Samaritan’s Purse brings 4 medical professionals

Nineteen members of the international Christian relief agency Samaritan’s Purse, including a physician and three nurses, pose for a group photo after gettingt down from their DC-8 cargo aircraft at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport yesterday afternoon. Samaritan Purse’s Mark Langham and John Freyle, who first arrived on Saipan Monday, met the 17 other members during their arrival at the airport. The North Carolina-based organization airlifted relief supplies to help Saipan and Tinian recover from Super Typhoon Yutu’s devastation. (Ferdie de la Torre)

A religious group from North Carolina has brought four medical professionals and a planeload of emergency supplies to assist with typhoon relief on Saipan and Tinian following the destruction of Super Typhoon Yutu two weeks ago.

A group of 20 personnel from Samaritan’s Purse arrived on Saipan yesterday afternoon, four of whom are medical professionals—one physician and three nurses—to provide medical aid along with relief assistance to shelters.

Over 30 tons of emergency shelter material, solar lights, water filtration units, and other necessities for relief were brought to Saipan aboard the organization’s DC-8 cargo aircraft yesterday, which a representative of the organization notes should be enough for at least 5,000 families.

Mark Langham, team leader for the disaster response group on Saipan, noted that the scope of the damage that Saipan and Tinian sustained prompted the organization to rush here with humanitarian aid.

Langham noted that the group brought with them tarps for makeshift roofs; solar lights that double as USB chargers; and small water filters that can produce small amounts of purified water for consumption, among others.

“Our team, at our full complement, [numbers] 23,” Langham told Saipan Tribune. “On this plane, I believe there is 17,” he said, adding that some members are already on-island.

According to Langham, the organization closely follows all typhoons across the globe that forms before reaching out to government municipalities for permission to respond.

Initial reactions from Langham upon arrival were pretty good. He noted that the streets were “clean” and that it was a testament to the “hard work of the people who live here, the government services, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. military, and the non-profit organizations” that have been active here since Yutu.

“I was very pleased to see how much has been done. But then, as you drive to the south part of the island, you see the massive destruction,” he said. “Your heart breaks for these homeowners who have lost their roofs and who have lost all of their possessions.”

Langham noted that it was the first time Samaritan’s Purse has responded to a disaster here on Saipan, and would soon head to Tinian to offer the same services.

The organization is headquartered in Boone, North Carolina, and has offices in 17 countries and ministry partners in more than 100 countries.