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Donations from OR, WA relief drives to arrive soon
A container of relief goods from the U.S. mainland will arrive on Saipan in a couple of weeks. Sent by a coalition called Operation Pacific-Northwest Relief for Saipan, the group organized a relief drive in Oregon and Washington following Typhoon Soudelor’s devastation on island.
Members of a coalition called Operation Pacific-Northwest Relief for Saipan pose in front of the container that Matson donated to ship relief items to Saipan. (Contributed Photo)
Matson Guam donated a 40-foot container for the relief drive. The recipient of the container will be Empty Vessel Ministry.
Aside from clothes, shoes, and school supplies, one of the biggest donations was made by Oregon’s local company, which is known for their edge in water technology.
According to Yvette Sablan, the company filled their 20-foot truck with hydropacks, which tallied out to about 270,000 pouches.
“The life packet is an emergency hydration solution created specifically for use during the critical days after a natural disaster,” Sablan said.
The packet transforms dirty and brackish water into a tasty, nutritious drink through forward osmosis. Sablan said this was solicited by David Hickman.
“Credit also goes out to Lawrence ‘L.J.’ Duenas for his effort in soliciting the assistance of New Hope Aloha Pau’ole to fund the transport of the packets from Oregon to Washington,” Sablan added.
She also thanked Greg Chu, general manager of Matson Seattle, Washington for his contribution on pursuing the assistance of Allstate Trucking to deliver and pick up the container from a location also contributed by the City of Auburn’s Mayor’s office.
“We have been humbled by all the generous donations and words just aren’t enough to express our appreciation to Matson Guam and Washington for your tremendous contribution in this effort,” Sablan said.
Members of the committee that helped with the relief drive are Ben and Dorothy Seman, Jerome andDeena Salas, Wilton and Crystal Ngotel, Roslyn Leon Guerrero, Manny “Jun” Tenorio, and Yvette Sablan.
