tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90150513280039912502024-03-14T07:49:26.007+12:00Sea Mercy Fiji: Cyclone Winston Disaster Relief and Recovery UpdatesCyclone Winston devastated Fiji in February of 2016. Sea Mercy was immediately ready to respond and was tasked by the government with Disaster Response and Recovery for the remote islands in the Lau Group. The information in this blog will keep you up-to-date on our actions and their impact on the communities we are helping. Your continued support will be essential during the long-term recovery process so we will also list current donation and volunteer opportunities here. Thank you!!Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-38008849264047165762016-09-24T12:40:00.000+12:002016-09-24T12:40:11.404+12:00The Story of Sea Mercy in Fiji After Cyclone Winston
Photo Credit Tessa Irvin
Below is an incredible video production by our friends at
Telecine.ca that tells the story of Sea Mercy's efforts in Fiji following
Cyclone Winston. It captures the volunteer heroes (captains, volunteers,
sponsors) and the hearts and spirit of the people of Fiji who were impacted by
this natural disaster.
As Sea Mercy winds down our 2016 Disaster Response &
Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-29574871100934420162016-09-22T03:42:00.001+12:002016-09-22T03:42:06.096+12:00Emergency Drinking Water - Lau Group, Fiji
In the Lau Group and Taveuni, over 90% of the
clean drinking water supplies comes from water catchment (roofs/guttering) into
water storage tanks. On February 20th, Cyclone Winston destroyed or damaged 80%
of the homes and buildings, leaving the remote island villagers without the
ability to capture and store enough water to get them through the dry season. We
are now 4 months into the Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-29498595210004815332016-09-22T03:29:00.000+12:002016-09-22T03:29:30.551+12:00Northern Lau Group Recovery and Rebuilding Needs
Since May, Sea Mercy has had a fleet of volunteer sailing and
motor yacht vessels performing remote island assessments and delivering
emergency (food, water, shelter and medical supplies) and recovery & rebuilding
aid to the devastated remote islands impacted by Cyclone Winston.
Our detailed and first-hand assessments of each island, coupled
with the local leadership direction of Sea Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-5093770019815634442016-09-22T03:03:00.000+12:002016-09-22T03:03:09.055+12:00Disaster Response & Recovery Work in the Northern Lau Group of Fiji by Jonathan Robinson
<via Facebook>
Great Article Written by Sea Mercy's Fleet Coordinator, Jonathan Robinson, about the Disaster Response & Recovery work in the Northern Lau Group of Fiji following Cyclone Winston.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sailing-sea-mercy-richard-hackett
Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-65991608001084077762016-09-08T09:24:00.000+12:002016-09-08T09:24:16.728+12:00Fiji Sun Article: Makogai School Rebuilding (Sea Mercy) August 31, 2016
A Symbol of Hope for Nasau - This 4 month project was a labor of love and many friends and
partnerships were formed as a result. Sea Mercy had never tackled a project of
this magnitude before, yet we were blessed with the financial, equipment and
talent support needed from our local and international relationships. Individually, none
of this could have been accomplished, but Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-3086945658913648092016-09-08T09:13:00.000+12:002016-09-08T09:13:24.808+12:00"Thank You" Letter to Sea Mercy From Lomaloma Hospital
August 24th, 2016 - Vanua Balavu, Fiji
As Sea Mercy's Disaster Response
projects in Fiji following Cyclone Winston draw closer to an end, the
recognition and appreciation of our many volunteers for all their hard work,
long hours, and use of their talents and resources are flowing in. Although seeing
the joy and happiness of a local family, student or worker is reward enough, it
is always Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-81772831163817379212016-08-31T06:39:00.000+12:002016-09-01T06:47:03.404+12:00Makogai School Rebuilding is Finished!
After....
After 4 months, thousands of volunteer hours, and visits from
over 20 Sea Mercy volunteer vessels, today (August 31, 2016) is the official
"Hand Over" ceremony of the school to the people living on Makogai.
From where the school started (nothing) to where it is today is a testimony to
the people directing this rebuilding effort.
Before...
Our deepest appreciation to theNancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-50227550685607116232016-08-29T04:05:00.000+12:002016-09-01T04:06:35.564+12:00Makogai School Rebuilding Project - Sea Mercy Fiji WITH THANKS
What started as a small list of volunteer names on a board
hanging on a wall, quickly grew to take over the entire wall. Since February
2016, it's hard to comprehend how many people played an important part in the
rebuilding of the School on Makogai. With Ian and Wendy at the helm, so many of
us were blessed to have been able to participate.
Whether it was a captain and
crew who Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-81611198905728591912016-08-17T08:44:00.000+12:002016-08-17T08:44:46.893+12:00Makogai School Buildings (#2 here) are almost finished!
Ian and Wendy and all the volunteers that have participated in this project the past 3 months are almost finished with the school rebuilding project on Makogai. Here is a wonderful look at the painted murals on building #2 that captures the beauty and culture of the island.
Thank you everyone for you incredible hearts and help. The official ribbon cutting will take Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-86594637955859249972016-08-10T03:48:00.000+12:002016-08-10T03:48:30.062+12:00Loving the new Mural on the Makogai School !!
As the school rebuilding project keeps rolling, the students and
volunteers added a wonderful mural to the front of the school. Loving the flag
on the sailboat... Although in a few months the project will be completed, its
great to know that there will be a little memory left behind that future kids
will ask about.
Great job Ian & Wendy and all the Sea Mercy volunteers who
have Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-59664218431625387372016-08-10T03:42:00.000+12:002016-08-10T03:42:25.727+12:00Great "Sea Mercy" Article in Yachting World Magazine!
Rather than avoid regions that have suffered hardships, there are groups of sailors actively seeking out areas that could benefit from aid or emergency relief, writes Helen Fretter
Helen Fretter with Yachting World (August 2016) did a wonderful job capturing the
heart and soul of Sea Mercy's Fleet Captains & Crews (small, medium and
large yachts) land the effectiveness of their vessels inNancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-50378361765074483502016-08-10T03:11:00.000+12:002016-08-10T03:11:50.496+12:00L/C Sea Mercy (Landing Craft) Arrives in the Lau Group!
L/C SEA MERCY
"Sea Mercy" (our
dedicated disaster recovery Landing Craft) arrived in the Northern Lau Group of
Fiji to begin a month long Emergency Water Generation program that will provide
over 100,000+ liters of clean drinking water for the number of "at
risk" remote island villages following Cyclone Winston.
Although some
water catchment (roofs, guttering and water storage Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-41867576965798833402016-08-06T03:05:00.000+12:002016-08-06T03:05:37.625+12:00Blog Post From Sea Mercy Disaster Response Vessel S/V Fluenta
S/V FluentaMax, Elizabeth, Victoria, Jonathan and Benjamin
It is
always amazing to see the hearts of sailors who are willing to change plans and
course to help people in need. S/V Fluenta (Max, Elizabeth, Victoria, Jonathan
and Benjamin) are one example of the heart and soul of Sea Mercy.
Living life
at sea (full-time), they are a testimony of a wonderful lifestyle and choice
Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-87784532155315082562016-08-06T02:33:00.000+12:002016-08-06T03:13:10.246+12:00Light A Village Program! Giving Light in the Darkest Times
Unless you've
lived through one, it's hard to imagine how the devastating a massive cyclone
can be and the impact it has on your life. For the people living on the remote
islands who were in the path of Cyclone Winston, their way of life has been
impacted for years to come. There are no longer power lines or generators to
bring light into their homes or community meeting rooms, to charge Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-17950905382678650702016-07-13T10:17:00.000+12:002016-07-13T10:17:12.255+12:00Progress in Makogai: Another House Ready for Move-In This Week
Progress is being made in Makogai. This beach house will be home to two adults and six children. Best of all - they will be able to move
in this week! WELL DONE TEAM!!!
Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-84326482653831272312016-07-13T10:06:00.002+12:002016-07-13T10:06:39.982+12:00World ARC Rally Boat, S/V AIN'T FANCY, Donates Solar Panels.
The World ARC Rally passed
through Fiji recently and Dirk from S/V AIN’T FANCY donated these solar panels
and a MPPT controller to Sea Mercy. The panels were installed on the pastor's
roof in Avea Island by volunteers in the Recovery Fleet.
Thank you very much AIN’T
FANCY for your generous contribution.
Solar power provides cost effective and eco-friendly power to the remote villagesNancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-16525918548331066652016-07-08T07:57:00.000+12:002016-07-13T08:00:23.325+12:00Landing Craft "SEA MERCY" Is Launched and Gets Right to Work!Cobra Boats and Marine Engineering launches the landing craft "SEA MERCY".
Two 250 HP engines.
Looking good - time to get supplies loaded and head out to Makogai.
and they are off to Makogai.
Time to unload at Makogai.
The quad and trailer (also designed and built by Cobra Boats) will take it from Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-59082664517227939052016-07-05T06:39:00.002+12:002016-07-06T04:00:14.009+12:00SV Perry: Blog Post About Their Experiences in the Lau Group
A lovely article from one of Sea Mercy's
Disaster Recovery vessels (S/V Perry) operating in the Northern Lau Group of
Fiji.
Without
the captains and crews support and hearts to help, there would be thousands of
remote islanders without food, shelter, water and most importantly... renewed
hope.
There are
hundreds of stories to be told by those who have participated in Fiji ) vessels,
Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-72416336719686889132016-07-05T06:39:00.001+12:002016-07-05T07:01:46.624+12:00Needs Assessment ReportsAs the needs assessments start coming in from the Recovery Fleet, there are four needs that are common to all:
1. Clean drinking water
2. Roofing/gutter materials to be able to collect drinking water on an on-going basis
3. Lighting
4. School books and supplies for K-8
Drinking water: Sea Mercy has been able to distribute at least 10 powered portable watermakers alongNancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-23371364098805504682016-07-05T06:09:00.001+12:002016-07-05T06:09:33.733+12:00The Sea Mercy Quad/Trailer Program Is a Huge Success! by Richard Hackett
As we see with any purchase decision, there were some doubts
about certain aspects of the Sea Bridge program regarding value and needs. The
purchase of the used Quad and trailer was one of them. After our first stop in
Makogai and the School Rebuilding project there, we immediately saw the value.
The village and school sits 1/3
of a mile from the beach (1/2 kilometer) and with over 25 tons Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-16790653936278924142016-07-05T06:02:00.000+12:002016-07-05T06:55:49.287+12:00Blog Post from Amelie IV by Meghan
Crew of Amelie IV: Matthew, Mark, Meghan, Marie-Claude
Amelie IV is one of the boats in the Recovery Fleet operating in the Lomaiviti Islands. They sailed with the fleet from New Zealand and have been doing and experiencing many wonderful things here in Fiji. This family of four consists of Mark, Marie-Claude, Meghan(14) and Matthew(16). Matthew is autistic and I only mention this as it comesNancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-27561750822101222052016-06-26T02:37:00.000+12:002016-06-26T02:37:19.481+12:00S/V Perry Helps Build New Skiffs
SV
Perry added 3 new photos.
June 23 at
12:33am
One of the projects we've done over the past 3
days is to build a little 12 foot skiff for a village that lost all if its
boats in the cyclone. It's not fancy, but it will get them back out to the
reef to catch fish, which is pretty much the sole source of protein for the
village. Conrad helped out too, but was eventually kidnappedNancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-54597492382256119642016-06-25T10:02:00.001+12:002016-06-25T10:02:29.022+12:00Recovery Fleet Activity Is Ramping Up in Fiji and the Needs Are Great!The Sea Mercy Recovery Fleet arrived in Vanua Balavu at the end of May and vessels were assigned specific islands and villages to deliver aid and perform needs assessments.
Marie Dufour on DOMINO has done an amazing job in documenting the conditions and needs in the villages they visited on her blog, DOMINO 20 . The links to these posts are listed below. (Click on the picture captions for Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-91555539623627051882016-06-18T05:59:00.001+12:002016-06-18T05:59:53.756+12:00Progress on the Makogai School Project
Outsider in Makogai
Volunteers for the Makogai School Project - June 5th
Ian and Wendy on "Outsider" have been leading the efforts here on Makogai with a small fleet of Sea Mercy volunteer vessels and teams of international volunteers helping to rebuild the school. They have made much progress even before the landing craft arrived with additional supplies. Thank you Ian and Nancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015051328003991250.post-12105158312925320172016-06-17T03:32:00.000+12:002016-06-17T03:32:34.231+12:00Maiden Voyage of the Landing Craft "Sea Mercy" : Nadi to Makogai to Batiki
The trip
delivering the Landing Craft and supplies from Nadi to Makogai Island was an
adventure to say the least. Some incredible sights going around the northern
part of Viti Levu and into the Lomaiviti area.
The Landing Craft "Sea Mercy" brought all of us safely to Makogai into the welcoming arms (and bunks) of the
Sea Mercy fleet stationed in Makogai. Our sincere thanks for the supportNancy Uhlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06920401562552636893noreply@blogger.com1