Satitoa Diary

Wanganui Chronicle reporter Anne-Marie Emerson is part of the Wanganui District Council-led reconstruction team currently in Samoa. The team is helping the village of Satitoa rebuild after the devastating tsunami in September. Anne-Marie is reporting daily from Satitoa.

11 December 2009

Today the building is finished and the man who came up with the idea reflects on a job well done.

The building is finished.

The final touches were completed yesterday afternoon and the formal opening of the building will be held this afternoon.

The work progressed so quickly the boys had time to add some extras, such as a lectern for church on Sunday, wooden seats, a flower garden and a few wooden benches for the outside.

The building is near many of the fale constructed in the plantations after the tsunami, so the villagers won't have to travel far to go to church or take their children to preschool. It's just off one of the roads into the plantations, on a sloping lawn with views out to sea. It's a beautiful spot.

The man who came up with the idea to build something for a Samoan village said the whole project had been "very emotional". Team member Keith Smith, who did a lot of the organising for this trip, said it was very satisfying to see the building finally finished.

"The finished building is 100 per cent of what I wanted for this project. We're dealing directly with a village; we're living as part of the village; and we're doing something that benefits the whole village. I wanted to do something practical, because I'm a practical person.

"When the tsunami happened I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get a team of like-minded people together and help."

It took around five weeks to pull the project together and there was no shortage of financial or practical help from the Wanganui community. As for his time in Samoa, Keith admits it has taken him well out of his comfort zone.

"I'm an ordered person. For instance, I like to have my shower at the same time every day, but here we often have no water, so I've had to let that sort of thing go."

Keith said he hoped this was just the beginning of a long association between Wanganui and Satitoa.