Hurricane Igor brought a fierce tropical storm to many parts of Newfoundland in late September, dumping rain, washing out bridges, damaging homes and stranding residents of the remote Bonavista Peninsula. A CRWRC Rapid Response Team made up of members of CRC congregations from the eastern provinces reacted quickly, providing volunteers, housing, and meals. Additional teams completed the work on October 25.
Beth DeGraff of CRWRC writes, "CRWRC Disaster Response Services (DRS), working with Samaritan’s Purse, Christian Disaster Relief, Mennonite Disaster Services, and other organizations, helped provide more than 200 daily volunteers during the month of October. The workers cleaned-up, mucked-out, sanitized and repaired 120 homes in Catalina, a town of 4,000 residents."
“The conditions and culture in the communities we engaged with are unlike anywhere else in Canada,” states Brent Davis of Samaritan’s Purse Canada. “The needs are still great in Catalina, but the resolve of the church community and residents has been inspiring….{We} are standing in the gap to bring aid to these families at the point of their need.”
CRWRC regional manager Tony DeWeerd says that volunteers who assisted with clean up and repair in Catalina were mainly from congregations in the CRC’s Classis Eastern Canada. CRC members from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island were recruited by Dick Van Oord, CRWRC area manager from Fredericton, NB.
*** I take the liberty of speaking on behalf of all Newfoundlanders - From the bottom of our hearts. Thank-you! ***
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