Salina Red Cross volunteer aids Samoan recovery

By GARY DEMUTH, Salina Journal

When Steve Ade flew to American Samoa last month, he expected the worst.

By the time the Salina resident left the South Pacific island three weeks later, he had seen the best of humanity.

Ade, a volunteer for the North Central Kansas Chapter of the American Red Cross, flew to Samoa a couple of days after an 8.0 magnitude earthquake Sept. 29 triggered a towering tsunami in the Pacific Ocean that caused massive destruction to the island.

"I was called on the 30th and was there by (Oct. 1)," said Ade, who retired from the Salina Fire Department five years ago.

When he arrived on the island, Ade was shocked at what he saw.

"Things were still pretty rough when I got there," he said. "The power was out to the majority of the island and there was no potable water. There were quite a number of folks who were homeless."

Ade spent three weeks in Samoa as deputy mass care administrator for the American Red Cross. During recovery efforts, Ade found the Samoan people had a strength, resiliency and graciousness in the face of disaster that impressed and moved him.

"They were really thankful we came to help them," Ade said. "And they wanted to help us as much as we wanted to help them."

American Samoa is a U.S. territory with about 60,000 residents, according to a New York Times report, and many of these residents were busy getting ready for work or preparing their children for school when the early morning earthquake and tsunami struck.

Soon after the devastation occurred, President Barack Obama declared the island a disaster area and ordered federal aid to supplement recovery efforts.

The American Red Cross was part of the relief effort, and when Ade was called to assist, he didn't hesitate.

"I'm part of the leadership team that's on call for whatever month is designated to us," he said. "I'd done a lot of disaster relief in the U.S. for floods and California wildfires, but I'd never been overseas before."

Although Ade knew he'd be overseas for three weeks or more, he accepted the assignment without hesitation.

"It's important to help out in your own community, but the Red Cross has to be there for everyone," he said. "To me, Salina or Samoa are both the same."

Once in American Samoa, Ade saw that it didn't matter if a village was on level ground or high in the mountains. If the earthquake didn't destroy a particular village, then the seismic sea waves of the tsunami did the job.

"It was double devastation," Ade said.

When Ade arrived he found 17 Red Cross shelters had been set up, the largest of which housed about 200 displaced villagers. About 80 Red Cross volunteers had flown in from throughout the U.S. to assist in the recovery.

Ade said he was the only volunteer there from Kansas.

As deputy mass care administrator, it was Ade's job to direct a team of volunteers to help the displaced population find safe shelter, nutritious food and other items deemed necessary for recovery such as clothing.

It wasn't always easy to get vital recovery items to places that needed it most, Ade said.

"There was just one main road that skirted the island, and there was debris along a lot of it," he said. "The military helped out a lot with vehicles so we could get around. The (local) Rotary Club asked if we could use trucks to deliver supplies, and the next morning there were five trucks ready for us."

Volunteers from the American Red Cross in Samoa also were a big help, Ade said.

"They had about 150 volunteers there every day, lined up and ready to go to work," he said.

During his trips to various shelters on the island, Ade said he met entire families whose villages had been destroyed and who had lost nearly all of their possessions.

Ade was struck by the positive attitude of many of the displaced families, some of whom lived 10 to 12 people to a house.

"Everywhere we went, the people were so wonderful," he said. "We were there to give them food, and they wanted to share their meals with us."

Even school-age kids volunteered to help with the recovery. Four schools on the island had been destroyed, Ade said, causing hundreds of children to be left without school supplies. Ade went to a school untouched by the destruction and had students fill up backpacks with supplies.

"They were excited that they got to help their fellow students," Ade said.

Ade said the positive, can-do attitude of the Samoan people, combined with the dedication of dozens of American Red Cross volunteers, made his three-week stay on the island a valuable and fulfilling experience.

"The power and utilities are on again and the water is back, so things are looking up," he said. "They're going to struggle awhile, but they're strong people. They're going to make it."

The Samoa experience reminded Ade why he decided to become a Red Cross volunteer five years ago.

"With this one, I really felt like we made a difference and impacted a lot of people," he said. "To me, it doesn't matter whether it's a house fire in Salina or a tsunami in Samoa -- the Red Cross is going to be there, and so am I."

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.

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IloveKS says....
well..Steve could not have been a better pick to represent what Kansas people are all about. I glad to hear he made it to the end of the DRO in Samoa.
11/2/2009

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Stuck in middle America says....
People only are losing their jobs, because of the mess that Bush caused. Do some research. Obama does not have a magic wand that he can wave to make Bush's mess disappear. Way to go Steve! It's truly wonderful when people help other people. Paying it forward is what it's about.
10/31/2009

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Federal Funds Needed Here says....
Fifteen million Americans out of work, people losing their homes, and seven million US jobs lost since Obama was elected. I'd say we have a national disaster right here in America.
10/31/2009

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Farm Gal says....
Just wondering if Steve got to any of the other islands... I had friends on Ofu and Olasinga and haven't learned much about how they fared yet. Samoans are simply amazing people... I stayed on Tutuila after two major hurricanes 20 years ago...
10/31/2009

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