The Tristan community raised an amazing total of £3456.99 for the UK Disaster Emergency Committee Philippines Typhoon Appeal.

Tristan Community Pulls Together to Raise Funds

The total raised locally and sent to UK Disaster Emergency Committee Philippines Typhoon Appeal was £3026.34
In addition the on-line 'Just Giving' appeal for the sponsored swim stands at £430.65 on 23rd December
Giving an amazing total of £3456.99,
which represents £13 + for every Tristan Islander!
(is there a higher per capita rate anywhere else???)


All funds raised will go to the
UK Disaster Emergency Committee
Philippines Typhoon Appeal

Conrad Glass led the island initiative. Writing on 12th November he said:

'I have been moved by the plight of the people in the Philippines. The Tristan community have a long history of helping others in need, mainly sailors from wrecked ships or in need of medical aid. When the Oliva struck Nightingale the majority of the crew where from the Philippines. I hope they and their families were unhurt. In some small gesture we will try and help those in need. Raising funds will be the only way we can help.' The Tristan community have experienced what it's like to have ones life turned upside down, some 50 years ago when we were forced to evacuate our island.

So Conrad met to organise fund-raising with Administrator Alex Mitham, Dawn Repetto from the Tourism Department, Treasurer Lorraine Repetto and Anne Green and Carl Lander from St Mary's School.


They invite others to join them through backing a sponsored swim
by pupils of St Mary's School aiming to cover a total of 20 Nautical Miles
in 12hrs (36,000m or 1800 lengths, the distance around our Island)
at a special event at the swimming pool (see programme below)
by donating via an on-line link up with www.justgiving.com:

www.justgiving.com/Tristan-Island-Swim

Check the website page for details of the event, UK Gift Aid added to donations,
and below for more on the event itself

Latest Funds Raised
St Mary's School Fête and Competitions ~ £291
Adult Shooting Competition ~ £64
RMS St Helena passenger draw ~ £98.40
Rockhopper Copper and Driving License Sales ~ £300
Village Donation Buckets ~ £46
Collections from Tristan Churches ~ £226.94
St Mary's School Sponsored Swim local income ~ £2000
Grand Total sent from Tristan = £3026.34

St Mary's School Sponsored Swim via justgiving.com ~ £430.65

Grand Total = £3456.99

Fund Raising Events

Sunday 17th November

St Mary's School Fête

The school teachers and children
baked and sold cookies,
biscuits and tarts.

 

Conrad Glass' photos show staff and pupils setting up their stalls at the school

Robin Repetto's photos show the school
fund-raising fête in full swing
on a hot early summer's day

 

 

 


Photos of the
Shooting Competition
 organised by
Inspector Conrad Glass
from Robin Repetto
and from Carl Lander (below)

 

 

 

Fund Raising during the RMS St Helena Visit

A raffle was held with islanders donating knitwear and other handicrafts as prizes. Conrad Glass will be selling a special package of his book 'Rockhopper Copper' with a valid Tristan da Cunha Driving Licence as a special one-off package to RMS passengers.
Conrad Glass addresses a Reception in the Prince Philip Hall on 20th November.
A week ago the Philippines was hit by a typhoon that decimated the area. The memories of the survivors asking for help from our TV screens I guess moved all of us to help. I discussed a few suggestions with the Administrator and Deputy Chief Islander, who asked me to take this forward on their behalf. Supported by the positive response from the community, we held fund raising events, which the children did very well guided by teachers and helped by parents.
Pensioners and the handicraft centres donated Tristan Crafts for the raffle prizes. As of today the sum of funds raised on Tristan is £709. We are still collecting and have the sponsored swim by the children still to come.
Our affiliation with the Philippines goes back to when the MS Oliva was wrecked on Nightingale. The crew of mainly Filipinos, were rescued by Captain Clarence and his crew, and brought to Tristan to be cared for by the community. We share a similar fate with them of surviving a natural disaster. I would like to present the prizes for the shooting competitions, and the raffle, with the help of the Acting Chief Islander and thank all who helped with the fund raising.

Hasene Mitham
presents one of the raffle prizes
in the draw to raise funds for the
Tristan Philippines Typhoon Appeal
to RMS visitor Laura Hill.

Sponsored Swimming Event
on Thursday 21st November

Report and photos from Carl Lander
unless stated
Whilst the sun tried to break through, Thursday morning had gusts of 25mph. The sponsored swim was postponed but by 10.00 the wind had dropped and the sun was out. The classes of school children came up in turn to the island swimming pool for their first hour supported by their teachers. In the morning 14,320 m was completed. After lunch the children returned now looking a little more tired. During the afternoon a further 10,815m was swum.
Drew, the new director of PWD, rigged up the floodlights and the third session of swimming got under way for the older children. Class 5, Kelly Swain provided the music as pupils swam a further 6500m under floodlight supported by parents.

As 21.00 arrived, even the swimming machines of Randall Repetto and Luis Enrique Lander started to looked tired. Both boys had swum 4 sessions, some 6 hours worth, and completed a staggering 6000m between them (that is 6km !!).

All students and staff had worked hard and impressed with their efforts. All children were presented with their achievement certificates in Assembly Friday 22nd November. Now collecting the sponsorship starts.
Photos from Tina Glass

On Friday 6th December
in a special school assembly
Administrator Alex Mitham
received a cheque for £2000
which was the total received locally for the sponsored swim.

Each pupil who took part received
a certificate of achievement.

See the School News Page
for more details and further photos from Shirley Squibb

Early day motion 1316 on 7th May 2014

Primary Sponsor MP Andrew Rosindell and supported by MPs Jim Dobbin, Bob Blackman and Julian Lewis tabled an Early Day Motion to the House of Commons on 7th May 2014 congratulating the Tristan da Cunha Community on its outstanding effort to support the Philippines Typhoon Appeal.

The motion reads:

That this House applauds the generosity, humanity and enterprise of the people of the world's most remote inhabited island, the British Overseas Territory of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic, for raising £3,456 for the Philippines Typhoon Appeal, representing the sum of £13 for each of the 264 residents, raised from events which included a sponsored swim by Tristan children in the island pool, equivalent to a collective round-the-island swim of 20 miles; notes that all monies have been paid to the UK Disasters Emergency Committee; and recognises that this selfless act comes as the islanders celebrate the 50th anniversary of their return from exile following the volcanic eruption of 1961, and their recent sheltering in their homes of the Filipino crew rescued from the bulk carrier Oliva, wrecked on one of the Tristan islands.

See the Hansard Record on www.parliament.uk/edm/2013-14/1316