The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) announced an initial grant of $20,000 in relief funds for the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu after Cyclone Pam caused massive destruction on March 13.
According to a March 24 report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, about 75,000 people are in need of shelter and 110,000 people do not have access to safe drinking water. An estimated 166,600 people have been affected by the cyclone-more than half the country’s population.
PWRDF’s grant will be channelled to Vanuatu through Action by Churches Together (ACT) Alliance, an ecumenical grouping of 125 churches and agencies, which has members on the ground in the area and has launched an appeal for US$638,300.
Initial assessments from the Vanuatu government’s national disaster management office identified immediate needs for clean water, food, personal hygiene supplies, medicine and medical supplies, building materials for shelters and farming tools to help restore agricultural activities and food security.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the cyclone was one of the most powerful storms to ever make land fall in the Pacific and was comparable in intensity to Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines in November 2013.
To donate to PWRDF’s Vanuatu response:
Designate your online donation for “Vanuatu Response.”
By Phone
For credit card donations, contact:
Jennifer Brown, 416-924-9192 ext. 355; 1-866-308-7973
Please do not send your credit card number by email or fax.
By Mail
Please make cheques payable to “PWRDF” and mark them for “Vanuatu” and send them to:
The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund
The Anglican Church of Canada
80 Hayden St.
Toronto, ON M4Y 3G2
(Editor’s Note: A correction has been made to the caption. The cyclone hit Vanuatu on March 13, not March 30.)