The hurricane "seroja" that struck Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia, on April 4, 2021, destroyed buildings and the surrounding environment and left deep trauma for the people.
The situation prompted the Catholic Women of the Republic of Indonesia (WKRI) of the Atambua Diocese to organize a special event in Bolan, Indonesia, on February 19 to aid those affected by the Seroja hurricane.
Father Ino Nahak Berek, who served as an adviser to the WKRI group, explained that this event aimed to "treat psychological wounds caused by trauma and provide humanitarian assistance for the victims' recovery."
In his statement, Father Berek said that the primary beneficiaries of this assistance are children, adolescents, and the elderly.
The humanitarian effort was launched with a joint Eucharistic celebration at the disaster site.
The priest believes that the assistance provided helped open the hearts and minds of those at the disaster site to the magnitude of God's goodness in trying times.
“Suffering inevitably results in blessings. This is a faith-based event that demonstrates that God never abandons the faithful,” said Father Berek.
He added that "in difficult situations, God demonstrates excellent love. Behind the suffering, there are abundant blessings."
The priest says that the Atambua Diocese's WRKI helped the survivor's community because they care about people.
"This action is a manifestation of God's grace," he said.
Elizabeth Botha, one of the WKRI's mental wounds facilitators, emphasized the importance of the Atambua Diocese's WKRI in providing strength and hope to the victims of the stormy Seroja disaster.
The chair of the Atambua Diocese's WKRI Presidium, Agustina Asa, said that she hoped the WKRI's help for victims of the post-cyclone Seroja treatment would be good.
Asa said, being at the disaster site can rekindle enthusiasm and hope for a lifetime of self-development as the long journey must be viewed as a blessing to be grateful for.
Assistive activities have been set up for several places that Storm Seroja directly hit since April 2021.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
Latest News
