austraLasia #1806
Touching Easter experience - DB Henderson ship first to bring succour to Simbo Island
(first hand account by relief party member; follow up to Archbishop Adrian Smith's comment on this venture reported in #1804)
HONIARA: 9th April 2007 -- 26 students and 12 staff from Don Bosco Technical College joined minds, hearts and hands in planning immediate relief action in favor of Simbo island in the western Solomons (35 km SW of Gizo) badly hit by the Tsunami last Monday in Holy Week, April 1. The reaction was triggered by a staff member hailing from
On the following day April 4, Wednesday, last day of class, after the washing each other’s feet, staff and students felt they should do more for each other and together for the people of
On April 4 at 11:00 am they sent an SOS to Europe's Don Bosco Organizations (DBN) asking for immediate support for a relief charter trip to Simbo. In 24 hours the amount had been pledged for charting a ship and bringing the needed goods. The school was ready to leave on Thursday April 5 but unfortunately no ship was available until Friday morning. Caritas organization joined in with a good amount of relief items. They left on Friday at 12 noon and reached Simbo at 9:30 am next day.
As they approached the
The welcome party at Lengana Wharf included the chairman of the relief committee of
It took a good four long hours under the heat of the sun to unload the whole shipment of supplies by the hard working Bosconians and the people of the
The party left Simbo at 2:00 pm and went on to Gizo where they reached at 4:00 and unloaded other relief goods for the Gizo and Ranonga people. At 6:00 pm they sailed back to
Interestingly enough this was the first relief ship to reach
The experienced deeply touched all Bosconians and staff members who are more than eager to join in any rehabilitation effort as soon as plans will be in place. 40 carpenter students and welders are available with their tools to cooperate in the reconstruction work. The main feeling shared by those who had these two days and two nights working, exhausting experience was unanimous: they all feel happy for what they did; this Easter Experience has been a truly meaningful one.
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