Vanuatu hit hard by Cyclone Pam

 

 Great need: Vanuatu communities are struggling to survive in the wake of devastating Cyclone Pam. - Photo Save the Children.

 Vanuatu is having to start again after entire villages have been demolished and dozens of people are feared dead following devastating Cyclone Pam considered the worst ever to hit the country.

Save the Children® is one aid organisation that has launched an emergency appeal to respond to the severe devastation caused by the cyclone in the Pacific Region.

“The next few hours and days are critical for children’s survival," says Nichola Krey, Save the Children’s Head of Humanitarian Response. 

It’s estimated 90 percent of all structures in Efate, one of the main islands, are either damaged or destroyed and food crops have been heavily hit. 

Thousands of people across the island nation are now homeless and living in evacuation centres.

We urgently need funds to help distribute: 

• equipment to provide clean water to communities
• emergency shelter kits for home repairs
• hygiene equipment to keep communities clean, safe and healthy
• essential household items including blankets and mattresses

We have teams of disaster experts on the ground working around the clock to set up and distribute supplies, but we urgently need funds to reach children and families facing this desperate situation.

The next few days will be critical as the scale of this emergency unfolds.

Please help children and their families by making a tax-deductible donation today.

We are calling on all New Zealanders to donate what they can.


Statement from Heather Hayden, chief executive officer, Save the Children

Go to: http://www.savethechildren.org.au/ to donate.