DRFC are asking the Knights Family to pull together behind our own Vili Veikoso in the wake of Cyclone Winston.

As many of you will be aware, last month the Island of Fiji was devastated by Cyclone Winston, the worst tropical storm to have hit the Southern Hemisphere in history.

The category five storm claimed the lives of 44 people and destroyed 9,173 homes, while 16,757 were damaged with an estimated total damage cost of over £180 million.

When the storm hit Vili was left not knowing if his wife and two children were ok for almost a week as power and communications went down on the Island.

Vili spoke for the Knights website detailing the agonising series of events, saying. “The last contact I had with my family before it hit was with my wife who told me she had got to my parents house and the phone actually cut out whilst I was speaking to her.

“After that I had almost a full week without hearing from them. They had no communications or power for days and I just didn’t know if they were ok. I felt absolutely helpless and all I could do was pray.

“Our village was hit very badly, I have aunties and cousins whose houses have been destroyed and they have to rebuild from scratch.

"Last month I sent all of my pay apart from £100 to my family to try and pay for our house to be patched up in case something else happens and any that was left over to help the rest of my family.”

Most of us couldn’t begin to imagine how tough the past month has been on Vili and now we are asking DRFC and the Knights Family to pull together to help our front row powerhouse rebuild his home.

We have set a target of £2,500 to help Vili rebuild his family’s home and a further £7,500 to contribute to the rebuilding of the village communal facilities including school and other common use amenities.