Pablo Rabakewa is a Columban Companion in Mission in Fiji and former Columban Lay Missionary in Chile. He tells of a recent visit to the cyclone devastated village of Veidrala.
At the 2016 annual gathering for the Columban Companions in Mission (CCIM) in Fiji, it was decided to make a pastoral visit to the village of Veidrala, which had been destroyed ten months previously by Cyclone Winston. This category five cyclone brought the strongest winds ever recorded in Fiji and the Pacific Basin. At the time of the visit, many of the families in the village were still living in makeshift shacks of scrap wood and corrugated iron, in tents and under tarpaulins.
Veidrala is an isolated village on the northeast of Fiji’s main island, Vitilevu. It is a community of around 100 families making their living through farming coconuts and from fishing. Despite their isolation, over the years Veidrala has provided many excellent athletes, rugby and netball players.
There is no road into Veidrala from the highway. This means that the village children have to walk out to the highway every Sunday afternoon to catch a bus to the boarding school they attend during weekdays. They return home on Friday afternoons.
Villagers traditionally make their living selling coconut and marine produce at low prices to middle men who visit the village every Wednesday. These middle men then sell this produce at double the price in the large towns.
Our Columban outreach to the Veidrala villagers took place from December 4 -10, 2016. Fifteen Columban Companions in Mission from the towns of Ba, Labasa and the capital Suva, including several former Columban Lay Missionaries, took part in this outreach. These were accompanied by two Fijian Columban priests, Frs William Lee and Iowane Gukibau.
In order to arrive at Veidrala, we had to travel two and a half hours by bus from Suva, then take a 45 minute boat ride. At a gathering of the villagers we presented our traditional Fijian gifts, introduced ourselves and explained the purpose of our visit.
Our purpose was to spend time with the villagers, do house visitation and participate in the daily routine of “talanoa”, which is the Fijian custom of storytelling. Story telling is a traditional part of Fijian culture and allows the participants to engage with post traumatic situations such as the experience of surviving Cyclone Winston and be able to express built-up emotions such as fear and sorrow. It also helps to develop hope for the future.
Former Columban Lay Missionaries facilitated the different “talanoa” sessions on topics such as 'Trauma and Timeline', 'Community Empowerment' and a special session for the village children. The children’s session started with a creation story, followed by a song and then the children acted out their stories during and after the cyclone. Former Lay Missionary Vaulina Sakulu is a professional teacher. She gathered the responses of the children and helped turn them into a song.
During the daytime, the Columban team accompanied the villagers as they worked on their small farms or went fishing with them in the nearby sea. Important story telling sessions occurred during house visitations in the evenings when the Columban team gathered with families around the “tanoa”, the large wooden bowl from which the traditional Fijian drink of Yagona is ritually served.
What are the ongoing problems of the Veidrala villagers ten months after the cyclone? Most families are still living in poor makeshift housing. They have not been able to rebuild their homes. Coconut products are the major source of income for the villagers. All the coconut trees were destroyed in the cyclone and have not recovered. New coconut plants are urgently needed. Parents are worried that they will not be able to pay the school fees for their children during the 2017 school year. 
During our outreach, the Eucharist was celebrated, Communion brought to the sick who were then anointed. While we accompanied the villagers, as they sought to recover from this natural disaster, through listening to them and spending time with them, we also spent time in prayer with them, asking that God would give them strength, insight and hope to rebuild their lives.
Our Columban outreach to the villagers of Veidrala was a powerful experience for all of us who participated. We were touched by the strong spirit of the people of Veidrala, as they gathered in true Fijian style in community, to rebuild their lives, organize and plan for a better future. We felt privileged to have accompanied the villagers as they work for that future. It was truly a blessing from God for all of us who participated.
Pablo Rabakewa is a Columban Companion in Fiji.
Read more from The Far East, March 2017