How One Humanitarian Saved her Family and Neighbors From a Deadly Cyclone

A few weeks later, Marie was finally able to make that important call back home.

The good news was that everyone was fine. The even better news was that without even being there in person, Marie’s foresight had helped her family and neighbors survive.

“Whatever information I give to communities [in disaster preparation workshops] it also helped me for my family,” Marie says.

“When Tropical Cyclone Pam started, I told my little brother, ‘We don’t know how strong the cyclone is going to be, but you need to prepare.’”

On Marie’s advice, the family stockpiled food and firewood. It was lucky they did, because they soon had 30 mouths to feed.

“All our neighbors moved inside our house. Their houses were all destroyed, and they didn’t have any food. They lived there for two months while they rebuilt their houses,” she says. “With that information I saved my family and our neighbours’ lives.”

Marie’s job may require her to fly all over the country – the 2018 Ambae island volcano eruption kept her deployed for two months – but her village roots are still at the core of her humanitarian work.

“You feel for the people. People out there in remote communities, they don’t have much access to information or resources so when you have the opportunity, it’s time for you to give more to them. We give our best.”