The following is from WWE.com:
Afa the Wild Samoan fights for his homeland
By: Ryan Murphy
Written: October 16, 2009
It’s not often that a man as strong and revered as Afa the Wild Samoan feels powerless. However, the recent tragedies in the Samoa Islands have had that effect on the WWE Hall of Famer.
Since late September, a string of natural disasters has devastated several countries across the Asia Pacific. Catastrophic earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons have left thousands homeless and without food or medical supplies. The death toll has neared 2,000 across the region.
"A few minutes ago, I got a phone call from my island. We got hit with another earthquake just a little while ago," Afa told WWE.com Wednesday afternoon. "It seems like it never ends."
Nearly 200 people are feared dead due to an earthquake and a 20-foot tsunami across the Samoan Islands and Tonga, including members of Afa’s extended family.
"I have three brothers still living on the island today, a bunch of cousins, aunts and uncles," Afa said. "Five of my cousins’ lives were taken away, but my brothers are all okay. Thank god for that."
In addition to the tragedies in Samoa, earthquakes have claimed the lives of more than 1,100 people in Padang, Sumatra, while typhoons have killed more than 700 people in the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.
These disasters have deeply affected the ring legend and his wife, Lynn, and they are doing everything in their power to help.
"Our first reaction when it happened was to collect items that we could ship over to the island, but we were told by Red Cross not to do that, because it’s so expensive to get the items shipped," Lynn explained. "They’re just asking everybody to make [monetary] donations."
In addition to working with the Red Cross, Lynn and Afa are also doing some fundraising of their own through Usos (Samoan for "brothers") Foundation.
"We’re doing a luau here in central Florida," Lynn said. "All the Polynesians in our community are coming together and we have entertainers from Sea World and Disney and Universal Studios. They’re all going to perform at this event so we can sell tickets and raise money."
