A Calgary man and a Blairmore woman boarded a plane at Calgary International Airport on Friday afternoon as the two make their way towards the path of Hurricane Irma’s devastation.
Emmanuel Fongeh and Wanda Burchert, workers with Samaritan’s Purse Canada, left on a flight destined for Dallas, Texas, their first stop on their way to the Caribbean.
Fongeh, an international logistics coordinator with Samaritan’s Purse Canada, says he has not been told where he will be deployed but is eager to assist in any way possible during his first disaster response.
“We will do an immediate assessment of the needs of the people, organizing the logistics, non-food items, to make sure that those who have been affected, they have a little bit of comfort before things get on,” explained Fongeh. “Usually there’s always chaos after a disaster. We make sure that each and every family gets a fair share of what the Samaritan’s Purse has put together to keep them moving.”
One of the Samaritan’s Purse airplanes is currently being packed with supplies in Wilksboro, North Carolina while another plane has already landed in St. Martin to provide aid to those impacted by the hurricane.
“It’s always a very difficult situation because people, their way of life is immediately affected,” said Fongeh. “We’ll be handing out tarps, buckets and hygiene kits.”
Fongeh says he expects to spend roughly two weeks assisting hurricane victims.
David Bock will be managing the Samaritan’s Purse Canada’s response from here in Calgary. He says additional resources can be deployed on short notice.
“I think this is unprecedented in its size. We don’t know exactly what all the needs will be but we’re ready to serve,” said Bock. “Water’s going to be an issue. Shelter’s going to be an issue.”
“We’ve trained a number of staff already and those people are on-call and they’re ready to go.”
Bock adds the Samaritan’s Purse workers will encounter devastated areas. “They’re going to see utter destruction. The storm has had a real impact.”
In addition to the Samaritan’s Purse, other Canadian agencies are assisting with the relief effort. The Canadian Red Cross is collecting donations to support Hurricane Irma-ravaged regions but had no immediate plans to send workers.
With files from CTV's Alesia Fieldberg
