aid

Visiting & Reaching Cyclone Ravaged Islands Through Trauma Healing Program

Visiting & Reaching Cyclone Ravaged Island in Fiji Through Trauma Healing Program

Corrugated Iron VS Coconut tree during Cyclone Harold’s Impact in Kadavu.
Bible Society Mission team after visiting Kadavu Island for 3 weeks in November, 2020.
After a Trauma Healing Workshop in Nukuvou, Nakasaleka, Kadavu (Fiji Islands).
Distributing Proclaimer Bibles in Kadavu, Fiji.

As the whole world closed its boarders and practiced social distancing, Fiji experienced one of the worst cyclones to hit the islands. Fijians flee to their islands due to corona virus and job losses from urban areas but were met by Cyclone Harold. It was a rude awakening for some as they interpreted the disaster as a punishment from God for their sins, but for Bible Society Fiji Mission, this was an opportune time to bring awareness of the WORD of GOD to them and also conduct Trauma Healing workshops.

The team visited Vatulele island in October 2020. The island is a flat archipelago 40mins away from Coral Coast, Sigatoka. Vatulele has one primary school and Methodism as the only Christian denomination.  It has four villages, Ekubu, Taunovo, Lomanikaya and Bouwaqa, with four teams conducting workshops and free distribution of scriptural materials. The islands main source of income, masi (tapa), was badly damaged from the cyclone.

In the same month of October, Beqa island was visited too. A little bigger than Vatulele, Beqa has eight villages and four schools (three primary schools & one secondary school). Three teams serviced the islands and visited its schools.

Mid November till the first week of December has the Mission team visiting the fourth largest island in Fiji, Kadavu. The island has seventy-five villages and the mission team was divided into five groups. Four teams travelled Kadavu while one team worked on Ono island. Teams spent twenty-four days teaching and ministering in Kadavu and was met with great reception from all the Christian churches on the island.

The teams main workshop were the Trauma Healing workshop and the Bible Society awareness session. They also conducted a number of workshops that is needed like the Translation workshop, the Sunday School Teachers training, the Hermeneutics seminar and staffs that were trained with YWAM, utilized the YWAM BELT material for kids when the need arise.

The trauma healing session was very helpful to most villagers as some carried a lot of hurt and trauma even before the cyclone. The practical exercise on drawing your trauma helped so many in expressing some of the hurt they’ve been carrying for years. Creating a safe space for everyone to speak in was new to most as tradition restricts certain people from public speaking. In some villages, the participatory way of learning challenges the culture of having a traditional spokesperson who speaks for the village.

The Translation workshop is an awareness session about translation work in Fiji and highlighting the Fijian New Version bible. In some places, most people still prefer the old version because they do not know much about the new version. So this prompt us to make awareness on the Fijian New Version bible and highlighting the slight changes on the translation as this will help make clear the gist of what the Word of God is.

Despite the closure of boarders around the whole world and social distancing becoming a new norm, Bible Society is in full swing with missions. People are hungry for the Word in this trying time.

As the year 2020 comes to an end, we are grateful for lessons learnt in visiting and seeing local communities and how they recuperate, months after Cyclone Harold. Even with their circumstances they were still willing to share their food and homes to our mission teams and this is where we can see God’s hands working in the lives of his people and how blessed we are, to do His will.

Special mention to our prayer partners and donors for the support throughout 2020 and we hope and pray that 2021 will allow us to reach those in need in the Pacific.

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Aid delivered to Nepal as second quake hits

Author: Grace Smith, 12 May 2015 (Last updated: 14 May 2015)
A second major earthquake recently struck Nepal, killing dozens of people and injuring more than 1,000, though these numbers are likely to rise.
The earthquake, which was 7.3 on the Richter scale, hit the town of Namche Bazaar, near Mount Everest.
It comes just two weeks after a previous earthquake hit the country, killing more than 8,000 people.
With widespread damage to homes and buildings, tremors continue to be felt both in Kathmandu and around the country.
Many temporary shelters have now been cut off and with most communication channels still down, it is hard to evaluate the full scale of destruction.
An early start to the monsoon is hampering relief efforts. The first earthquake destroyed sewers and pipes leaving water supplies contaminated. Whole communities are now homeless and in desperate need of basic supplies.
So far, some £80,000 has been pledged from Bible Societies around the world, including £20,000 from the UK.
The local team has started to put together aid packs that include mosquito nets, medicine, food, blankets and scripture portions.
David Smith, Head of Bible Society’s International Programme, said, ‘When we learned of the first massive earthquake in Nepal a couple of weeks ago, we knew that our Bible Society colleagues in Kathmandu would be looking to help their country, and so that we had to do something to support them.
‘Bible Society is responding to provide physical and spiritual nourishment to the people of Nepal. Now that the second earthquake has hit, we’re waiting to see what we can do to stand in solidarity with them. In the meantime, please pray.’
Nobody in the Bible Society team has been killed in the two earthquakes, but the building is badly damaged and there are fears of a third quake.
General Secretary of the Nepal Bible Society, Tej Jirel, said, ‘Many thanks for your continued efforts to help us and for your prayers. There has been lots of damage.’
Arun Sok Nhep, United Bible Society spokesman for South East Asia added, ‘Following the first earthquake, many International agencies on the ground are bringing emergency relief to Kathmandu and the worst affected locations. However, smaller remote communities remain out of reach.
‘Our response is one of solidarity and compassion. The initial quake hit with such impact, it is impossible to bring help to all affected. However, we aim to supplement and help where we can. Through a big network of churches throughout cities, towns and villages, we aim to reach those unattainable by emergency relief.’

Pray

  • for the safety of the Bible Society team in Nepal
  • that the relief effort would meet the needs of the people
  • that the Bible would play a part in restoring the nation
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