WELLINGTON: Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior, carrying relief supplies for victims of Cyclone Pam, has been welcomed by chiefs in Vanuatu’s capital.Chiefs from Tanna, one of the worst affected islands, greeted the crew with custom dance at the Port Vila main wharf.
The vessel will leave later today for Tafea province, which is made up of Tanna, Futuna, Erromango, Aniwa and Aneityum in the south of Vanuatu. The World Bank has estimated the damage caused in the March cyclone will cost 447 million US dollars to repair.
The President of the South Sea Islanders group in Sydney, Emelda Davis, who is originally from Tanna, says the relief consignment is aimed at helping families in Tafea and to re-establish connections with relatives in Australia.
“Virtually everything is near brand new. A lot of the tarpaulins and the billboards, which can be used as tarpaulins, the blankets from Qantas, it is something to the value of around 700,000 (Australian) dollars, but that is including the shipping and the containers that were provided by Swire Shipping as sponsors. So it is a significant contribution.”
