Having seen their village smashed by the winds of Cyclone Winston, the people of Soso on Naviti Island in the Yasawas gathered in the Methodist church and thanked God for their salvation. As they lifted up their voices in wonderful songs of praise it was hard to believe that less than a week earlier the roar of 300km/h winds would have drowned them out.

From a tender boat you could see the path of the cyclone as it ripped into the royal village and tracked around the base of its usually protective hills before bouncing off the northernmost one and tracking a new path of destruction back through Soso.

Before Winston the village had about 85 buildings, after the cyclone fewer than half remain standing. As they sang the villagers must have been thinking about their food supplies for the winds cut down every single breadfruit tree in the settlement. With breadfruit being part of their staple diet that means trouble. Worse still kasava plants and bananas have also been cut down.

Fortunately the vessels of South Sea Cruises and Blue Lagoon Cruises are dropping off supplies as they pass each day. More than 600 people in Soso now depend on outside help to survive. The first sign of damage is the condition of coconut palms. They are drooping and most have lost half their fronds. Some have been decapitated with jagged white ends left pointing skywards like accusing fingers.

Tin from the roofs lies everywhere as do branches torn from the trees. I visited Soso last year and it was a thriving picture postcard village. Now it is a disaster zone with wreckage lying all around. But the locals are not taking it lying down. Already there are neatly stacked woodpiles and a general tidy up is in action.

And, despite the adversity they are still cheery and welcoming. Wandering around the village taking images of the destruction, we were offered food on countless occasions. Needless to say we declined politely but it goes to reinforce just how generous Fijians are.

Here they are offering to share their meagre supplies with a stranger. The damage was heightened because Winston was a slow moving giant that spent six hours carving up Soso. Witnesses said the winds shrieked and then made strange banging noises. That was, they said, as the hurricane bounced off the surrounding hills. Six hours of terror that shook their world, but not their faith.

Words and pictures by Richard Moore, travelling in Fiji with Vinaka Fiji Charitable Trust. Vinaka Fiji has set up a special cyclone relief fund for island villages, including Soso. Visitors interested in lending a hand can do so with Vinaka Fiji volunteering holidays. To find out more and to make a donation go to www.vinakafiji.org.fj