Food kits delivered in Tonga! WCK activates in Brazil + Madagascar

 

WCK Food Kits Delivered to Families in Tonga! After traveling for several days from Fiji, WCK’s Relief Ship – loaded with 2,900 food and hygiene kits – arrived in Tonga to support families impacted by the largest volcano eruption the world has seen in 30 years. As of earlier this week, all of the kits have been distributed! Additional WCK Relief Kits were also sent to Ha’apai—a group of islands more than 100 miles away. Organized by Tongan Olympian, Pita Taufatofua, and the Apitonga Community Center, motorized boats and other supplies will be shipped this weekend from Fiji to Ha’apai—WCK is providing the vessel and coordinating with ​​Governor Taufatofua to allocate supplies! The Covid lockdown also paused meal production for our 12 local Tongan restaurant partners cooking for communities. However, last Friday, meal deliveries resumed and with our network of restaurants, WCK has provided over 36,000 nourishing meals to date. Field Kitchen Set Up in Response to Cyclone Batsirai In early February, Tropical Cyclone Batsirai hit the east coast of Madagascar, bringing destructive winds and flooding—at landfall, the storm had the equivalent strength of a Category 3 hurricane, and at its peak, maximum sustained winds reached more than 130 mph. Batsirai came just two weeks after Tropical Storm Ana killed dozens of people and displaced many more in the northern part of Madagascar. WCK’s Relief Team arrived immediately after the storm to begin supporting displaced families. Mananjary, a coastal community of about 25,000, was hard hit by Batsirai and left with no power or clean source of drinking water. Our team worked quickly to get a WCK Field Kitchen set up with capacity to cook thousands of daily meals. Additionally, to supply the kitchen with usable water, we worked with other relief organizations to help build a clean water system. Sourcing fresh ingredients from a local market and hiring a team of about 50 people from the area, our kitchen was up and running fast, preparing dishes like chicken, potato, and green bean stew over rice. WCK’s Relief Team is currently serving 12 different locations across Mananjary, including shelters housing displaced families and schools serving as temporary homes.    SUPPORT WCK RELIEF EFFORTS In addition to our service in Mananjary, WCK team members have headed north to see how we may be able to support more communities impacted by the cyclone. Traveling from Ihosy to Ivohibe, WCK’s Melissa met families living in small, rural communities connected by a largely unpaved road. Many of the communities rely on the rice they grow in surrounding fields, much of which was destroyed by the storm. To support families as they recover, WCK will supply rice, beans, and oil to 12,000 people in Ihosy, Ivohibe, and Iakora. As our team continues preparing hot, nutritious meals each day, we are also tracking another incoming cyclone, set to hit the coast of Madagascar next week. Working with our partners on the ground, we will ensure we can continue supporting impacted communities safely both leading up to, and after, the storm. It’s predicted that before the cyclone season ends in several months, 8 to 12 more cyclones may hit southern Africa—a result of warming ocean waters. For the latest on our #ChefsForMadagascar response, follow WCK on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. You can also support our immediate disaster response and solutions that build resilience in communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis by donating to our Climate Disaster Fund here.  WCK Activates in Brazil Following Flooding and Mudslides Intense rainfall this week led to devastating floods and mudslides in Petrópolis, Brazil. More than 100 people have been killed, and many families remain evacuated. WCK's Relief Team is on the ground, and today we began preparing meals in partnership with Gastromotiva and Chef David Hertz. This is a quickly evolving situation, so follow us on social media to stay up to date on our efforts. 890,000+ Meals Served Through #ChefsForPhilippines  For two months, seven local WCK partners in the Philippines have been cooking thousands of daily meals for families affected by Typhoon Rai. Although distribution has wrapped up in some communities, we have also expanded our efforts to areas cut off by the typhoon where people have struggled to receive any aid. Traveling by boat and serving meals from motor vehicles, WCK partners are providing hot plates in places like Araceli, Dinagat Island, and Siargao.  In some areas, families have thankfully been able to return home, so our team is continuing to support communities where people remain displaced and are without power and clean drinking water.  For teams cooking, meals are sometimes prepared under solar lights. In addition to flood and wind damage, the high cost of food and fuel pose challenges for many people, leading to long food distribution lines. The pandemic has complicated support for the Philippines, and recovery efforts are being primarily led by local communities—as a result cleanup and rebuilding is taking much longer than it normally might. WCK is honored to be able to support local groups on the ground helping their neighbors—together we have served over 890,000 meals across 187 locations, and we’re still cooking!