Vanuatu Cyclone Pam Recovery Project -
Paama Island
Cyclone Pam hits Vanuatu !
On Friday 13th March, cyclone Pam caused major damage & devastation across Vanuatu.
Pacific Pathways have been working on Paama Island and while we were there the children from Luvil Primary School wrote their story about that day.
“ .. at 2 o’clock the cyclone hit Lulep. We went inside the classroom. When the roof was blown away by the cyclone, we ran to the church and we were very frightened., we sang songs and prayed. …. In the morning we looked outside we saw all the fallen trees and damaged houses, we were very sad all our things were damaged ….now I am happy because our new classroom has been rebuilt with the help of Pacific Pathways and kiwiana volunteers thank you very much for helping our community”
Pacific Pathways have been helping the schools and kindy’s in Vanuatu since 2013.
We returned to Vanuatu in May 2015 to help with the recovery and rebuild after cyclone Pam.
We recognised that the smaller and remote islands need help and support.
We have focused our help on the Island of Paama in the Malampa Province.
"Tank yu tumas" ( Thank you very much)
for rebuilding Luvil Primary School, & Kindy
Paama Island
Background and Rationale about this project
Luvil School lost it's roof, all the furniture and resources where destroyed
You may not be aware but on the 19th February the small island of Paama Island had a 6.6 earthquake, followed by a tsunami that caused major damage to the coastal road cutting off the airport at Tavie (north) from the main town of Liro. The island was then hit by cyclone Pam that caused major damage and devastation across the island.
PAAMA ISLAND -
Report from the NDMO 18th March 2015
- All the ECCE (Early Childhood & Care Education) centres (Preschools/Kindy’s) are damaged and need to be rebuilt.
- All the schools suffered damage, most were minor except Luvil School, Lulep.
This school is totally damaged, lost its roof and all furniture & resources, it needs to be rebuilt.
PAAMA ISLAND -
Report from the NDMO 18th March 2015
- WASH - all water is contaminated and unsafe to drink
- SHELTER - 50 % of houses destroyed / 50 % houses damaged
- LIVELIHOODS - Most crops on the island have been damaged by the Earthquake and TC Pam.
Direct observation is that many fruit crops that are a source of food have been damaged and are deemed inconsumable.
All ground crops have been damaged from both natural disasters the community rely on stock from the previous harvest season.
About a month prior to the Cyclone there has been no shipping services to supply non perishable goods. Items such as rice, sugar and other basic non‐perishable foods are no longer in stock.
It is approximated that the current food stock will only last for the next few days. - SCHOOLS AND KINDY'S ( Bislama word for preschools)
- All the ECCE (Early Childhood & Care Education) centres (Preschools/Kindy’s) are damaged and need to be rebuilt.
- All the schools suffered damage, most were minor except Luvil School, Lulep.
This school is totally damaged, lost its roof and all furniture & resources, it needs to be rebuilt.
The temporary classrooms for the school and kindy classes. Tarpaulins supplied by AusAid
|
With the roof gone, so all the furniture and resources were damaged
|
Paama Island
Pamma Island in the province of Malampa.
The island is about 8 km from north to south and only 5 km at its widest point. The island is dominated by hills, rising to a height of around 550 m in the north. Today the island's population rests at around 1,600 with the vast majority dwelling on the west coast of the island.
The majority of people living on Paama live in villages close to the coast of the island and make their gardens on the hillsides nearby. Agricultural produce is by and large for subsistence although some is exported for sale in Port Vila (Vanuatu's capital on Efate) and Luganville (on Espiritu Santo). However cyclone Pam damaged the crops, so they have been relying o food aid packages while they replant their crops.
Pacific Pathways visited Paama Island in June 2015, to assess the damage caused by cyclone Pam and to see what repairs and help was needed. We identified that our first project would be to help the remote community of Lulep to rebuild Luvil Primary School and Kindy, completed January 2016. We have since completed the rebuilding of kindy's at: Liro, Vauleli and Luli.
The island is about 8 km from north to south and only 5 km at its widest point. The island is dominated by hills, rising to a height of around 550 m in the north. Today the island's population rests at around 1,600 with the vast majority dwelling on the west coast of the island.
The majority of people living on Paama live in villages close to the coast of the island and make their gardens on the hillsides nearby. Agricultural produce is by and large for subsistence although some is exported for sale in Port Vila (Vanuatu's capital on Efate) and Luganville (on Espiritu Santo). However cyclone Pam damaged the crops, so they have been relying o food aid packages while they replant their crops.
Pacific Pathways visited Paama Island in June 2015, to assess the damage caused by cyclone Pam and to see what repairs and help was needed. We identified that our first project would be to help the remote community of Lulep to rebuild Luvil Primary School and Kindy, completed January 2016. We have since completed the rebuilding of kindy's at: Liro, Vauleli and Luli.
Recovery Project 1 : Lulep
Rebuild Luvil Primary School and Kindy
Lulep is an isolated village of approx. 185 people on the east coast of Paama Island. All the houses were damaged, only 3 remained standing and sheltered several families. The rest of the village went to the school for shelter, but as the storm struck the roof began to lift off, so everyone was moved to the church nearby. They stayed in the church for 1 month while families rebuilt their houses so they could then return home. Their crops and fruit trees were destroyed, so they have been forced to rely on food aid packages of : rice, tinned tuna and 3 minute noodles. They have spent the past 6 months replanting crops which are now ready to harvest. They have had no fruit, but the day we left we enjoyed our first pawpaw (papaya)
Luvil Schhol and kindy rebuild
The project went extremely well as we had the full support of the community, each day we had a group of 8 men helping us. We were also joined by friends from NZ who came to help so a big thank you to John & Josie Mill (Christchurch), Pete Davies (Christchurch) & Dean Jackson (Wellington). With two lucky days we were able to get all the building materials and tools to Lulep.
The Luvil Primary school, a double classroom, office & library and the kindy are now completed.The new structures are stronger - using NZ treated pine framing, cyclone strapping through out and roofing iron donated by Stratco NZ. The kindy - the cladding is treated NZ plywood to give it strength & bracing, with a feature of the bamboo weave by a local craftsman, the colours were chosen by the kindy committee : green, red, yellow.
Luvil Schhol and kindy rebuild
The project went extremely well as we had the full support of the community, each day we had a group of 8 men helping us. We were also joined by friends from NZ who came to help so a big thank you to John & Josie Mill (Christchurch), Pete Davies (Christchurch) & Dean Jackson (Wellington). With two lucky days we were able to get all the building materials and tools to Lulep.
The Luvil Primary school, a double classroom, office & library and the kindy are now completed.The new structures are stronger - using NZ treated pine framing, cyclone strapping through out and roofing iron donated by Stratco NZ. The kindy - the cladding is treated NZ plywood to give it strength & bracing, with a feature of the bamboo weave by a local craftsman, the colours were chosen by the kindy committee : green, red, yellow.
Luvil Primary School rebuild completed
|
Luvil Kindy
|
The pikinini on the first day at the new kindy
|
The road is impassable, the building materials had to come by boat -
After cyclone Pam the road from Liro to Lulep was impassable, the only access was on foot, a steep track to the ridge and down the other side, 1 ½ hr without carrying anything. The community was not fazed by this they are resilient and accepting, this is how it is for them! It seemed this was the only way to move the building materials and tools unless you get a 'lucky' day. On the east coast the waves are large and dump on the beach, it is not possible to land a boat, but on a lucky day the waves are smaller. We had two 'lucky' days in two months which gave us the opportunity to move the building materials and tools by boat from Liro to Lulep. It took 6 trips each day by boat, but as the boat could not land, everything had to be transferred to the local outrigger canoe to be taken to shore, counting the waves the canoe landed and was quickly pulled up the rocky beach. A skilled they have developed and perfected, truly amazing!
The concrete slab for the kindy was made using a tarpaulin as the mixer !
So how do you make concrete for the foundation when there is no road access, no power and no concrete. You use manpower but in the case of Lulep you use ‘community’ power. Everyone was involved—papa’s, mama’s, pikini (children), everyone came to help. Sand was collected from the dry river bed old rice sacks by the mama’s & pikinini. The men worked with the cement, sand and water mixing it in a tarpaulin. It was truly amazing.
|
|
Life in Lulep
We have just spent 2 months in Lulep working on the first of our cyclone Pam rebuild projects. We stayed in a local house and cooked on an open fire, we took a lot of supplies so we were not dependent on the community to supply us with food.
As the crops began to harvest the community shared the harvest with us, we enjoyed freshly picked vegetables daily - kumara, pumpkin, bok choy, carrots, tomatoes, beans, snake beans and even lettuce. We also enjoyed local meals prepared by the families which was a great way to learn more about their way of life. Meals were predominantly vegetables and chicken for a special occasion. There is no power on Paama Island, our lighting was a solar light that had been donated by Aus Aid. |
|
Paama Island Cyclone Recovery Projects - 2016
Pacific Pathways is committed to helping the people of Paama Island to help them recover from the devastation caused by cyclone Pam.
In 2016 we will be working on the rebuilding of 3 kindys at the villages of : Liro , Vauleli (west coast) & luli ( east coast)
Pacific Pathways would like to thank — Rotary NZWCS, Rotary AWCS, MFATNZ and the Craig Trembath Trust & SURF Community Trust for their support for these projects.
In 2016 we will be working on the rebuilding of 3 kindys at the villages of : Liro , Vauleli (west coast) & luli ( east coast)
Pacific Pathways would like to thank — Rotary NZWCS, Rotary AWCS, MFATNZ and the Craig Trembath Trust & SURF Community Trust for their support for these projects.
