By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
INTERNATIONAL relief organization Samaritan’s Purse has mounted a major emergency response to support communities on Saipan and neighboring islands following Super Typhoon Sinlaku.
Sammy Doebler, deputy team lead for the response and a full-time staff member with Samaritan’s Purse, said the organization has flown in significant aid on dedicated cargo flights.
A Samaritan’s Purse Boeing 767 landed Sunday carrying about 80 tons of emergency relief supplies, including materials and equipment to address immediate humanitarian needs and reinforce critical services.
A key component of the response is a mobile outpatient clinic being set up at the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. to bolster emergency room and outpatient operations. A mobile medical unit also travels to shelters and hard-to-reach communities, providing care to residents unable to reach the hospital or clinic.
Samaritan’s Purse is distributing emergency relief supplies across affected communities in partnership with local churches. The main items include tarps for damaged homes and solar lanterns for areas where power remains unstable or unavailable. A limited number of larger generators are being deployed to community centers and churches, allowing those facilities to operate as service hubs rather than powering individual households.
On Tuesday, Samaritan’s Purse distributed tarps and solar lights with assistance from Saipan Community Church. Doebler said residents may have seen long lines of cars as supplies were handed out.
Beyond Saipan, the organization is coordinating with officials on Tinian and plans to send relief supplies as logistics allow. The team has not yet been able to reach Rota but said the island remains part of its broader regional response.
Pending approval from environmental regulators, Samaritan’s Purse will also begin distributing safe drinking water produced by its emergency desalination systems. The organization said water distribution will be carried out in coordination with the Joint Information Center, which will announce public schedules once clearance is granted. Distribution will take place at Sugar Dock in Chalan Kanoa.
Doebler said there is no fixed end date for the organization’s presence. Samaritan’s Purse plans to distribute all supplies it has flown in and continue supporting the hospital until local systems stabilize and can operate without additional surge capacity.
While she declined to estimate the total dollar value of the response, Doebler said the tonnage of cargo, deployment of medical teams, and breadth of relief supplies reflect a substantial, multifaceted commitment to supporting storm-affected communities in the Northern Marianas.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
