Anglican church rose to the challenge of Cyclone Harold in Vanuatu

When Cyclone Harold struck Vanuatu in April 2020, many local church workers in Luganville on the island of (Espiritu) Santo also had their own homes damaged. It would have been understandable if they had devoted time to their own needs instead of travelling out to worse-affected communities. But they went.

The Anglican Church of Melanesia sent a ”needs assessment” team to the island of Pentecost and to the worst hit parts of Santo Island. The team noted extensive damage to food gardens and identified garden tools as a key need. ABM raised and sent $ 8,500 to help with the purchase and delivery of the tools.

The garden tools were distributed to 16 communities on Pentecost I and Santo slands. Local church councils then lent the tools to local families and, in some cases, dispatched teams of youths to assist vulnerable households with gardening. In all, ACOM estimated that more than 4,000 people benefited by having rehabilitated food gardens.

ABM salutes the selfless workers of the Anglican Church of Melanesia. And we thank those in Australia who contributed in a very practical way to the cyclone recovery efforts.