LIHU‘E — Time is of the essence as Kaua‘i gears up to help recovery efforts in Samoa, and people have been showing up around the clock to contribute items, said Rita Osamu. Osamu was manning the collection table at the
LIHU‘E — Time is of the essence as Kaua‘i gears up to help recovery efforts in Samoa, and people have been showing up around the clock to contribute items, said Rita Osamu.
Osamu was manning the collection table at the Lihu‘e United Church for items destined to help following a devastating earthquake and tsunami on Sept. 29 in Samoa.
“Most of the people were still sleeping after working hard the day before when everything hit,” Osamu said. “They had very little time to gather anything.”
Osamu said after hearing about what happened in Samoa, she approached Pastor Wesley Elmore of the church and he allowed them to start the collection efforts from last Monday.
“People brought everything,” Osamu said. “There were Skil saws, a generator, rugs, clothes, and even money. But the generator will really make one family happy.”
Osamu said a load of about 1,200 pounds was sent out Friday, and the Wednesday collection was the last one planned. But because of the way people have been so generous in helping, she said people can still call her and she will arrange for pick up of their items.
Sione Osamu, Rita’s husband, said the areas in Samoa that were affected by the natural disaster were hit really hard.
Two linemen from the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative left to help restore power in Samoa and are still there, KIUC communications officer Shelley Paik said.
“They have been in contact with us and said they’re working from sunup until sunset,” Paik said. “Those linemen put in 12- to 15-hour days and have been working since they got there. KIUC has sent five containers of materials to help them.”
Bernard Naea, supervisor for KIUC Transmission and Distribution, coordinated the delivery of two Toyota pickups, a service truck and a digger/derrick line truck to the Young Brothers pier for shipment to Samoa, Thursday morning.
Paik said originally these trucks were scheduled to be flown out of the Pacific Missile Range Facility, but due to certain restrictions, the trucks will now be shipped by boat to Samoa.
KIUC linemen Chris Acoba and John Ludington as well as Glenn Montemayor and Julius Balisacan of the KIUC Power Plant also left Lihu‘e Thursday to join Bobby Koteles and Jeremy McKelvy, who are scheduled to remain on Samoa for at least another week, Paik said.
“What is unique about this group of people is that Montemayor and Balisacan, in addition to knowing about how power plants work, also have automotive skills,” Paik said. “McKelvy, in a phone conversation, said in addition to the power plant being devastated, there are a lot of cars and vehicles that don’t work.”
Jack Levitt, in charge of Transmission and Distribution for KIUC, said he heard that one of the seaside power plants was demolished and a bridge carrying a major transmission line was also washed away.
Paik said when McKelvy and Koteles were approaching the island, one of the first things they saw were huge 30- to 40-foot boats lifted to the tops of trees by the force of the Sept. 29 tsunami.
“There were cars and trucks tossed around like discarded toys,” Paik said.
Sione Osamu confirmed that, noting that residents on the island the bridge served now have no way to drive across the ocean.
“They must either come by boat or fly over,” he said.
Rita Osamu said her uncle, a high talking chief, will be flying over to Samoa to help assess damage to the area where they have property.
Lorna Santos of the Lawa‘i Cannery Self Storage and Warehouse said they have also started to receive response for the Oceanit Samoa relief effort.
“After people read about the effort, some of the tenants brought items over they had in storage,” Santos said. “Annette Perreira from Oceanit called this morning and asked for the facility’s operating hours because they had gotten calls.”
Santos said what makes the Lawa‘i Cannery site convenient is they are open seven days a week.
The Oceanit collection runs through the morning of Oct. 23. For more information on the Oceanit relief efforts, call Perreira, or Mary Lu Kelley at 338-9000. For contributions to the efforts going on at the Lihu‘e United Church, call Osamu at 645-1363.
