JOURNEY Church pastor Terry Bradley. PHOTO SUPPLIED
Journey Church in Te Kūiti sent 14 parishioners to the East Coast on Tuesday to assist ongoing efforts to tidy up damage done to private properties during Cyclone Gabrielle in February.
Pastor Terry Bradley said some of the helpers would be based in the Esk Valley, Napier, while others would be based in Wairoa.
Ranging in age from teenagers through to a man aged 80, they would work from Tuesday to Saturday.
“They will be helping with small property restoration, using hand tools such as shovels, spades and barrows to repair gardens, fences and steps,” Terry said.
“Some qualified builders in the team can do building jobs, though only those that do not require a consent.
“The Government did a wonderful job hitting major needs following the cyclone, such as distributing food, water and so forth, but they were not able to look at every section and vegetable garden that was damaged.”
The church has done much planning so as to maximise time on the East Coast and it is being guided by a local disaster relief coordinator.
In addition, Terry hopes the efforts of the group will help to serve as a model to other Assembly of God Churches throughout New Zealand, of which there are more than 220.
Terry, who is deputy superintendent of AOG in this country, said the idea was to learn lessons that could be passed on if there was another disaster.
“Within our movement, I carry the disaster portfolio for New Zealand and this trip will enable us to test our systems and find out what went well and what did not.
“It will all be part of a learning process that could help us to do something on a much bigger scale, should that need ever arise.”
