Santa Isabel, Providencia…[Libna Stevens/IAD]
Soon after Hurricane Beta hit the tiny Caribbean island of Providencia, ripping the roofs off thousands of homes and shutting down the airport and all communications, the Adventist Church and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency [ADRA] moved into action to offer aid. The hurricane, which lashed at the Colombian-owned island with heavy winds stormy rains and high surf on Oct. 28, left 90% of the island’s wooden structures and homes damaged, the Colombian government reported.
Pastor Alejandro Veloza, president of the church in the Colombian Islands Mission, was in Providencia on church business when the storm hit. He said the two Adventist churches there were damaged extensively. He also said church members’ homes received damage, but reported no injuries.
Days later, Pastor Veloza traveled back to the nearby island of San Andres and contacted ADRA Colombia for assistance, and began organizing a group of church members in the purchasing and packaging of supplies.
Gabriel Villarreal, ADRA Colombia’s director, said that local and division funds were made available immediately for the purchase of the much needed supplies.
“The most needed supplies were food, mattresses, and bed sheets,” said Villarreal. “People’s homes were torn apart and flooded, so these items were purchased right away, and the assistance of the Colombian Military Forces was requested to transport the relief supplies through a vessel to the shutdown island,” he added.
Wally Amundson, ADRA director for Inter-America, who traveled just days after the storm with Villarreal to Providencia met with local leaders to organize church and community leaders there.
“The Adventist Church and ADRA arrived at the island ahead of any other NGOs [non-government organizations],” said Amundson.
Captain Ortiz, chief of operations for all military recovery efforts in the Colombian Islands, arrived in Providencia soon after Beta hit and spoke to community leaders and those affected by the Hurricane when ADRA’s shipment of relief supplies arrived on Nov. 5.
“It’s real important to work together as a team, not only now, but in the future, to build the community back to how it was,” said Captain Ortiz. He applauded the first-hand efforts of the Adventist Church and ADRA for aiding the people of Providencia.
“Once there, community leaders were gathered to organize the distribution of supplies,” said Amundson. “The people were so thankful that the Adventist Church responded so quickly to the needs that they had,” he added.
All in all, ADRA was able to provide mattresses and food bags to some 164 families, said Villarreal. Aboard the ship of relief supplies were 28 senior students from the Adventist school in San Andres who volunteered to help. They unloaded, distributed and helped clean up roads and beaches on the island during their five-day stay.
Villarreal explained that ADRA left an organized group of members trained for future disaster response.
Providencia is a small island located in the Caribbean Sea southwest of Colombia with a population of 5,000 people. There are 159 Seventh-day Adventists worshiping in two churches there.
