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I don’t want to lose in a race with the other kids!

My name is Val and I live in West Timor, not too far from the capital on the river Felakdale.

When the cyclone (Seroja) came, it washed away our home and we had to run with only what we were wearing. We lost everything in that cyclone. My family have lived in that house for decades and my father says every year there is a flood but this year it was the worst.

My family agreed we had to evacuate but they were worried about helping me to escape because I can’t walk well.  I have a paralysed leg.

My body weight is the same as my fathers. In the end they only had to help me when I was really tired, and we got safe down the river to the next village about a kilometre away.

I live with my parents and siblings and the thing I love the most is swimming. I don’t want to lose in a race with the others! I’m a good swimmer.

The church visited us to bring food and clothing, and they helped us to rebuild our house. It is a wooden house. Even though we lost all our belongings, we are grateful to be safe and thank the church and the government for their help.

-VALENTINO, East Kupang, West Timor.

Our partner, the Evangelical Christian Church of Timor, is working against the double burden of cyclone recovery and the pandemic. Like all our partners, they roll up their sleeves and invest in people’s lives, providing prayer and trauma counselling, practical resources to recover and training for new employment. They’re doing an incredible job! If you’re able to put a smile on more faces like Val’s, please give here.