Samaritan’s Purse continues to help Haena and Wainiha residents with flood damaged homes and will be on island through July.
The international Christian relief organization arrived from Greensboro, N.C. All told, 262 volunteers have traveled to provide flood relief assistance to residents on the North Shore and other locations around the island.
”Wherever the need is, that’s where we go. It’s a long story how I ended up here and what led me to being here in Hawaii volunteering today. I’m retired, but now this is what I do,” said Michael Scales, site construction supervisor.
Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham traveled to Kauai to take a look for himself after the April flooding. Chaplains with the Billy Graham Evangelical Association came to Kauai as well to offer emotional and spiritual support.
Samaritan’s Purse volunteers have been doing mold treatment as well as drywall installation, drywall finishing, taping, and other construction work for residents.
Program manager Shannon Daley with Samaritan’s Purse said the organization expects to complete flood cleanup and repair work at 140 homes. So far, volunteers have worked 7,900 hours.
Scales said he started volunteering to help those in need when he went to Eagle, Alaska in response to an ice jam incident in 2009. Ice from a nearby river began to go onto land, resulting in overturning, moving, and smashing homes and anything in its path. It was just a matter of time before he joined Samaritan’s Purse to continue his journey helping those in need.
Scales also helped individuals who have lost their homes due to the flooding with SP by setting up tents provided by local Christian organizations in Haena. SP provided wood flooring and installed it inside of the tents.
Those provided with temporary housing included a single mother with two kids.
Scales said putting the tents together meant a lot, especially after one man said that for the first time in years, he was feeling a sense of hope.
Daley said a key part of Samaritan Purse’s goal is, “To be able to share with them, to see them move from a sense of so much stress to so much hope, to be able to rebuild their life. ”
Samaritan’s Purse has traveled and volunteered to help those in disaster-stricken areas in over 35 states.
Recently, SP has also responded to disasters internationally as well such as in Southern Guatemala where a volcanic eruption wreaked destruction in June.
Samaritan’s Purse is scheduled to be on Kauai until July 27 and its volunteers are staying at Hanalei Colony Resort.
Lanae Anakalea, her husband and two daughters live in Wainiha. Water rose several feet below their house next to a river, but did not flood their stilt home. But many of their possessions stored underneath the house floated away and much of the yard was covered with mud.
Anakalea said it could have been worse, considering that so many other people have lost so much. Overall she was concerned with getting a little bit of help and guidance as to what to do next to get the house back in order.
“They were really accommodating with our schedule, they kept in touch with us and they said they will come over to our house and do whatever they can to help,” she said. “And true to their word they came.”
She said their home was empty for nearly six weeks because of mold. SP did a mold treatment in the house and cleaned up their yard, too.
Anakalea was grateful for how easy it was to work with Samaritan’s Purse.
“They basically helped out to make our place livable again, and they told us what we needed to do to get the home back in shape,” she said. “They said they would come back if we needed more help.”
Samaritan’s Purse focuses on going to places where people are the most hard hit and in need of assistance and “proclaiming the hope of the Gospel.”
