Update 1/3/16:
After receiving an outpouring of donations from the yachtingcommunity throughout Australia, M/Y Dorothea III plans to distribute goods andadditional water filters to the islands recovering from cyclone damage inVanuatu and Fiji on their voyage east from New Caledonia.
Original story:
As many crew can testify, one of the greatest perks of thejob is traveling and experiencing places they wouldn’t otherwise see. With 50countries under her belt in the past four years, M/Y Dorothea III has certainly seen her share of destinations anddiversity while enjoying time with the people and their different cultures on her voyage. Along the way, the crew has also seen that many of these communitiesare in need and have discovered yet another perk that comes with being crew:helping these communities, even if it’s in the smallest of ways.
“Prior to departing Fort Lauderdale last October, wecollected donations (clothing, school supplies) to distribute along our travelsand it became evident that we could and wanted to do more,” says Capt. JohnCrupi. “Our friend and colleague Mark Drewelow at YachtAid Global suggestedWaves for Water.”
Helping out more than seven million people in the past sixyears, Waves for Water is dedicated to providing clean water to those in needby digging and renovating wells, building rainwater harvesting and storingsystems, and distributing water filters.
It’s the latter that the DorotheaIII crew is hoping to raise money for, with the goal to purchase and provide100 clean water filtration systems or more to South Pacific island communities in need.According to Crupi, filters are $50 and provide up to one million gallons ofclean, filtered water.
The crew hopes to receive all donations by through July and willbe coordinating their efforts with local relief management in Tonga, Fiji, andVanuatu to ensure delivery to areas that lack both clean drinking water andaccess to supplies.
Currently, they’ve received 23 donations, which have thepotential to affect 10,000 people. Help make that number grow by donating at http://forwater.co/project.html?id=26.
As Crupi puts it, “It’s easy to start and follow throughwith your ideas — as yacht crew, we can make a difference in the lives andpeople of the places we visit.”