Builders pay back with fales

About 25 builders gathered yesterday to partly pre-build houses for Samoan tsunami victims who lost everything in the September disaster.

Jeff Lewis, from Tendertips Asparagus, near Foxton, said the project was all about repaying the Samoan community. Many workers come from Samoa to Horowhenua and Manawatu to cut asparagus during the spring and early summer season.

"They help provincial New Zealand, and this is all about paying back that help."

He said $25,000 – raised mainly through business and fund-raising efforts in Horowhenua – would be used to build three fales (homes) for workers who had lost everything.

Builders gathered at Foxton's ITM site yesterday to pre-build what they could.

A container which included all the building materials was to be shipped to Samoa to the region of Alipata. "At the moment the people we are building the homes for, are sleeping under tarpaulins.

They all do seasonal work here in New Zealand. They are very humbled, that New Zealanders would raise money and support them in this way."

Mr Lewis said he was going to Samoa a few days ahead of the container shipment on March 10 to make sure everything was ready . "Five builders are going over – paying their own way.

"The locals will have their concrete mixers ready and we'll build the three homes." Mr Lewis said he expected to be back 10 days later, suggesting that with three houses to build, there may not be much downtime for any of the New Zealand volunteers.

- © Fairfax NZ News