Cyclone Lola Appeal

.....silence.

That's the sound of the world's media after Vanuatu was bludgeoned by its 3rd category 5 cyclone in 8 years - and the 3rd category 4+ cyclone in 2023 alone. TC Lola ransacked Vanuatu's northern islands on 24th October 2023, ripping up the temporary shelters people had constructed following Cyclones Kevin and Judy earlier this year, and backtracking further on progress made since Harold in 2020. It is estimated that on Pentecost Island alone, over 4,000 buildings have been destroyed - leaving an estimated 20,000 people homeless. Add in the rest of the affected islands, and that number becomes 180,000.

Worse still, many fresh water supplies have been destroyed or contaminated, meaning that people in many areas are without safe drinking water. There are fears this may lead to disease outbreaks.

Farms and gardens have also been wiped out, the food rotting in the ground as we speak. Banana plants and fruit trees that were finally ready to produce fruit again after a heavy strimming by the previous cyclones have once again been hacked back to the stems. It will take another 6 months before people can enjoy the first tastes of fruit again. The government and other aid agencies are sending rice and tinned meat, but lack of fresh produce could soon become a chronic health issue.

What's more, cyclone season is only just beginning; and ensuring people have adequate shelter for what's still to come is a very real emergency.

We have been approached by several community organisations on Pentecost who are in desperate need - of so many things, but of shelter and clean water most urgently. So for the next 6 weeks, spanning the run up to Christmas and New Year, we will be collecting donations to help these groups. Anything raised will go directly into bulk orders via our reputable suppliers, and will be distributed directly by the community organisations.

Just to give you an indication of how far your penny can go:

• iron roofing sheet - £8
• pack of 250 cyclone screws - £100
• 30m roll of cyclone strapping - £40
• pipes for water tank - £20
• 40sqm tarpaulin - £65

Thank you so much for reading this far. If you are able to donate, we can only thank you from an even deeper place in our hearts. If you are not able to, we completely understand - but would you please consider sharing this campaign? (Getting the Facebook algorithms on site for this is no small part of the challenge.)

Please help us to help the 20,000.