On the 1st April 2020, a tropical low formed off the east coast of PNG and was classified as a tropical cyclone over Solomon Islands waters the next day. As tropical Cyclone Harold passed by Gaudalcanal Province it caused significant damage along the coastline to low-lying communities. In Honiara, strong winds damaged properties along the seafront and heavy rain flooded food crops planted along riverbanks.
One of the communities impacted by Cyclone Harold was Burns Creek, a Settlement in East Honiara where the Honiara Corps Officers reside. Burns Creek is a very vulnerable community with a history of social unrest and is a known hot spot for crime. When the community leaders from Burns Creek approached The Salvation Army for assistance, there was a feeling of helplessness and desperation driving their request. The community leaders were deeply concerned about food security and the potential for illegal activity to emerge out of concern for how their people were going to feed their families. This concern was exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 State of Public Emergency that shut down satellite markets around Honiara.
At the time of receiving this request, I was contacted by a colleague in Tasmania who was approached by a humanitarian organization called ‘The Obed Centre’ that had raised some money for Cyclone Harold victims. While discussing the potential allocation of these funds with The Salvation Army International Emergency Services (IES), I was made aware of the Rapid Response Grant that could also help with this request for assistance. After navigating the application process we were able to offer a substantial amount of relief to the Burns Creek leaders, which would support 790 families across 16 communities. Given the social concerns surrounding this crisis in Burns Creek, I approached the RSIPF National Crime Prevention Department (NCPD) and invited them to partner with us in the distribution of our disaster relief. This partnership provided very generous support with transportation through the use of two 3 tonne trucks and the opportunity for the RSIPF to conduct crime prevention talks alongside our SAES personnel.
Through the donation received from ‘The Obed Centre’, we were able to purchase 3,500 cassava stems from local farmers to help replace lost food crops. The funds from the IES Rapid Response Grant enabled us to purchase enough rice and tuna to feed the 790 families for three weeks while they replanted their gardens, with the generous support of Soltuna who donated 100 cartons of tuna and Solrice who donated two pallets of rice towards our relief strategy. Starting on Tuesday, 16th June, our SAES team, together with the NCPD, distributed a weekly allocation of rice and tuna to each community in Burns Creek for the three week period. The community response was quite overwhelming, with a number of very kind expressions of appreciation received by our team from grateful community leaders. The opportunity to work alongside the NCPD was a real blessing that built on the relationship we established with the RSIPF during the National General Election last year. This partnership had a real impact on those who normally see the police as the enemy in their law enforcement role. Instead, they saw them working alongside a church in a community service role that genuinely cared for their well-being.
This disaster relief program provided our SAES volunteers with another opportunity to demonstrate a practical expression of Christ’s love at a time of need. Our volunteers worked hard and enthusiastically engaged with this community in a way that has laid the foundation for future mission and ministry opportunities. In fact, during our last week of distribution, one community leader pointed out a section of his land saying he would like to build a church for The Salvation Army to commence services alongside his home. This practical expression of faith had a powerful impact on each community and church we visited in Burns Creek, as our assistance was given without discrimination or expectation of anything in return. We were simply happy to bless these people regardless of their church affiliation. Any future ministry that emerges will do so naturally and will be pursued in relationship with the other churches already active in Burns Creek.
We are very grateful to the IES for their funding, The Obed Centre for their donation, Solrice and Soltuna for their generous support and to the RSIPF for their partnership. I also want to acknowledge Envoy Wency Ramo’oroa for his liaison and coordination role with community leaders.
