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As many of you know we are currently in Fiji.
When I say we I mean my wife, daughter Karen, her husband Cameron, her two children and another of our grandchildren.
When staying here Karen & Cam use a nanny some of the time so they can have some sanity time of their own.
Today we went to the village where Karen's Nanny is from. We handed out lots of chocolate Easter gifts and some clothes and they loved it. (Adults and kids alike) Karen's Nanny (Nata) only had the clothes she was wearing and her work uniform and was so excited when Karen gave her a couple of bras and T shirts.
We asked if there was anything else that we might be able to help them with and the answer was bottled water as their drinking water is polluted, tinned food, bread, rice and some cleaning equipment. The amazing thing is they still have a magic attitude and look forward to getting back to 'normal'.
When the water rose they had to get to the village church and only managed to do so by pulling themselves along a rope. Nata's 75 yr old mother nearly got swept away as she was not strong enough to manage by herself. She only survived as other risked themselves to help her.
We went into one house where the water was up to the table tops and it is now cleaner than many houses I've seen in Australia. Unfortunately that is only one house and many others have been destroyed or at least all the belongings have been destroyed. As I said before their whole attitude and outlook is amazing and they were quite taken back at the things we gave them.
Admin has given me permission to run a mini Fiji appeal on AFF with those who want to do so pledging some money? Donations could be public via this thread or private via PM (up to the individual).
The only way I could see this working would be for people to pledge money. I would then buy the items and collect the money on return. it would require trust in both directions.
I envisage that this would run until and including Tuesday next week 17th April. At the end of this we would publish the total amount and the members who contributed.
I realise this is just a drop in the ocean of what is really needed but I also believe that every bit helps.
When I say we I mean my wife, daughter Karen, her husband Cameron, her two children and another of our grandchildren.
When staying here Karen & Cam use a nanny some of the time so they can have some sanity time of their own.
Today we went to the village where Karen's Nanny is from. We handed out lots of chocolate Easter gifts and some clothes and they loved it. (Adults and kids alike) Karen's Nanny (Nata) only had the clothes she was wearing and her work uniform and was so excited when Karen gave her a couple of bras and T shirts.
We asked if there was anything else that we might be able to help them with and the answer was bottled water as their drinking water is polluted, tinned food, bread, rice and some cleaning equipment. The amazing thing is they still have a magic attitude and look forward to getting back to 'normal'.
When the water rose they had to get to the village church and only managed to do so by pulling themselves along a rope. Nata's 75 yr old mother nearly got swept away as she was not strong enough to manage by herself. She only survived as other risked themselves to help her.
We went into one house where the water was up to the table tops and it is now cleaner than many houses I've seen in Australia. Unfortunately that is only one house and many others have been destroyed or at least all the belongings have been destroyed. As I said before their whole attitude and outlook is amazing and they were quite taken back at the things we gave them.
Admin has given me permission to run a mini Fiji appeal on AFF with those who want to do so pledging some money? Donations could be public via this thread or private via PM (up to the individual).
The only way I could see this working would be for people to pledge money. I would then buy the items and collect the money on return. it would require trust in both directions.
I envisage that this would run until and including Tuesday next week 17th April. At the end of this we would publish the total amount and the members who contributed.
I realise this is just a drop in the ocean of what is really needed but I also believe that every bit helps.
