For Sea Mercy, delivering is Emergency Aid is far more than just Drop aid on the beach and Go. Training how to use water filters will mean the difference between sustainable clean water for a family or a wasted donation that becomes trash on an island. What might seem simple to our eyes as we read the written (English) instructions on the Sawyer Water filters package, is a foreign language to those that can read and just lines to those that cannot. To overcome this, Sea Mercy not only translated and reprinted the Sawyer Filter directions into Bislama (Vanuatu), we also developed a pictorial "how to" for those who cannot read. If that was not enough, we developed a "Train the Trainer" program so that those delivering the buckets to the remote communities could transfer and leave their skills and knowledge with someone in each village.
Sea Mercy respects and values every donation that is given to help us meet the needs following a natural disaster and develop a plan for success to ensure that. Our view is not about the amount of aid that is delivered, but the effectiveness of the aid that we deliver. Although well meaning, so much international aid is either unneeded or sits unused through a lack of training. Our goal is to try and think through the challenges before us and develop a plan that will overcome them before the aid arrives.
Clean drinking water is the most important need in Vanuatu at this time. With the dry season coming, this need will increase in these Cyclone Harold devastated communities. There is an estimated need of additional 3-5,000 Sawyer filters for families across the northern islands. With effective instructions and training available, help us to meet those needs by making a secure online donation to Sea Mercy. Because Sea Mercy is a 100% volunteer charity, your donations are only used to secure and deliver the needed aid to the affected areas. Thank you!