WHILE a good number of families in the province of Ra are worried about a lot of things after Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston, among them housing, a couple consider themselves very fortunate.

Jotame Seru knows he is very lucky. The 52-year-old sugarcane farmer’s house remained unscathed when Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Winston left many families homeless and devastated most parts of Fiji on Saturday, February 20.

Jotame lives with his wife Taraivini at Naivuvuni Viallge in Rakiraki and his house was built by Habitat For Humanity Fiji in 2013 through funding by the European Union.

“I can proudly say that not even an inch of damage was done to my house by this cyclone. I am so proud to be associated with Habitat and thankful to the team for building me such a strong house. The wind was very strong but it could not move my house. I know I am safe,” he said with a beaming Fijian smile, stretching from ear to ear.

Jotame considers himself an advocate and a brand ambassador for HFH Fiji and its distinguished contribution to many local communities.

“I feel happy when people and vehicles stop near my house and ask me, who built this house and how on earth it is still standing strong.”

Jotame, who was visibly grateful their house had withstood the winds of Severe TC Winston said, he would be glad to share with anyone what the organisation did. And that was something he was already doing.

His wife Taraivini said the couple had been a little shaken during the cyclone because their house was situated on a hill.

“We were scared a little because our house is on a hill and had more chances of being blown away.

“All people here were running around here and there and we saw houses being damaged in front of our eyes. The wind was very strong but we just remained in our house and it protected us.”

Taraivini said she now told everyone who had built their house as she wanted them to share in their good fortune, come the next cycolne, as most houses close to theirs had been badly damaged and some even completely destroyed.

With their home secured, the couple plan to focus on farming and moving on with life.

“Our crops were damaged but we can recover quickly. Our biggest asset, our house is still here and we are very pleased about it. I cannot imagine losing my house and everything in it,” a thankful Jotame said.

Habitat for Humanity Fiji (HFH Fiji) has helped more than 28,600 people in Fiji and the Pacific. It has helped more than 3334 families through disaster response, over 47 communities with over 1391 families through water and sanitation improvements and built 905 homes in Fiji.

Their vision is a Fiji where everyone has a decent place to live. HFH Fiji is a non-profit organisation founded in 1991. It is a member of Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), founded in 1976 to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness. HFH Fiji under its key program area builds and repairs homes for low-income families and is one of the biggest single entity housing providers in Fiji next to Government.

* Dorine Narayan is with HFH Fiji.