Villagers of Yasawa-ira have been assured by the Prime Minister that their plight will not go unnoticed.
The head of government is touring the Yasawa Group with government officials including military personnel to assess firsthand the damage inflicted by Tropical Cyclone Evan. As well, the Prime Minister is transporting immediate relief supplies to the Yasawas.
Speaking to villagers, Prime Minister Bainimarama urged them to have faith in the rehabilitation process that follows any disaster.
“You must understand that everyone has affected, even some government officers in Lautoka have their homes damaged. That is why we have teams from Suva helping out in the west,” PM Bainimarama said.
“You must cooperate with the assessment team because their work will determine the amount of assistance a village really need,” PM Bainimarama said.
During the visit the Prime Minister saw for himself the extent of damage sustained by the village which included roofs blown off houses and significant amount of debris littering the village.
Yasawa-ira village headman Mr Siotame Virivirisuva said the people of the village have been overwhelmed with the visit by the Prime Minister and other officials. Mr Virivirisuva also commended government officials for their immediate response following the tropical cyclone.
“On behalf of the people here, we really appreciated that the head of Government, the Prime Minister has taken time to come down himself to visit us and to see for himself the struggles that we are facing”, Mr Virivirisuva said in the i-Taukei language.
“We are so thankful for all the assistance that we’ve been given today and for all the assistance that will follow”, he said.
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