Ma’s Story

Picking up the pieces after Cyclone Winston

For ‘Ma’ and her family, Cyclone Winston hit with force and without warning, lifting the roof off of their home as they were preparing dinner.

The village of Rakiraki lies on the eastern side of Viti Levu in the Ba Province, three hour’s drive from Nadi. Around 350 families live in this village, spread throughout 100 households near the coastline. Most families either work in town, the nearby sugar mill, or as fishermen and cane farmers/cutters.

Marica Naduva (or ‘Ma’ as she is known) has lived in Rakiraki all her life. She lives with her family just down the road from The Salvation Army Rakiraki Corps, which opened earlier this year.

On the night of Saturday 20 February, Ma and her two girls were outside their house preparing dinner when the winds began to build. Her daughter Oni described what happened next.

“I was bringing the pot with food in it into the house. But as soon as I came to the doorstep, the first tin of the corrugated iron blew off the roof. And I spilled the pot, actually I threw it behind me in fear as we ran for cover.”

Oni and her sister ran to a neighbouring house. Ma and her husband stayed behind to secure their home, but it was a losing battle. The cyclone winds tore the walls off of their house and scattered their possessions throughout the village.

Ma tells of the horrifying experience of that night, with tears in her eyes at the thought of her family in danger. She was also resigned to the devastation the cyclone would cause.

“We knew, due of the intensity of the cyclone, our house would be blown away and there was nothing we could do about it.

In the morning Ma and her husband set out to look for their daughters at a neighbouring property, who told of a sleepless night cowering under the floor of the house.

When the family returned to their house, they were devastated by the mess. Glass was scattered amongst the debris from the broken windows and almost everything was torn apart, with parts of the house lying nearby while other whole sections had been blown away hundreds of metres. Oni remembers how emotional she felt when she saw the carnage.

‘My stationery, books and everything else was destroyed, there was nothing there for us. I felt really depressed.’

After scavenging what possessions they could, Ma began looking for nearby timber and other materials to start rebuilding. They enlisted the help of the nearby Salvation Army Rakiraki Corps, who were busy providing support to the many people affected by the cyclone.

In addition to providing short-term support for the family with food, water and household items, the Army was able to supply Ma with much-needed corrugated iron to rebuild their walls and roof. Three weeks after the cyclone, their home was rebuilt.

Six months later, Ma says she is incredibly grateful to The Salvation Army for their timely intervention.

“If the Army hadn’t come in and helped, I don’t know if we would have a roof on top of our heads. We’re really glad with the help they provided.”

Ma says that she has never before experienced a cyclone with such intensity, and was shocked by the devastation it caused. She thanks God her family was kept safe during the ordeal.

And six months later, when Oni is asked how she is feeling, she puts on a beautiful big smile and says, in English, ‘good’.