Editorial: Hawke's Bay just did it all for Vanuatu

The response from Hawke's Bay businesses and individuals to the traumatic damage inflicted upon the distant isles of Vanuatu by a cyclone back in mid-March has been, to say the least, remarkable.

And not just Hawke's Bay, it should be added. Communities around the rest of the country have also picked up and packed goods and aid essentials to send there.

But I dare say, given that the Bay is a host employment region for many workers who arrive from those parts, we stepped up a little more.

In the wake of the cyclone several people who had either worked in Vanuatu at some stage or had stayed there, or built a holiday home there, and who had got to know the friendly locals, stepped forward.

While it was taken as read that agencies like Red Cross would likely aim their focus toward Vanuatu these people realised there was much to be done, and done quickly.

It is hard for us here living behind strong walls and rooftops, and with good access to food and water even in potentially disruptive times, to comprehend what was going through the minds of the residents over there.

The landscape had been torn apart.

Lives had been lost and the vital crops had been destroyed.

Fresh water was either soiled or simply not there any more.

Whilst people like Napier woman Joylene Whibley, Alan Limmer and Hastings man Dave Whitaker created the sparks for their aid-raising campaigns, it was the community across the board which ignited them.

As Mr Limmer said when describing how building supply business after building supply business popped up to offer timber, roofing, nails and tools - "we didn't have to ask".

The providers simply stepped forward to do one thing - help.

And that's what Kiwis have always been so very good at.

It is genuinely heart-warming to see so many people collectively say "we'll help you - it'll be alright".

These are people who have no direct involvement with anyone or anything on Vanuatu, or indeed other lands we have in the past collected and packed for in times of need.

They just do it, because, well, that's what you have to do.

Just help.

Good stuff.