Four years after Cyclone Pam flattened Tanna Island in Vanuatu, the community has celebrated the re-opening and blessing of the church which was rebuilt thanks to the many generous benefactors who donated to the SVD AUS Province special appeal.

Tanna Island was one of the hardest hit areas in the March 2015 cyclone, leaving about 90 per cent of people without houses. All the trees were bent and stripped of leaves and the local church had its roof blown off.

Iato Olivier Noclam was born in Tanna, Vanuatu and grew up in a traditional village where life was simple and neither Jesus, or Christianity, were ever mentioned. Today, Olivier is a Divine Word Missionary in Alice Springs, where he is immersing himself in the language and culture of the Arrernte people and reaching out to those in need, especially prisoners in jail.

“I grew up in a very simple and traditional village known as Lamnatu, where life depended very much on what land provided. We were all related and everybody knew each other. Life was simple, there was lack of finance, but everyone had a piece of land and grew what was necessary to live,” he says.