HOW TO DONATE

To make a tax deductible donation via APHEDA – Union Aid Abroad, call 1800888674 or  DONATE ONLINE by going to “Make a Donation” and specify Vanuatu Appeal under C “one off donations and appeals”. AWSA will arrange with APHEDA to send the money to the Sahrawi Red Crescent.

VANUATU SUPPORT OUR APPEAL

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA is holding an appeal to assist our local partners working with communities affected by Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu.

So far APHEDA has raised over $100,000 towards assisting the medium-term recovery effort to re-build homes and get access to clean water supplies at the household/community level. We will also be assisting households to re-establish crops and small scale food production.

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA’s Pacific Officer made the journey to Vanuatu in April to meet with partner organisations and see the impacts of Cyclone Pam on workers and communities. Read the report here: Vanuatu Report Back: Recovering from Cyclone Pam

Watch the MUA Video:

Cyclone Pam Appeal – Vanuatu from Maritime Union of Australia on Vimeo.

CYCLONE PAM

“Most of these people depend mainly on subsistence farming, so they lost most of their crops and some of them especially in rural areas … might lose income. So the priority is how they can resume back to their normal life and how they can sustain their life and maintain food security in those communities.” — Peter Korisa, Operations Manager, Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office.

On March 14, Cyclone Pam tore through Vanuatu causing widespread destruction displacing 70% of the population and destroying 90% of all buildings. One of the largest cyclones to ever hit the Pacific, Cyclone Pam has also displaced 45% of the population in Tuvalu and caused destruction in Kiribati and the Solomon Islands.

80% of Vanuatu’s population depend on agriculture and fisheries for their livelihoods. The cyclone has had a severe impact on these livelihoods:

• Root crops, which make up 80% of local food source and are the staple food, have been severely damaged.
• There has been total destruction of leafy vegetables (high in protein content).
• Extensive loss of planting materials and farming tools.
• Significant damage to fishing boats and implements (nets and engines).
• Small livestock – primarily pigs – will suffer a critical shortage of livestock feed (coconuts, grasses and shrubs).
• Extensive damage to coral reefs will impact on fisheries and acquaculture for up to 10 – 15 years.

Once the initial emergency has passed, farmers and fishers will need help to replant their gardens and orchards, replace their lost seed stocks, and re-establish aquaculture production.

Globally droughts, floods, storms or tsunamis cost agriculture $70 billion over 10 years between 2003-2013. Climate change will increase the frequency and severity of these events – with long-term impacts on people’s livelihoods.

Tax deductible donations can be made online at: apheda.org.au or call 1800888674.