Needs Assessment Reports

As 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 along with solar panels to power them. These units are essential to bridging the gaps until roofs can be rebuilt and rainwater collected. Solar power requires no fuel except the sun which is plentiful and free in Fiji.

Roofing/guttering: In addition to any wells or natural springs that may be nearby, rain water is collected by a guttering system on the roofs of homes and buildings and directed to storage tanks. Most roofs were destroyed and tanks damaged during Winston. Materials are needed to rebuild these systems in order to maintain a reliable water source.

Lighting: A few villages have a community generator that they run for a few hours at night. Each family pays a portion of the fuel costs for the generator. Some generators were damaged by the storm and some are just really old. Many villages have only solar panels for power but many of those were damaged by the storm as well. Sea Mercy has distributed a couple hundred LuminAid solar lights and they have been very much appreciated by all. We could use a couple hundred more lights at least!

School Books & Supplies: Most of the school buildings were completely destroyed or damaged beyond use. All of the books and school supplies in the buildings were also destroyed. They also  have need of books for the libraries.

Thank you all for your continued interest in the recovery process in Fiji. I will be updating the "Needs" list on the blog shortly but cash donations are still the most effective way to help the beautiful people of Fiji recovery from the fury of Winston.