(March 2, 2016 - by Harold Goerzen)  Cyclone Winston—thought to be the strongest storm in recorded history to hit the Southern Hemisphere—landed on Fiji with a wallop late Saturday, Feb. 20, killing 43 and leaving over 50,000 homeless, according to news reports.
    
As residents survey the carnage and begin rebuilding their homes and businesses, two Christian FM radio stations operated by Evangelical Bible Mission (EBM) are again broadcasting a message of hope after the storm put the stations off the air for three days.
    
The stations were preparing to wrap up their semiannual fundraising drive when the cyclone hit. “We were on our last day of the sharathon—by then the programming was more of a cyclone warning than a fundraiser—when the power went out and we were knocked off the air,” explained EBM’s Doug Rose. “Our sharathon goal was $70,000 and we had raised nearly $50,000.”
    
In addition to financial support, listeners have been contributing to the relief efforts in other ways, donating clothing, food and materials. “We had one supporter come in and work on the computers while others helped with clean-up,” Rose said. “Also, the volunteers from the sharathon are still coming in to help where they can.”
    
Even though the storm’s winds approached 200 mph—the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane—EBM’s two main radio outlets in the capital city of Suva were spared major damage.
    
“The studios at both Radio Light [broadcasting primarily in English] and Radio Naya Jiwan [Hindi programming] sustained some damage,” explained EBM’s Doug Rose, who founded the stations with Reach Beyond’s help in 1996 and 2004 respectively. “However, it was worse at the transmitting sites. Naya Jiwan lost its antenna, and the wind blew the roof off the hut at Radio Light, but equipment was undamaged.” Two repeater stations in western Fiji also rode out the storm nearly unscathed.
    
“I was able to get the stations back on-air in three days by replacing Naya Jiwan’s antenna and moving Radio Light to another tower and putting in a generator,” Rose recounted. “The power was out when the roof came off Radio Light’s transmitting site. The studio-transmitter link and transmitter were drenched by rain from midnight until the next morning, but when I got the units back to the studio, we dried them out and they’re back on the air. Praise the Lord.” Electricity in Suva returned to normal a week after getting hit by Winston.
    
In December 2012 Cyclone Evan struck Fiji—slightly weaker than Winston but closer to the radio stations. It caused more damage and longer interruptions to the broadcasts.
    
“We are still recovering from Cyclone Evan,” Rose noted. “We were blessed by the support of Reach Beyond in purchasing replacement equipment for those damaged by Evan, and we are preparing for Alan Good [from partner ministry SonSet Solutions in Elkhart, Ind.] to come to Fiji to help install the new equipment and make repairs.”
    
The stations play primarily music interspersed with teaching and short programs. Radio Light broadcasts mainly in English but carries a few hours of daily programming in Hindi and Fijian. Programming is directed at Christians, especially those in positions of authority, whether in the family or the government.

Radio Naya Jiwan’s target audience is Hindi-speaking people between the ages of 18 to 28 with many listeners asking questions about life and God. Less than 2 percent of Fiji’s Indian population is considered to be evangelical Christian.

“Through our stations we hope to build awareness of people’s needs and help coordinate giving and distributing of items needed,” Rose added. “I remember after the coups [in 2000 and 2006] that we had in Fiji, many people came to me and said, ‘Thanks for the programs. This is what Fiji needs to hear.’ We trust that that the Lord would have His perfect way in and through us.”
    
Meanwhile, people across Fiji are continuing to recover from the storm. The government declared a state of emergency that is in effect for 30 days, according to The Fiji Times. A nationwide curfew remains in effect as emergency crews clear roads of downed trees and restore power to outlying areas.
    
Fiji, an archipelago collectively about the size of New Jersey, lies in the South Pacific some 1,800 miles east of Australia. Most of the country’s 900,000 residents live on one of two main islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.

Rose says the radio ministry needs more full-time workers and volunteers to help at the stations. “Pray that we may be prepared and fit to reach out to those in need both spiritually and physically,” he urged. “Pray that we could expand our network across the country so we can play a part in saving souls for Christ and strengthening the church. Pray for Fiji.”

Additional photo credits: Ronal Singh, Reuters

Sources: Reach Beyond, BBC, UPI, CNN