love so long ago.

As Carol and I travelled along the only road linking villages in the district, we had heard that the village of Lalomanu, further south, had been particularly hard hit. As we summited a small rise in the road, and looked out upon what was left of Lalomanu, I was utterly shocked at the devastation. This village, which I later learned had the most fatalities, was simply no more. The surging waters had wreaked utter destruction.

One family, encamped in a salvaged home with tarpaulin covers, said they needed more help to reestablish themselves, and that many of their fellow villagers had moved inland because of their fear of the ocean, a recurring topic of discussion with the affected Samoans we met with. One woman I met with, as she looked out to sea, said she was afraid, or “fefe” of the ocean. The look in her eyes clearly demonstrated this fact. Particularly heart-rending was learning that so many children has perished, being unable to escape the rushing waters. Flowers marked the places where loved ones were lost. Bedding, clothing, tools, household goods, toys and building debris were scattered everywhere.

A later meeting I had with the Deputy Minister of Finance, Noumea Simi, helped me to understand what the beleaguered Samoan government was confronted with in reestablishing whole new villages inland from the ocean for devastated costal communities. Since so many affected villagers were terrified of living near the shore, the Government had to build roads, bring in power and put in infrastructure for these new inland communities, all the while having to rebuild the heavily damaged coastal village infrastructure for those Samoans not wanting to move away from their traditional home sites.

The following day, we travelled with representatives of our partner agency, South Pacific Business Development (SPBD), to the island of Manono to assess the cash-for-work programme implemented the prior week by SPBD, and funded by Mercy Corps and Western Union. The cash-for-work programme pays each villager needed cash for documented hours of work, typically at the end of the week, to do clean up and reconstruction.

After a slow boat ride from the eastern coast of Upolu, we arrived near the villages of Faleu and Lepuia’i. No vehicles of any kind are to be found on Manono, as the island is too small and isolated from the larger islands. The Manono villages, like others in Samoa, are nestled right up against the waters edge, to take advantage of cool breezes that keep the mosquitoes at bay and ensure proximity to the abundant supply of food take from the reef.

The earthquakes’ two tsunami surges had flowed over the village seawalls and destroyed homes and eroded foundations. Upon our arrival, we noticed numerous men in the village placing rocks in severely eroded areas of Lepuia’i village that threatened a home and the village church. Further down the coast, we saw extensive repair work to the seawall protecting both villages. For the past week, under the cash-for-work programme, 51 men had done an amazing amount of restorative work to damaged seawalls and ground erosion.

Not only did major infrastructure repair work get done in these communities, but desperately needed cash was injected into their economies. Each worker earned 100 Samoa Tala, or about £24, for one week’s worth work, a significant amount of money where the per capita income is less than £600 per year.

I had the privilege, along with our party, or accepting the heartfelt thanks, or “fa’afetai lava” of the village workers and chiefs for this badly needed programme. They were truly amazed at the response of Mercy Corps and South Pacific Business Development to help their tiny island come back from this tragedy. Mercy Corps’ funding will help do more cash-for-work programming in Manono and the hardest hit areas of Upolu.

On the returning boat ride from Manono, as I looked out over the beautiful sea — the same sea that had caused so much pain and suffering to the wonderful Samoan people — I took great comfort knowing that the Samoan people were resilient and enduring, the same traits I recalled them having so many decades before.

Blog Post:  Posted October 27, 2009, 1:08 pm by Carol Ward

Cash-for-work begins in Samoan villages

Country: Samoa

Topics: Emergencies

We started our cash-for-work programme yesterday, alongside our partners from South Pacific Business Development (SPBD), in Samoan villages that were devastated by the recent tsunami. Local workers are earning a fair daily wage — which helps their families and puts money back into the economy — while helping to clear debris, restore and rebuild their homes and villages.

In Lepuiai — the village pictured above — they can use the rocks from the old sea walls, together with stone that is nearby, to help rebuild infrastructure. So that is not too bad.

The other village, Faleu, has a bit more work to do — they have to carry the stones down the hill from a quarry where other workers are busy pulling rocks from the hillside and breaking them. They know that their village depends on them to do a good job because this is cyclone season, and a storm could further erode the foundations of the houses that still stand and break the road running between the two villages.

Everyone is working so hard!

Blog Post:  Posted October 11, 2009, 6:36 am by Greg Casagrande

Delivering aid to Samoa's survivors

Country: Samoa

Topics: Emergencies, Economic Development, Displacement

It has been an unforgettable week. As a starter, let me share this photo of the formally picturesque village of Lalomanu where South Pacific Business Development (SPBD) once had 21 thriving micro-entrepreneurs. After the tsunami, Lalomanu is gone.

On Friday, we delivered aid packages to 102 stricken women in 15 different villages — including Lalomanu — across the southeast coast of Upolu in Samoa. They were all extremely delighted when we showed up at their various places of encampment.

We delivered these supplies 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 and spoons
• 24 liters of water
• A box of mosquito coils
• Ten boxes of matches
• Four toothbrushes, three tubes of toothpaste and soap
• A grant for ST £90 (about £36)

In total, this aid package was worth ST £240 per person (about £96). 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 — a 7.9-magnitude quake in Vanuatu. This led 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, SPBD carried out another large scale aid distribution. We visted another 13 villages that were 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 businesses or re-building their homes. We are putting in place emergency financing packages for each of our ladies to help them do this.

Thank you to those have already donated so generously to support our efforts. That’s it for now. Tofa soifua.

Blog Post:  Posted October 8, 2009, 8:44 pm by Carol Ward

The business of relief in Samoa

Country: Samoa

Topics: Emergencies

In order to bury and mourn those who died in the tsunami on September 29, today was designated a half-day national holiday by the Government of Western Samoa. This meant that the staff at South Pacific Business Development, our local partner, had a lot to do. In addition to their normal work of servicing the loans made to poor business women, they purchased items for relief packages and made the arrangements for distributing them tomorrow to women who were severely affected by the tsunami.

In the meantime, we have been working out the details of a public works programme that we hope to initiate — if we can find funding. We expect that temporary employment would reintroduce cash flows into beneficiary communities, help to revitalise local markets and restore basic economic functions. There will be an Early Recovery Coordination meeting tomorrow, where we hope to discuss our plans with other agencies like the Red Cross, to avoid duplication of efforts and harmonise details.

I went to the bank today to change money and found that the U.S. dollar has fallen against the Western Samoan Tala for the third day in a row. This will make all our programmes relatively more expensive. As this is an island where almost everything is imported, making things very pricey. I was shocked to find that a wheelbarrow costs about U.S. £150!

Right, I had better get back to helping people pack things up!

Blog Post:  Posted October 7, 2009, 11:55 am by Greg Casagrande

The challenges of post-tsunami Samoa

Country: Samoa

Topics: Emergencies, Displacement

Monday was a very long day. We visited with dozens and dozens of South Pacific Business Development Foundation (SPBD) ladies who have been severely impacted by the Samoan Tsunami. The stories they tell and their grief is extreme.

One SPBD member, Ruta Sao —who has a small taro plantation — tells of losing four of her children (ages: five months, two, four and five) when the wave hit. Each of their bodies has since been recovered and they will all be buried in the mass national funeral this Thursday. Ruta is now living high up on a mountainside under a tarp held up by four large sticks. She insists that she is not leaving.

In fact, there is a whole enclave of people from Ruta’s village of Saleapaga who have now moved up there. They all insist that they will never go back to Saleapaga. And after experiencing such terrifying tragedy who can blame them?

We will help her and the others rebuild new and safe homes on the hillside above Saleapaga.

The prime purpose for today’s activities was to individually assess each of the survivors' situations and determine how we can best assist them. People like Ruta are still grieving tremendously and perhaps what she needs most is time, and then some counselling and then some opportunity. We are good at providing economic opportunity. We hope to also link her and others with some charitable psychological counselling organisations that will be arriving on the island in the next couple of weeks.

The village next door to Saleapaga, Lalomanu, was also largely wiped out. Thanks to a nearby off-shore island which bore the brunt of the tsunami, some houses in Lalomanu were mercifully spared. We had organised a group of 21 of our micro-entrepreneurs with whom we work in Lalomanu and were gauging very specifically how each was impacted.

One of our members, whom we had assessed as having been entirely spared from disaster, then burst into sudden tears and she began to tell us all of a heartbreaking story of losing a grip on her mother’s arm as they were escaping the wave — her mother was carried out to the sea. Her mother, too, will be buried along with Ruta’s children this Thursday.

The point is — homes can be replaced and businesses can be re-launched. But people are truly precious. And for this reason, all of these ladies in this area have been terribly, deeply and personally affected and need our help.

SPBD is putting together aid packages to deliver to women who have now been literally scattered throughout Samoa. We have already delivered to most a prepaid cell phone so that we can keep in touch with them. Cash grants will be a big part of the package —these should go out later this week.

The logistical issues are significant; however, we have one of the best distribution systems in the entire country and so I am confident that we can pull it off.

Blog Post:  Posted October 7, 2009, 1:02 am by Carol Ward

Where her house once stood

Country: Samoa

Topics: Emergencies, Displacement

On September 29, a tsunami hit the southeast coast of Samoa. More than a hundred and forty people were killed — for a population of only 185,000 people, that is devastating.

Today I went out with our local partner, South Pacific Business Development (SPBD), to see how their microfinance clients had been affected. I was able to see how the impact of the wave has destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of people — ripping through the lightly-built homes, carrying their possessions away and smashing the fishing boats that were a means of earning income. Many people who earned their living from the tourist trade, by working in hotels or selling products to tourists, have been badly affected because three of the local beach resorts were in the most affected area.

In the village of Salesatele we met with Matelana, mother of five children, on the very spot where —just last week — her house stood. She and many of her neighbors fled for high ground to avoid the rushing waters, but returned to find almost everything they had worked so hard for had been destroyed.

Over the coming weeks, they will be trying to rebuild their homes and their livelihoods. We will be here to help them.