Salvationists respond to volcano eruption in Papua New Guinea

Nearly 10,000 people have been made refugees by a volcanic eruption on Manam Island, Papua New Guinea. The eruption began in October but, as it became more violent it was thought necessary to evacuate the entire island. This has happened in the past two weeks and the islanders are now housed in camps away from the endangered area. Salvation Army personnel are offering a variety of services to meet the emergency needs of the affected families.

Papua New Guinea Salvation Army officers Captain Bernard Kila and Captain Ikupu, supported by a team of Salvationist emergency service workers, are managing Pottsdam Camp, which is home to more than 1,500 refugees. Conditions are critical as workers try to provide food, shelter and counselling to families who were forced to leave everything they owned.

The logistics of this disaster are further complicated by the urgent need for mosquito netting and other means to protect the displaced people from the threat of malaria. Lieut-Colonel James Condon, Chief Secretary of The Salvation Army's Papua New Guinea Territory, explains that Manam Island itself is malaria free but its inhabitants – who have no natural resistance to the disease – have been evacuated to a swampy region of the north coast of Papua New Guinea where malaria is an ever-present threat. Authorities are becoming increasingly alarmed as refugees are already beginning to be diagnosed with malaria.