As well as destroying homes and community buildings, the Pacific tsunami of 2008 has forced the people of Satolo to relocate their village 300 metres inland.
About 300 people live in Satolo, with 200 of these part of the local parish of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa. No one was killed during the tsunami but homes and other property, including the church and church hall, were destroyed.
The risk of future tsunamis and the rising sea level mean the village must move further inland to higher ground and rebuild completely.
A vital focal point for the village is its community hall, a multipurpose facility that doubles as a community centre. As well as being a place of worship, it also gives meeting space for church groups, the village’s council of chiefs, public meetings and functions as a home for the church’s minister and family. The hall will also house a preschool centre.
The need for the hall is “absolutely critical and urgent,” says a project proposal from the Congregation Christian Church of Samoa, because of the central role it plays in creating village cohesion. At the moment, people traumatised by the tsunami are coping with very limited resources.
The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand is contributing $10,000 towards the cost of the hall, via our relief agency partner CWS, which has committed $40,000 toward the project.
The local congregation will fund labour costs, including the presence of a qualified builder, and hopes it will be completed within six months.
The project is being overseen by the CCCS’ Tsunami Committee, which is monitored by the Church’s General Secretary.
Nick Clarke, of the CWS International Programmes Team, says CWS will be disbursing its remaining Pacific tsunami disaster relief funds, along with the contribution from the Presbyterian Church and another from the Anglican Missions Board, between the Satolo project and a capacity-building project.
“Our joint support for these programmes will provide much needed help to communities in Samoa, as well as assistance for them to be better placed to respond to such emergencies in the future.”
CWS has been talking to the Samoan Council of Churches about how best to support the development of organisational capacity to respond to disasters. A proposed outline has been developed, with a workshop held at the end of April that also included the Pacific Conference of Churches, the Vanuatu Council of Churches and Samoa’s National Disaster Management Office. The idea is to determine who does what in the event of disaster and what gaps might exist.
The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand is also contributing $10,000 to this capacity-building project.
Nick says the workshop was a first step in a longer-term process. “It is hoped that a regional response to disaster management and risk reduction might be feasible.”
Assembly Executive Secretary the Rev Martin Baker says all the partners involved see the projects as being important for the long-term restoration and safety of those most directly affect by the tsunami.
“When CWS came to us with this proposal, we saw it as a great opportunity to not only affirm our solidarity and commitment to CCCS, a Church with which we share a long and important relationship, but also to work in partnership with our own Pacific Island Synod. Members of the Synod have been enormously generous in their support of relief efforts in Samoa.”
Both of the hall and capacity-building projects have been endorsed by the Pacific Island Synod.
“We can all get behind these projects and know that they are going to make a meaningful and lasting difference to the lives of our brothers and sisters in Samoa,” Martin says.
By Amanda Wells
If you want to contribute towards our global mission work, which includes projects like these, disaster relief and ongoing work in Vanuatu, Myanmar, North India and elsewhere, please contact brendan@presbyterian.org.nz or telephone (04) 801-6000. Donations can be sent to Global mission, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, PO Box 9049, Marion Square, Wellington 6141