Bay Area residents are already responding to the fatal tsunami that hit the Samoan islands on Tuesday.
Representatives from many agencies are teaming together to coordinate some sort of relief for the victims of this 8.0 magnitude underwater earthquake, which consequently caused a tsunami in the Samoan islands. There has been major damage, flooding, and even some fatalities as a cause of the tsunami.
With a large population of people of Samoan descent, Bay Area residents have put themselves to work to help those in desperate need of food and clothing.
The Samoan Community Development Center in San Francisco has organized a Community Relief Effort to help Samoan families caught in the disaster. Acceptable donations include clothes, shoes, water, dry goods, and monetary donations. The center’s website also provides links to the Red Cross in Tafuna, American Samoa, and the Red Cross in Samoa.
Patsy Tito, the center’s director, says that the they are also working with local churches to help the victims of the tsunami. Clothes or money can be dropped of at the center between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. The center, located at 2055 Sunnydale Street in San Francisco, may also stay open during the weekend.
A Samoan church in Fairfield is also putting together efforts to help victims of the tsunami. Ben Afisivalu, church relief organizer, says “Our church facility is open for the community to bring in anything that will help us accomplish our mission which is to help out with the tsunami relief in the Samoan Islands. “You can donate any food or clothes. We’re working with the local churches in American Samoa. Their request is that they need food and clothing. A lot of people want to help out.”
Samoan Christian Fellowship provides a list of different center locations where donations can be made.
Samoan Community Center
(415) 841-1086
www.samoancenter.org
Samoan Christian Fellowship
(707) 428-4221
Red Cross in Tafuna, American Samoa
(684) 699-6011
Red Cross in Samoa
(685) 23686
Mobile: (685) 73403
