Children helping children in tsunami clean-up

I spent yesterday on Manono Island, a small island wedged between Samoa’s main two islands and home to some 1,400 people. I was part of a UNICEF team looking particularly at education and health impacts of the tsunami, and accompanied by a volunteer interpreter from Red Cross.

The tsunami that struck Samoa on 29 September hit the southern coastline of Manono Island hard, affecting about 10 per cent of the island’s population, many of them children. Apart from destroying up to 40 homes and businesses, the tsunami also wiped out Lepuiai  Pre-school, leaving some 30 children aged 3-5 years of age stranded with no early childhood education.

All that remains of the one-room, two-teacher pre-school is a concrete pad, without walls or roof. The accompanying toilet block was washed away, leaving the toilet and its concrete floor balanced oddly on nearby rocks. In addition, the school’s 5,000 litre water tank was damaged.

Classes at the church-run pre-school have not run since the tsunami hit, although there are plans to set up a temporary learning space in the pastor’s house from next week. Children can’t return to school any earlier because the pastor’s house is still being used as a depot for relief supplies.

Principal Rebecca Mose told us that many of the children are still fearful of another tsunami, with some not wanting to return to school because of its proximity to the sea. There are plans to rebuild the pre-school, but finding the necessary funding is an issue.

When we visited, children of all ages from a church Sunday school group were pitching in to clear away debris from around the pre-school. They looked happy to be doing something positive and helpful. Even the youngest of children did their bit, sitting on the ground as they picked up little sticks and small pieces of rubble, putting them in woven baskets for disposal. Older children took care of the larger debris and with the principal, looked out for the safety of the littler ones.

UNICEF has available Recreation kits and Early Childhood Education kits to help children, such as those at Lepuiai Pre-school, get back to normalcy. The recreation materials provide children with options for fun and stimulating play, while the education kits include essential learning materials such as crayons, exercise books, and pencils. It will be good to see these young children back in pre-school where they can learn the social and intellectual skills that will form the basis for their future lives.

As we walked the dirt track that circles the island, we talked to families about how they were coping in the wake of the disaster. One mother told us that the tsunami had destroyed the family fishing canoe, meaning that they were no longer eating much fish, an important part of the local diet. Many of the surrounding banana trees had been destroyed, further affecting the family’s normal diet. Water is also an issue, with supplies of running water disrupted and many family water tanks destroyed. One large concrete water tank I saw had been pulled by the receding waves some nine metres closer to the sea, coming to rest at a crazy angle on top of a destroyed house.

Manono Island is relatively isolated, requiring a 50 minute car ride from the capital Apia, followed by a 30 minute boat ride. Fortunately my UNICEF team was able to catch a ride with a New Zealand Air Force helicopter that was ferrying NZ Defence Force personnel and equipment to and from the island. Our helipad on the island was the concrete pad of a small shop that had been destroyed by the force of the waves — the lino on the shop floor still clearly visible.

It was really good to see some other Kiwis and know that we are all working together to provide the relief assistance that is so badly needed here in Samoa. The NZ military for their part were doing a great job on Manono Island helping to restore the water supply, rebuild sea walls, and provide medical aid.

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