Durban - A Durban man is helping the people of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu recover from Cyclone Pam, which, according to international NGO, Oxfam, is one of the worst in history to hit the region.
Colin Collet van Rooyen, 53, Oxfam’s director in Vanuatu, described the cyclone which struck on Saturday as “devastating”.
The category five cyclone had wind speeds of more than 300km/h and destroyed most communication channels in the country, making it harder to do a proper assessment of the damage, he said on Sunday.
Many houses in the country which are made of wood and woven palm leaves have been hardest hit, with those made of bricks fairing better.
Van Rooyen said they were trying to get aerial views of the devastation but as things stood, it would take years for affected locals to recover.
“People here grow their own food and crop cycles have been destroyed.”
To help with recovery they are receiving emergency supplies from the government of Australia.
Van Rooyen has been in contact with his family via satellite phone to update them and assure them that he is fine.
The former lecturer at the then University of Natal said that despite the devastation, people were picking themselves up. “The sharing here is amazing. People are not clearing their own homes, but are going to help their neighbour.”
The humility and how people cared about each other reminded him of the spirit of ubuntu in South Africa, he said.
“People here are not materialistic. So far in my stay here I have not seen even one BMW,” he said, adding that he believed that the power of humility kept people together.
Vanuatuans are considered to be some of the happiest people in the world. In 2006, they were rated the happiest nation in the world, according to the Happy Planet Index by the New Economic Foundation. People use the Wantok system where those who speak the same language are instantly considered to be family.
Van Rooyen, who has been working in the country for the past six months, said he missed Durban. He said he had always had a passion for working with people and communities and while he was a lecturer he worked with Oxfam in South Africa as he had been doing research on HIV/Aids.
In 2004, he started to work for Oxfam full time.
He has worked for the organisation in East Timor and had longed to work in Vanuatu. And, when the opportunity arose, he took it with both hands, he said.
“People from South Africa have a lot to share with the world,” he said.
“South Africans understand active citizenship. We understand human rights and we come with a suitcase full of knowledge and skills.”
Daily News