This is the first picture of little Nurak “Charlie” Charley showing he is alive and well after Cyclone Pam blitzed his village on Tenna Island, Vanuatu.
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The picture was received with glee by members of Green Hills Rotary Club, who were desperate for news of the little boy who won the hearts of so many Maitland people.
Charlie was discovered on Vanuatu by Brian Coffey and his wife, struggling to get around because he had club feet.
Through money that Rotary raised and help from countless others, Charlie was brought to Newcastle where doctors successfully operated on his feet, enabling him to walk normally.
And during his stay in the Hunter he forged friendships with dozens of people.
“Charlie turned nine and celebrated his birthday the day before Cyclone Pam struck his island home on the Tenna Coffee Plantation,” Green Hills Rotary member Mr Coffey said.
“Attempts to contact him on his birthday were futile.
“Since the storm, even our friends in Port Vila were not able to assist us with information.
“Charlie’s family live on the west coast and beachside – the part hit the worst,” Mr Coffey said.
“Knowing the structure of their palm tree huts and with winds gusts of up to 300km/h and eight metre waves, we were expecting bad news.”
Several Rotary members spent hours surfing the net in the hope of discovering news about Charlie.
“We were sending messages and texts to every contact we could think of,” Mr Coffey said.
Then came the breakthrough.
Mr Coffey searched the Facebook site of the Tenna Coffee Plantation and there he found a photo of Charlie, his friend, his younger brother and other family members.
“It was fantastic– the photo was only nine hours old, so we knew Charlie was alive and unhurt,” Mr Coffey said.
Latest information from the Vanuatu government showed 95 per cent of the buildings on Tenna had been damaged and 65 per cent completely destroyed.
