Daily Archives: April 16, 2016

Makogai and Na Sau Village

Motoring clockwise around Viti Levu and beating into the wind, we took 3 days to get to Makogai. The destruction was obvious as we approached the anchorage–most of the coconut trees were just sticks, the wharf was destroyed, and only a few structures remained. We went ashore and joined the men there who had just started drinking kava. Most were from Na Sau village on the south end of the island and were there helping to rebuild the government’s Fisheries program. At the kava ceremony we heard fascinating stories about how they survived a category 5 cyclone by running from houses as the winds ripped the roofs off. After most of the houses were destroyed, they ran up into the hillside to get some shelter from flying debris. Amazingly, there were no deaths or serious injuries on the island. Most of the people at Na Sau ended up under the foundation of their houses, which was all that remained after the cyclone passed through. It was dark by the time we left the kava ceremony and we made plans for them to pick us up the next morning in their long boat to deliver the aid supplies to Na Sau. The half hour boat ride to Na Sau was rainy and windy. They tied up the longboat and we carried the supplies along a muddy trail to the village. There were lots of women and children at what remained of the village, some of whom I recognized from my visit last year. The school was completely destroyed and the 20 families shared what was left of their houses. The youngest there was a 10 month old girl, and the oldest was an 82 year old woman. Some of the kids that Karen, Jacintha, and I played frisbee, volleyball, and rugby with last year remembered us when I showed pictures of them on my camera. One of the village elders showed us around as the women divided our supplies up into 20 neat piles, starting with the food, then clothing, then toys. A prior Sea Mercy delivery vessel brought a portable Spectre watermaker unit (desalinator) which he turned on while we were there. It took about 2 hours to divide up the supplies, and by the time we left, some of the kids were running around wearing probably their first pair of Nike sneakers. There were lots of questions about some of the food we brought since they werent familiar with much of the canned food. The living conditions there are harsh, especially during the rainy season while they are still rebuilding their houses. We asked what they were most in need of so we could report back to Sea Mercy. A chain saw, more food, re-building the school (their makeshift school was a dozen or so desks under a torn tarp, making it difficult to have class during the rainy season) and more kids clothing were at the top of their list. We also left them with 8 LuminAid solar lights that we brought from Seattle. We took lots of pictures and heard stories about the cyclone during the 3 hours we spent there. They were very appreciative of Sea Mercy and thanked us for bringing the supplies.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Denise at the helm
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Cyclone destruction evident at north side of Viti Levu
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Fisheries side of Makongai
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Cyclone Winston Destruction on Makogai
12778942_10153879391143617_6312409908849462531_o
Taken in July 2015
image3
Taken in April 2016
DSCN2439
Taken July 2015
image1
Taken April 2016
DSCN2440
Taken July 2015
IMG_4125
Taken April 2016
image2
Remains of the dock
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Na Sau village, dividing up the supplies we brought
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
The youngest at Na Sau
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
At 82, she is the eldest at Na Sau
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Reminding him of our last visit when he played with my daughter Jacintha
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
We played lots of frisbee during our visit last year
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Na Sau school remains
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Another shot of the school
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
20 piles for the 20 families
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Despite their loss, they are always smiling
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Fili showing us the watermaker donated by Sea Mercy
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Testing the desal water
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Village of Na Sau

 

Share

Sea Mercy

Sea Mercy (www.seamercy.org) is a non-profit organization whose vision is to be the most effective preventive, curative, promotional and rehabilitative floating health care provider and service delivery mechanism to support the remote citizens of the island nations. I found out about Sea Mercy while back in Seattle when I was tracking the cyclones in the South Pacific. Since I returned to Fiji early in the season, I decided to sign on as an aid delivery and assessment vessel. Prior to our arrival, a couple of 1st response yachts went to some of the hard to reach villages that got hit hard by tropical cyclone Winston. One such place, a small island called Makogai, took a direct hit. We spent several days on the island last year and it was one of the places I wanted to return to. Sea Mercy has a warehouse at Port Denarau, not far from Vuda Point marina, so that was our first stop after getting Apropos back in the water. The warehouse was full of donated items such as clothing, canned food, diapers, bags of rice, plastic water containers, and some larger items like tents, shovels, pitchforks, boxes of nails, and building materials. It looked like most items came from New Zealand and Australia. We filled the entire aft starboard berth with 3 large bags of clothing and shoes, 1 bag of toys, 4 bags of canned food, a sack of rice, and a bag of empty plastic water bottles (kids take these to back and forth to school for drinking water). Sea Mercy staff gave us the go-ahead to take everything to Makogai and asked us to report back as to what else they were in need of.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Port Denarau
image1(1)
Sea Mercy Warehouse Supplies
IMG_4117
Loading up aid supplies
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Supplies in quarter berth
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Fire show at Port Denarau
Share