'The Village was Like a Sea' - Cyclone Winston, Koro Island // Documentary

Summary

The video script documents a relief mission to the island of Coro, Fiji, following the devastating impact of Cyclone Winston. Volunteers, after an 11-hour ferry journey, distribute donations of clothes, household items, and food across 13 communities. The script highlights the scale of destruction, the resilience of the villagers, and the rebuilding efforts. It also recounts the emotional journey of reconnecting with the community and the significance of the support received from the British Army and Rotary.

Takeaways

• 🚤 The team arrived on Coro after an 11-hour ferry crossing from Suva with a truckload of supplies.
• 📦 They carried 55 boxes filled with clothes, household items, and food rations intended for distribution across 13 communities.
• 🌀 The script recounts the experience of Cyclone Winston, highlighting the destruction and the community's resilience.
• 🏠 It mentions the tragic loss of life in Nirvana Village, where an elder's house collapsed during the cyclone.
• 📞 The team struggled to make contact with the leadership on the island for 36 hours due to no phone signal.
• 📞 A call finally came through to a working phone in Nirvana Village, allowing communication with the outside world.
• 🎥 The use of a drone provided aerial footage of the communities and their rebuilding process post-cyclone.
• 🏘️ The script describes the extensive damage to the villages, including the destruction of the Soviet Church in Namba Soviet.
• 🛣️ The team faced challenges such as a truck getting stuck on Coro Hill, which was resolved with the help of locals.
• 🏫 The script emphasizes the impact on education, with schools like Bonivas School suffering significant damage.
• 🙏 Personal stories from villagers express gratitude for the aid received and the community's determination to rebuild.
• 🌍 The script conveys a message of global support, with donations from the British Army and Rotary playing a crucial role in relief efforts.

Q & A

What was the purpose of the 11-hour ferry crossing from Suva to Coro?

The purpose was to transport 55 boxes of clothes, household items, and food rations to distribute across all 13 communities on Coro Island.

How many villages were planned to be visited during the relief distribution?

There were plans to visit 13 villages on Coro Island.

What significant event occurred in Nevanga Village during Cyclone Winston?

The first person passed away in Nevanga Village when their house collapsed during the storm.

How long did it take for the leadership team to make contact after Cyclone Winston?

It took 36 hours to make contact with the leadership team on the island after the cyclone.

What was the method of communication that finally worked to reach the leadership team?

A phone call finally went through to a single working phone in Nevanga Village.

What was the impact of Cyclone Winston on the schools in Cora?

Cyclone Winston caused significant destruction to the schools, including tearing down the vanilla kindergarten classroom at Bonivas School.

What was the role of the British Army and Rotary in the relief efforts?

The British Army and Rotary contributed donations and resources that were distributed across the villages on Coro Island.

How did the villagers of Cora respond to the destruction caused by the cyclone?

The villagers showed resilience, focusing on rebuilding and survival, and were grateful for the donations and support received.

What challenges did the team face while trying to distribute the donations?

The team faced challenges such as a struggling truck on Coro Hill, which required manual pushing and pulling to continue their journey.

What was the significance of the drone footage in the script?

The drone footage provided an aerial view of the communities, showing the scale of destruction and the progress of the rebuilding process.

What was the emotional impact of the cyclone on the volunteers and villagers?

The cyclone caused significant emotional distress, with stories of loss and devastation, but also highlighted the closeness and support between the volunteers and the community.

Outlines

00:00

🚚 Arrival and Aid Distribution in Coro

The script describes the arrival on the island of Coro after an 11-hour ferry ride from Suva, with a truck loaded with 55 boxes of clothes, household items, and food rations. The goal is to distribute these supplies across 13 communities. The team recounts the experience of Cyclone Winston, highlighting the community hall's collapse and the tragic death of an elder in Nirvana Village. The script also details the efforts to establish contact with the leadership team after 36 hours without phone signal, and the successful communication through a single working phone. The aid is donated by the British Army and Rotary, and the team continues their journey, capturing aerial footage with a drone to assess the rebuilding process.

05:01

🤝 Building Connections and Delivering Aid in Tavora Village

The script moves on to Tavora Village, where the team aims to make new connections and deliver donation boxes to families. The impact of Cyclone Winston is evident in the destruction of both nature and community buildings, including the Soviet Church. The team faces a challenge when their truck struggles to climb Coro Hill, but with the help of locals, they manage to push it over. The script emphasizes the importance of determination and community spirit in overcoming obstacles, and the team's appreciation for the support received.

10:14

🌪️ Cyclone Winston's Aftermath and Community Resilience

The script recounts the personal experiences of the villagers in Nabuna and Vatulele, who faced the devastating effects of Cyclone Winston. The cyclone swept away belongings and disrupted lives, but the community found solace in the survival of the coconut trees. The team visits Bonivas School, which was severely damaged, and emphasizes the importance of supporting the next generation of Fiji through aid and donations. Personal stories of loss and resilience are shared, highlighting the community's strength and the importance of life over material possessions.

15:25

🏡 Returning to Affected Villages and Continuing Support

The team revisits villages affected by Cyclone Winston, including Nasau, Matavekai, and Sina Village, where they had previously volunteered. They express gratitude for the community's support during the cyclone and the subsequent relief efforts. The script describes the villagers' relocation to higher ground and the ongoing rebuilding of schools and community centers. The team also acknowledges the challenges of weather and terrain during their journey, but remains committed to providing support and aid.

20:41

🏁 Final Village Visit and Gratitude for Support

The script concludes with a visit to Mundu Village, the final stop, where the remaining donation boxes are unloaded. The team expresses their heartfelt thanks to the British Army and Rotary Fiji for their contributions, and to the volunteers and supporters who made the distribution trip possible. They look forward to future visits and reiterate the importance of the community's resilience and the ongoing need for support in the aftermath of Cyclone Winston.

Keywords

💡Cyclone Winston

Cyclone Winston was a powerful tropical cyclone that struck Fiji in 2016, causing widespread destruction. In the video, it is the central event that led to the relief efforts depicted. The script mentions the cyclone's impact on various villages, such as the destruction of houses and schools, and the community's struggle to rebuild.

💡Relief Efforts

Relief efforts refer to the actions taken to provide assistance and resources to those affected by a disaster. The video script details a mission to distribute clothes, household items, and food rations to 13 communities affected by Cyclone Winston, illustrating the ongoing support and aid being delivered to the affected areas.

💡Community

A community is a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. The script frequently mentions the community, emphasizing the collective impact of the cyclone and the communal efforts in recovery, such as the villagers'团结 and support for each other during and after the disaster.

💡Distribute

To distribute means to give out or share something among a number of recipients. In the context of the video, the term is used to describe the process of delivering donations and supplies to the affected villages, which is a key part of the relief efforts.

💡Villages

Villages are small human settlements smaller than a town. The script mentions several villages by name, such as Nirvana Village and Tavora Village, indicating the specific locations that were impacted by the cyclone and are receiving aid.

💡Donations

Donations are contributions given without the expectation of payment or return. The script discusses donations from the British Army and Rotary, which are being used to provide essential items to the cyclone-affected communities, highlighting the role of philanthropy in disaster relief.

💡Rebuild Process

The rebuild process refers to the activities and steps taken to reconstruct and restore an area after a disaster. The video script describes the scale of destruction and the challenges faced in rebuilding communities, such as the damage to housing and schools, and the efforts to revive normalcy.

💡Drone

A drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle. In the script, a drone is used to capture aerial footage of the affected communities, providing a broader perspective on the extent of the cyclone's damage and the progress of rebuilding efforts.

💡Survival

Survival refers to the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, especially in spite of difficult conditions. The script includes personal accounts of individuals' experiences during the cyclone, emphasizing the struggle for survival and the resilience of the people in the face of disaster.

💡Volunteers

Volunteers are people who offer to undertake a service of their own free will, typically for the public good, without payment. The script mentions volunteers from Think Pacific who are actively involved in the relief and rebuild efforts, demonstrating the importance of voluntary work in community recovery.

💡Fiji

Fiji is an island country in the South Pacific. The script is set in Fiji and focuses on the impact of Cyclone Winston on the country's communities and the subsequent relief and rebuilding efforts, showcasing the national response to a natural disaster.

Highlights

Arrival on Coro after an 11-hour ferry crossing with 55 boxes of aid supplies.

Aim to distribute aid across 13 communities affected by Cyclone Winston.

The community hall and many houses were destroyed during the cyclone's peak intensity.

First contact with the leadership team on the island after 36 hours of no communication.

Donations from the British Army and Rotary enabled aid distribution.

Use of a drone to capture aerial footage of the rebuilding process in the villages.

Tavora Village, a new community for the Think Pacific team, symbolizes making new friends and family.

The scale of destruction from Cyclone Winston, including uprooted trees and damaged community buildings.

Challenges of rebuilding, especially in terms of community housing and infrastructure.

Struggling to get the truck up the Coro hill, demonstrating the 'Fiji way' of problem-solving.

The importance of the coconut trees for survival during the cyclone.

Impact of Cyclone Winston on schools, including the destruction of the vanilla kindergarten classroom.

Personal stories of survival and loss from the cyclone, emphasizing the value of life over material possessions.

The strong community spirit and resilience in the face of disaster.

Return to Vatilla Village, significant to the Think Pacific team, and the ongoing relief and rebuild efforts.

Weather challenges during the distribution trip, including rain and cloud.

Visit to Sinovia Village and the relocation efforts of the community away from the coast.

Final stop at Mundu Village, unloading the last of the donation boxes and expressing gratitude to donors.

Transcripts

[Music]

all right

[Music]

so we've just arrived on coro after the

11 hour ferry crossing from suva

um we're loaded up in the truck here 50

yard 55 boxes

um of clothes household items some food

rations uh the aim being today to

distribute across all 13 communities

here on coro so we're going to head down

the island starting candy side

um all being well 13 villages we'll be

back at the ferry tonight ready to head

back across

naka

[Music]

um

only two house left and all of those

house

here in the cyclone coming they go in

this house

some of us is in the seats and the kids

going down

some of us in the community hall

and the community hall going down and uh

nine or

nine nine o'clock to ten o'clock

on that morning cyclone becoming the

strongest and a lot of

people in the village which is going to

save our lives

up there okay

okay um

so second stop um is nirvana village

nevanga village at the time of winston

um was perhaps most notable for the fact

that this was sadly where the first

person passed away

uh during the storm itself news of the

death here of an elder whose house

collapsed on top broke very early within

the cyclone um

and obviously caused a huge amount of

upset both in nevada and across the

island

um for us nevanga will always be the

place where we finally

spoke with our leadership team here on

the island after 36 hours

of trying to make contact with no phone

signal uh you know

trying radio stations media outlets um

provincial offices government workers

finally a cool rang through a call rang

through to the village behind me

the only phone working on coro we

managed to get word down

to to our leaders um in tour to a

village in the volunteer team and semi

uh took a four-hour walk the next day uh

four-hour walk to a phone call

a phone call that one was one of the

biggest moments um i think certainly

for myself i think civic for the

families for the friends

um you know once we knew um for certain

that that everyone was was safe and well

um obviously with the community back in

into a tour um so it's great to be able

to come and give a small offering

um today uh thanks obviously to the

donations from the british army and

rotary

and we'll continue our journey round

coro kind of next stop

tavua village naka

um

[Music]

uh callum's going to launch the drone an

opportunity to get some aerial footage

scenario shots of the communities

um just have a look at the kind of how

the village is starting their rebuild

process

from above

[Music]

[Applause]

hey

so third stop um today is tavora village

a chance

in many ways to make new friends and new

family think pacific haven't yet

had a team living and staying within

tavor um but

you know one of the one of the blessings

that things such as winston bring is

reaching out to new family and new

friends so it's fantastic to be here

today

to see these little ones um let them see

a drone and some footage but also of

course deliver the donation boxes

for the kids and for the family members

[Music]

[Music]

so here in number soviet number sobe the

the chiefy village

um for the vawa to keena here on cora uh

something that strikes me

about the cyclone on any visit is just

the scale

look at the scale of the destruction and

the impact of it um kind of behind me

can see

that the tree roots of what was once a

huge tree on the seashore

um entirely uprooted and put down

by tropical cyclone winston and then as

you kind of slowly

go through the village um it was not

just kind of trees and nature itself

but of course the community housing and

you may think oh well

some of the the weaker structures may

struggle um but obviously

in the background there you can see the

soviet church

which was once the largest and most

proud of the community buildings here in

namba soviet

um and in itself obviously almost

entirely destroyed

so the scale of the destruction but also

of course the challenge of the rebuild

really does hit you so clearly and so

starkly every time

you have the the opportunity to come and

see the villagers

um here on cora and of course across

fiji

okay quick update uh we've hit the coro

hill

um it's a hill obviously climbing nice

and up and high before you head down

towards vatilele

and our truck is struggling um so we're

on about take

15 at the moment we've tried pushing

we're looking at pulling we've got the

camera out

he's gunning for it fingers crossed on

this one

[Music]

[Music]

next plan move all of the weight or some

of the weight to the back of the truck

um and then we reckon we might be in as

you can see the sweat is beading

after a couple of days of rain and wind

it's now belting hot so i'm working up a

good sweat

all in the name of getting up and over

the corro hill good times

not good

we're up as you can see we're up we made

it

um and proof again that you can have all

the best kind of technology in the world

what we really need is some graphs of

determination

and some very kind lads bouncing on the

back of the truck and shoving it up a

hill uh it proves once again

the fiji way is often the very best way

thank you very much fellas

really appreciate mate

thanks cheers

[Music]

around the village it's almost like a

sea

this you can see what this

was it was everywhere it swept away all

the

our belongings and all the goods that

make us

survive was swept away we are fortunate

enough that

the coconut were falling from the

fall from the during the cyclone the

place that make us so we

drink and we eat the flesh we want to

say thank you very much for your

attention

it's okay so just leaving uh naboona

village nambuna village you just

go to vatulele where our six month team

uh spent a huge amount of time we came

to know nabuna through the community

rugby

and community netball fixtures which

were as competitive as they always are

in the communities it's nice to come

back

see the guys today they were also the

guys very kindly helping us

get our truck up and over the hill um

and of course they were able to give us

uh a brief discussion there and an

interview there on kind of the impact of

winston and their

relief and rebuild efforts here in the

village

so i'm standing um at bonivas school and

in particular i'm standing within what

was

the vanilla kindergarten classroom

behind

and in the carnivore and you can see

again examples of the destruction

uh winston did not just tear down and

rip apart communities but also the

schools across the island of cora

so in terms of future aid future

donations every single penny that's

being donated

by so many so far away i please do know

that it's spent

in the most worthwhile cause and that

causes the next generation of fiji

and providing them the best possible

opportunities for their future

banaca we're learning to survive in hard

way

and uh i would like to take his time to

thank

the three pacific they came to our

rescue

they brought they bri he brought clothes

and

all the things that we need the first uh

wind that came it was like from 10

o'clock

it blew my the roof of my kitchen off

to me it was a new house i saw there's a

bit of sunshine that came maybe it was

the

eye of a cyclone to me that is the first

time i've experienced

that and then i was just like on that

building standing there

and i saw my clothes like all coming up

in the wind

and those clothes was all in my drawer

and all of a sudden i saw all my walls

like

flowing away and i was like crying like

hell i was really crying and crying and

i knew all the things that i've owned

all my possessions all my belongings are

gone

i have nothing left it was just me and i

said okay

even if i have nothing here i knew

the gift that i have which is the life

that i have is still here with me

we were looking outside and we were

worried

what will happen in coral the wind was

so strong

we came up here the people were so

worried about their houses their things

their their families it

we never know that this will happen no

house and all

but fiji is stronger than mister

that's all thank you we're just leaving

from vatilla village

uh vatilla was home to our six month

team last year for 11 weeks

um so obviously a massive part of the

think pacific family both on cora and

fiji as a whole so it's been fantastic

to come back

and obviously give the donation boxes to

the village there's also two

returning volunteers in amongst the

village at the moment louisiana helping

out in the school and i think seeing

volunteers return

returning to their fijian homes and fg

and families is a testament to the

relationships that stand

and never has that been more true and

more important than post-tropical

cyclone winston

[Music]

wow

hey

[Music]

oh

[Music]

uh

i mean you're filming but

okay so it's quarter past one uh we're

pretty much halfway around cara now uh

just heading back down the other side of

corro hill towards two or two to the

village where our team were

obviously when cyclone winston hit um so

obviously looking forward to getting in

there

donating out the food rations and

obviously donation boxes from the

british army as well

uh

[Music]

hello

[Music]

okay

[Music]

[Laughter]

[Music]

[Music]

so we're back here to a village um where

our volunteer team

went obviously tropical cyclone winston

winston hit so the team themselves

in the hills and the houses around was

where they took shelter with the village

members

uh and it's been you know a real joy and

a blessing to come back and offer

gestures of support to the community and

to the villagers

during the kind of relief and rebuild

process gestures made possible through

the nations of

the team their families but of course of

the wider of course the wider think

pacific family

and each time we come back it's a chance

to offer a small gesture

back to the community for their love

kindness and affection for our

volunteers both

on the day itself and the days

immediately afterwards when

the community's first thought uh when so

much destruction devastation around them

was to look after our team and make sure

that our team were cared for

and our team were fed and it was the

most humbling story to hear from the

volunteers that the day after the

cyclone

was one of in many ways the closest they

ever felt on project to the community

um so as we said to have trucks to have

donations to have gifts to have people

um

funding towards the think stuff

foundation so that we can come back and

support torture and support cora

means the absolute world

so it's fair to say that the weather has

taken a turn for the worst

during our corridor nations trip um

leaving nassau we've been met with some

pretty good cloud and rain uh so as we

unload the next few there might be some

wet slips and slides as we go

but a bit of rain doesn't doesn't make

any difference obviously everyone enjoys

the four seasons

within a day look at charlie the drain

coach

women's two kids

[Music]

so we just did a quick drop in the rain

and the rain at the matavekai

and made our way down to sinova village

um the

old original village you can see in the

background behind me

down the bottom but the community have

already started

relocating themselves onto the hillside

just out the back of the truck here

obviously the sense of moving up moving

away uh from the coast

on my left as well if we were to pan

around although weather won't quite

allow us

i can't imagine is galley vacuum bath

school which has been the scene of many

sporting a moment and youth and sports

um events for think pacific with the

inter-school island competitions

uh so it's good to be back um galley

back in power were here a couple weeks

ago

and of course to come and see cinderella

villagers and drop off the donation

boxes

[Music]

okay we made it as far as nakandu um

with the condi school in the condo

village just behind me

this was the home of our september 2015

team

who spent 10 very fun filled weeks

living within the village

and obviously it's taken a hit like so

many of the others today

um we're just walking through the

village then to find tarani down at the

creek

the community we're still in washington

splashing which i know the team will

remember well

um and the school itself is is reviving

as well it's great to see the kind of

posters up the banners up they've done a

great drugs awareness week that was part

of a national program

uh some sort of routine is coming back

so the boxes

are there the community's gonna the

tranny's gonna take them into the

village and we're gonna head to our

final village of mundu before heading

back to the ferry

[Music]

so we're here mundu village our final

stop today uh we've just unloaded the

final boxes

before we make our way around the coast

and back to the ferry uh just wanted to

say a massive nakavaca levu to all those

donating

to the british army who sent over the

containers and to rotary fiji

for making it possible for us to

distribute these items across the

villages

um it's always uh kind of lovely for us

and important for us to come back and

see our friends and family on coro

we look forward to coming back again um

but as i said to all those

donating and supporting huge winakka

vaca levu and of course to abby charlie

and mr drummond behind the camera who've

made today both worthwhile

and fun a huge thanks banana guys

you