Cyclone Pam

On Saturday, March 7^th all the trainees went into Vila for an interview. While we were there, all of the volunteers were coming in from their islands because of Cyclone Pam. They were being called in so early because it takes a couple of days for some of them to get into Vila. Us, trainees were a little worried but didn’t really know what was going on. We left Vila on Saturday back to our training villages. On Sunday, we received a text message that we are on a stand still. Which means we were not aloud to leave our villages, go in the water, or in a boat. Then, Monday night we got the call telling us we will be evacuated on Tuesday, March 10^th to the Holiday Inn in Vila. On Tuesday, all 30 trainees traveled to Vila. We were met with all the other volunteers at the Holiday Inn. This is very unusual to have all volunteers (65 of us) in place. It was overwhelming meeting people who you have stalked their Facebook.

We spent two nights there and it was a crazy two-night/ three-day stay. We had training kinds of. We were evacuated then not evacuated. We had packed all of our stuff and were ready within one hour. It was a crazy roller coaster. Then has the cyclone was projected to hit Vila straight on, they sent the trainers home and we were told we are going to ride this out here at the Holiday Inn. It seemed the right thing to do. Then everything changed the next day, Thursday, March 12th.  We got a call that we were evacuating to Sydney, Australia. We had two hours to get ready. So it was another emotional roller coaster ride. But we did it. We were all ready and left the hotel in two hours. We got to the airport and we had to wait for all of our visas to come through. We got to the airport around 1 and did not leave until about 5:30.

The plane ride was great because we were the only passengers. So everyone was up and talking. We moved around in seats to talk with different people. There were so many emotions. Everyone was feeling different. It was hard to figure out how everyone was feeling. But I still think it was neat to be on a plane with only people that you knew.

We arrived in Sydney, Australia Thursday night around 11. I was exhausted. Once, I got to the hotel, I crashed. Friday morning we had a meeting. It was said that the cyclone was changing its path. So that was hard to hear because it meant that we shouldn’t have left. However, a few hours later the cyclone shifted back and hit Vila and many other islands straight on Friday night. While we were here safe in Sydney, our family and friends were in Vanuatu during a category 5 cyclone. It was very hard to swallow how to feel about that. Its like we abandoned them. We left when it got scary. We left when it was dangerous. There is a lot of guilt that comes with that. We were all dealing with it in different ways.

So with the Cyclone, many islands lost houses, gardens, trees, and buildings. Most of the damage starts with the Sheppard Islands, which is right above Efate (main island) and works it way south. However the last island Aneityum did not have much damage. Most of the northern islands were not touched or had very little damage. This is the saving grace for Peace Corps because we are able to continue to serve on those islands. There are some sites that will be closed for the time being until it is safe and the basic needs meet the Peace Corps standards. There is another big city on the island of Santo. This is where the trainees will finish their training.

My site unfortunately was hit pretty hard but praise God that no one on my island died. The images of the school are very hard to see. Four out of the eight classrooms are destroyed plus the library. My house was not destroyed but many of the houses were. All the gardens were destroyed, so food will be hard to get for a little while. I am not sure what the water situation is there. However, my hope is that I will be able to return as soon as possible. If I do not return right away, I am hoping to return at some point during my service. My goal right now is to finish training and swear (April 16^th) in and become a Peace Corps Volunteer. Everything else will fall into place.

Our new swear in date is April 16^th. We cannot wait!!!

Please continue to pray.