Vimal’s Story

A community getting back on its feet

When Cyclone Winston hit Rakiraki, The Salvation Army’s Rakiraki Corps was spurred into action – helping the community rebuild their shattered homes and lives.

Lieutenant Poni Bacaivalu is the Corps Officer at The Salvation Army’s newly formed Rakiraki Corps, where he has been based since the start of the year. Located in the Ra Province, Rakiraki was one of the regions hardest-hit by Cyclone Winston.

When the cyclone hit, it came without warning for many Fijians. Many in the community, such as Poni and his family, had never encountered anything the size and power of Winston before.

One of the thousands of Fijians affected by Winston was Vimal Prakash, who lives with his mother in Volase, a Fijian-Indian settlement outside of Rakiraki. On one of Poni’s many visits to the settlement, he sits down with Vimal to hear him recount his story of the night of the cyclone.

'When the cyclone struck our roof was blown away, so my mother and I ran for cover in another room. But as we went into that room, the roof collapsed on us, so we hid in the lounge.'

Shortly after a large tree in the yard outside was blown down, smashing the window and spraying them with glass. All they could do was huddle together and wait for the winds to pass.

Vimal says that in the morning, they woke to a ruined house. 'Everything was wet, leaving us with nothing usable. It was like a big vacuum sucking everything out of the house - all our clothes were blown away, so we had to go looking for them.'

Vimal worried about how they could begin to rebuild their lives.

'It had taken us a long time to build what we had, but in a matter of minutes it was gone. I didn’t know where to start.'

A few days later, Vimal walked to Rakiraki to seek help. On the way he passed The Salvation Army’s Rakiraki Corps, so he went inside. There he spoke with both Poni and Major David Bennett, who had just flown in from New Zealand to help oversee the relief efforts. Major Bennett promised help, and Vimal left to walk back to his settlement.

Soon a truck, driven by Poni and laden with building materials, arrived at his house. The Army provided him and others in his settlement with corrugated iron, tarpaulins, timber, hammers and nails - everything needed to repair his home. Vimal speaks of his gratitude for this timely help.

'I didn’t really know much about The Salvation Army before Winston hit, but with all the help they provided I now see how important they are to our community. They were able to respond straight away when we needed help the most.'

In the following months, he formed a special bond with Poni as they worked together to rebuild the settlement.

'He’s always checking up on us, asking "how are you, how is progress" – he’s a people person and we enjoy his company.'

For Poni it has been especially rewarding to help rebuild the relationship between the Fijian and Fiji-Indian communities, as the two sides haven’t always gotten along.

'The day the cyclone hit, there was no planning, just reacting – things had to be done urgently so we did it. I thank God that I’m part of the Army and was able to help people like Vimal.'