By: Frederic Klein

As Super Typhoon Sinlaku tore across Saipan, an unsuspecting group of heroes endured hours of fierce wind and rain. The damage to the island was severe, but so was the spirit of hundreds of residents who arose from the debris to support their neighbors.

Among those putting on a red vest to help in the days and weeks that followed, dozens of teenagers came to help the Red Cross, looking for somewhere to direct their time and energy after typhoon damage forced schools to close. Working together with more than 630 trained disaster responders from throughout the United States, they quickly became invaluable assets to the relief operation.

Oliver Burnette, an experienced disaster workforce manager for the American Red Cross, noticed a difference in the young volunteers who stepped up to help after Sinlaku as compared to adult volunteers from other disasters.

“With the youth, they said ‘how can we help?’ That’s it — they didn’t care what their assigned job was, they just said ‘we want to help.’” recounted Oliver. “I’ve seen this more than ever on Sinlaku — it’s what we say in the Red Cross: Sleeves Up, Hearts Open, All In.”

Below are a few of the local heroes who supported the Red Cross after Super Typhoon Sinlaku:

In the span of less than a month, Daverish went from helping organize beach cleanups and leading presentations on CPR and community preparedness to actively helping people impacted by a major disaster on Saipan. She translated for Chamorro-speaking residents, distributed emergency supplies and assisted families applying for aid. As she shared her love for Saipan with volunteers who came to help from around the United States, she found herself reflecting on the responders she got to meet during the relief operation.

“If I met these people under a different situation, they would have been like my grandparents or something,” said Daverish. “Like, can you adopt me? Respectfully, you can be my auntie or something. These guys, they feel like my family – like familia.”

Alongside her auntie, who by coincidence also decided to volunteer with the Red Cross, she helped run a site on Saipan where impacted residents could come register for emergency assistance with the Red Cross. Together, they grew close with their fellow volunteers, a roughly even mix of local volunteers and Red Crossers from around the country. They bonded over a shared love of bananas, a readily available snack on the disaster relief operation, and affectionately dubbed themselves the “Banana Crew.”  They even made custom t-shirts for each other.

“There wasn’t a day where, you know, nobody felt like they were higher than each other or their status was this and this, said Emma. “Everybody felt equal.”

After the storm passed, finding themselves without power or water, James set off to start helping. He remembered that one of his favorite beach spots had a shower and fortunately found that its water tank was still usable for his family and him to bathe.

After a week or two of helping care for his family, James reached out to the Disaster Program Manager for the Red Cross of the Northern Mariana Islands — who he had been working with as a general volunteer before the storm. He got to work, distributing emergency supplies, assessing home damage, and supporting warehouse operations. He soon began managing an outpouring of support from local teenagers who wanted to help their community recover.

“I didn’t even notice that I was teaching 69 kids at the same time,” said James. “Basically, they’re just taking shifts, like in the morning some will come and go, and then the other half come in the afternoon.”

He established clear priorities for the teenagers to work on, most importantly managing the lines that formed at service delivery sites by helping make sure people waiting knew the right information to get the help they needed. The final priority was for them to go to the beach and have fun — his way of dismissing them for the day and reminding them to take time for themselves.

“These are our children, our niece, our grandchildren,” said James. “They’ve been asking me, like ‘Kuya [big brother in Tagalog], is Red Cross done?’ They’re sad, basically. I tell them no, we’re not done. We’re almost done with this program but there’s gonna be more programs after this.”

The family had recently repaired their home, making the damage especially difficult. Half of their home remained unsafe even six weeks after the storm, so all seven of them have been living more closely than normal — but Robait remains grateful.

“My family’s also affected, but I think there’s more families that their house is totally lost and they’re just staying in a tent or shelters,” said Robait. “So I’m here to help them, because at least my family has this — a roof to stay under and a safe place to stay. Some families don’t even have a house right now.”

A week after Sinlaku passed, Robait decided he needed to do more to give back to the community where he grew up. He decided to join the Red Cross — helping drop off supplies at shelters, shuttle disaster responders from place to place, and helping support his neighbors looking for help with their recoveries from Sinlaku. Originally from Bangladesh, Robait also helped translate for the local Bengali population to make sure they understood how to access recovery resources from the Red Cross and other organizations.

“I think the Red Cross did a fantastic job with helping the community recover,” said Robait. “I’ll see in the future, hopefully in the future, I’ll stay with the Red Cross. If there’s any time they need, I’ll be here.”

For more than six weeks since the landfall of Super Typhoon Sinlaku in the Pacific Islands, the American Red Cross has worked closely with community partners to help support impacted residents as they begin to recover after the storm. With the help of hundreds of local volunteers, the Red Cross has provided more than 220,000 snacks and meals, distribute more than 75,000 clean-up kits and other emergency supplies, and provide more than 19,500 overnight stays to more than 1,100 people at 29 emergency shelters.
 

Put on a red vest and join us. Visit redcross.org/volunteer to find an opportunity that is right for you.