Widowed mother-of-three, Emele Raega, is appealing to the public for back to school assistance after her children’s stationery were all destroyed during Tropical Cyclone Ana.

Ms Raega, of Waidradra Village in Navua, had to flee from their home with her daughters at 2am on Sunday after Cyclone Ana blew away the roof of their home.

They ran for shelter in the dark and in heavy rain, with their beddings about 20 metres to their uncle’s home where they spent the rest of the night.

“By Thursday we started packing our things in garbage bags because we didn’t know how strong the cyclone was going to be and if we were going to be affected,” Ms Raega said.

“After dinner on Saturday night we went to sleep at 8pm. On Sunday morning, one side of our roof got blown away and that’s when I knew we were facing the full brunt of the cyclone.

“I called my daughters to get up and take our beddings next door to their uncle’s home. Luckily, my nephew was awake and he opened the door for us to get in.”

By dawn the family home was completely destroyed by the category two cyclone, with all their belongings soaked in the rain.

Uncertain about how her family will recover from the devastation, Ms Raega was seen sitting among the ruins, thinking about the memories shared in their home when we visited her.

Her husband had died a year ago, leaving her with the responsibility of raising their three daughters alone.

When asked about what they will do next, she said: “I have no idea.

“After I took my daughters to their uncle’s house that night, I ran back to our home to gather our things and cover it with a tarpaulin. When I checked on it the next morning everything had been blown away by the strong winds and all wet.”

They will stay with relatives for now and take things one day at a time.

They have started patching up parts of their home with borrowed corrugated iron sheets.

Edited by Naisa Koroi 

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