Although this post is several weeks late at this point, it is important to touch on the effect of Typhoon Maysak on the local communities, and Akoyikoyi as a school.
Hearing that the storm was coming to Chuuk, Australian Volunteer Martyn Burne and I went to Akoyikoyi Center/School. Soon we were joined by Jesuit Volunteers Chris and Melanie. We put computers, printers and other equipment in cupboards and moved things to what we felt were safe places. We moved some desks and tables and other storage things.Sunday the storm came with an unexpected fury.
Monday we went to see if the roof was on. It would have been very serious had the roof blown off as we would have sustained serious damage to all curriculum, school equipment and supplies. Fortunately the roof held through the storm.
Fortunately our school sustained only minor rain damage and mud splattered walls and cabinets, water on the floor and some wet student workbooks that had to be replaced. Telephone poles and lines were and so we were without island power, Internet & phone service, but we are OK! In spite of the typhoon, 14 students came Monday.
The staff came together and worked all day cleaning, straightening and organizing. We were also joined by World Teach nurse Hwoi Min and several other World Teach instructors. They conducted a health clinic offering advice and help to those with medical issues.
Tuesday we opened! We were the only school in the state offering classes and we had over 2/3rds of our students show up. We did this, feeling it was important, for several reasons:1. School is important and we don’t want to just take time off.2. Children need order in their lives. They need to be able to count on some things, and school offers this.3. We felt if we had the kids back that we could find out if they had clothes, food, etc., and get things back to normal as soon as possible.4. We wanted them to continue getting the daily Manna Relief, high vitamin and nutrient rich powder, our kids take everyday.
SHIP-HOOPS has asked for basic support for items we feel may not be available to our children and community.
1. Nutrition Bars or Nutrition Crackers we can give the students to supplement their daily diet.
2. Basic school supplies to replace those that were damaged.
3. Battery operated power drills and tech screws (hexagonal head threaded screws) which we can give to members of the community to use when they replace roofs. Screws are stronger than nails. Akoyikoyi School will also add screws to our roof for greater strength.
4. Clothing for elementary-age children
To inquire about donating please feel free to contact either the school principal (akoyikoyiprincipal@gmail.com) or Clark Graham (rekiichuuk2@gmail.com)
Any supplies can be sent to:
Akoyikoyi School
P.O. Box 1072
Chuuk, FM 96942
We appreciate the dedication shown by our parents and students as school was able to resume quickly following the storm, and we are glad we were able to provide a sense of normalcy for families fighting to recover from the devastating damage of the storm. Any assistance at this time would still be very much appreciated.
Kinisow Chapur
Akoyikoyi Staff
