Valerie Kalkoa spent time working in Australia to help support her son, her colleague says.
Photo: Facebook/ ABC
Among those tragically taken by the earthquake disaster in Vanuatu was Valerie Kalkoa, a single mother who only returned home two days ago
She had just finished a second season with a labour hire firm in north Queensland and was shopping in Port Vila when she died.
Meanwhile, hundreds more Australians stranded in Vanuatu after its devastating earthquakes will be flown back home on RAAF flights on Thursday evening.
Brisbane Airport’s international terminal will welcome both arrivals.
It follows other emergency rescue flights, which brought 148 Australians from the disaster zone overnight.
Australian teams are on the ground working closely with Vanuatu authorities to undertake urban search and rescue operations, conduct safety assessments, remove hazardous materials, support health authorities treating the injured, and to assess further needs.
The powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake has killed at least 14 people in the Pacific Island nation, with aftershocks causing further concern.
Australia is among nations who have sent emergency workers to Port Vila to help in the search for those who may still be trapped.
Photo: Vanuatu Police
With fears the death toll will rise, seasonal workers in Queensland have been desperate to hear news of their loved ones in Port Vila.
Among those tragically taken by the disaster was Valerie Kalkoa, a single mother who only returned home two days ago after a second season with labour hire firm I Comply in the Burdekin region.
Chief executive Rodney Prestia paid tribute to Kalkoa, who had left behind a three-year-old son.
He said she was part of his work family and was an “amazing, beautiful soul”.
“In the lead up to Vanuatu’s Independence Day she would get the team to rehearse their custom dances to perform – she just loved to dance and would lead that, teaching all the boys who had two left feet.
“We use to call her the I Comply dance instructor, it just won’t be the same without her presence.”
Prestia found out she had died after finally getting in touch with Kalkoa’s parents.
She was shopping when the magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck.
“We have chat groups through our regions, and everyone is so sad, it is an absolute tragedy,” he said.
“She was a woman of faith, here for the sole purpose of supporting her son financially, and now he has lost his mother.
“That is what makes it so hard, when the man upstairs takes the good ones early.”
Prize money to be donated
With commercial flights back to Vanuatu cancelled, I Comply had to move workers to company accommodation in Toowoomba.
The local Vanuatu cricket team, called the “Vanthorpe”, was going to forfeit the grand final this Saturday at Stanthorpe’s CF White Oval.
Instead, the undefeated team said it would hold a minute’s silence for Kalkoa before the game.
They are hoping for a victory so they can donate the A$3000 (NZ3300) in prize money to help support her son, who is being cared for by his grandparents in Port Vila.
Prestia said another worker’s 13-year-old brother had died in the quake – a tragic loss he only heard about last night.
“It was a double whammy for our company yesterday, it was tough,” Prestia said.
Thousands of Pacific Islanders come to Queensland every year through the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM), which allows Australian farmers to hire workers from nine neighbouring islands.
It helps fill labour gaps in the agriculture sector across regional and rural areas.
Banana farm worker Jones Malkunsum said he’d been on an “emotional roller-coaster”, praying his loved ones back home were still alive.
He is one of about 160 Ni-Van seasonal workers from Vanuatu, based at Mareeba in Far North Queensland.
“Most of us during that lunch time, we were on the phone with our families back home,” Malkunsum said.
“And, all of a sudden, that tragic incident took place and that’s when all the networks and everything just went off.
“Later, after only a minute maybe, we were still on our lunch break, and we started seeing people on social media saying ‘oh, there’s an earthquake here’.”
Malkunsum said many tried to ring their families back.
“We couldn’t make any calls,” he said.
“Some of us didn’t have a good sleep, we were thinking of our kids back home, our families, our parents.”
Relief after reaching family
Malkunsum was overwhelmed when he was finally able to speak to his two daughters, 14-year-old Jocelina and eight-year-old Amanda, who are still in Vanuatu.
“We don’t care about damage to our houses, we just praying our families are okay – that’s our priority,” he said.
Malkunsum said a committee had been set up to raise support for compatriots back home.
In the meantime, the workers are supporting one another – especially those who have lost loved ones in the disaster.
“We’ve reached out to our bosses, people who work with us, they are very kind, they help us – they just let us know, whatever we need, they can help,” he said.
“Our families back home, they will definitely not be celebrating a good Christmas so it’s better we … have good contact with them, and encourage each other through this disaster.”
Search continues
The desperate search for survivors continues in Vanuatu, where there’s been major landslides and the main airport sustained damage.
It could be years before the island community, which sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, can return to normal.
Australia has sent urgent aid, as well as teams of firefighters, paramedics, volunteer engineers, canine handlers and doctors.
-ABC