Southern Baptist disaster relief work continues on American Samoa, nine weeks after an earthquake — measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale — struck the South Pacific island, triggering a deadly tsunami that killed 31 people, including six Southern Baptists. One Alabama Baptist couple are there helping.
Leon and Sarah White, members of First Baptist Church, Alabaster, in Shelby Baptist Association, are instant commanders for the North American Mission Board (NAMB) disaster relief work taking place. They arrived Nov. 15 for their first disaster relief trip outside the United States. Seven other Southern Baptist volunteers are assisting with water purification, chaplaincy and crisis intervention with high school students and children.
“Sarah and I are here to coordinate the work of the volunteers and do the administrative work,” Leon White said. “Currently, we are working with local Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster and government agencies planning for a rebuild effort that will begin after Jan. 1.”
Water purification has emerged as the key disaster relief ministry operation in American Samoa since the Sept. 29 tsunami, according to Bruce Poss, NAMB disaster relief coordinator.
As of mid-November, volunteers had purified more than 4,000 gallons of water in 17 out of 63 villages throughout the island, which is located about six hours south of Hawaii.
Natural water supplies in most locations on the island have been tainted, so authorities have urged Samoans to boil the water, Poss said. But villagers are unwilling to spend their limited money on propane fuel to boil water when they need it to cook food — making water purification vital.
He said Southern Baptists have another challenging mission in American Samoa which — with a population of 69,000 — is a United States territory.
While some American Samoans will qualify for recovery grants from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), because of the island’s relationship to the U.S., some will not.
American Samoa is made up of many different nationalities, said Randy Corn, a NAMB disaster relief worker who just returned from American Samoa. “Fifty percent of the island’s current population is expatriates, who do not qualify for any FEMA assistance.”
Still, according to Leon White, part of the FEMA stimulation package for American Samoa is to employ unemployed laborers on the island to help rebuild homes, and NAMB wants to put one Baptist volunteer to every three islanders on each construction team.
What can Southern Baptists do for the American Samoans devastated by the tsunami? According to the Whites, the best thing to do is give a monetary donation toward recovery efforts.
The Whites also encourage anyone with construction skills or experience who is interested in helping with the rebuild effort in American Samoa to volunteer.
The Whites, who are scheduled to return to the United States Dec. 15, said they will most likely return to help with the rebuild effort.
“There will be a (continued) SBC presence here, and as long as there are volunteers, we will need someone to coordinate that work,” Leon White said.
“The people have been very receptive to us,” Sarah White said. “Where there is no communication, we have felt from them appreciation. They’ve begun to recognize the yellow shirts our disaster relief workers wear.”
To donate to the relief efforts, send gifts marked for “Samoa Tsunami Relief” and make payable to the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, P.O. Box 11870, Montgomery, AL 36111-0870.
To find out about volunteer opportunities, contact Mel Johnson at the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions at 1-800-264-1225, Ext. 389. (BP, TAB)
Share with others: