Strengthening the Community

Cook Islands Cyclone Relief an Ongoing Challenge

Five cyclones in as many weeks provided members of the Church in the Cook Islands with almost unlimited opportunities for service to other members and the wider community as well. There was a great deal of damage to housing and crops on both the main island of Rarotonga and neighboring islands, but the members swung into action to help restore order.

The Church supplied food and water to Pukapuka. Building materials and members’ labor helped in reroofing one house and completely rebuilding two others on Aitutaki. Many houses on Rarotonga were repaired using Church-supplied materials and priesthood labor.

In addition, the Church is funding the installation of a large concrete pad at Te Uki Ou School on Rarotonga so that students using wheelchairs and walkers can mingle with friends more easily.

Institute Celebrates with Service Weekend

During a break in university terms, the three Hamilton stakes and the young single adult ward focused on enrolling for institute for the next semester. The theme for the institute weekend was “Joseph Smith and Young Adults—True to the Values.” Following a mix-and-meet opening activity, the activity turned toward service.

Project number one was at Hamon’s Bush, just west of the Temple View Community, where Elder and Sister Roger Hamon are serving as missionaries. The young adults planted native trees on what has come to be known as Institute Hill.

Project number two saw young adults mingling with other Temple View stake members in another tree-planting project for the Hamilton City Council.

The third service project involved making quilts and donating soft toys for the children’s ward at the Waikato Hospital. The young adults donated 29 quilts and 4 large sacks of soft toys to the hospital during this activity.

Spearheading the toy project was Amy Howard, who said recent stays with her son in the hospital made her want to do something to brighten it up for the young patients. The children will be able to play with the toys and take one of their favorites home with them after their stay.

Relief Society Sisters Knit Warmers for Penguins

A team of Relief Society sisters from the Coffs Harbour Branch in New South Wales has pulled out their knitting needles in response to a cry for help from the fairy penguins of Phillip Island.

“Nature reserves in this area use the knitted sweaters for the rehabilitation of oil-damaged penguins. Oil spills kill many penguins there each year because the oil damages the penguins’ feathers, making them susceptible to poisoning and drowning,” says Marion Braun of the Coffs Harbour Branch.

The Bass Strait of Australia, separating Tasmania from the mainland, is a major shipping thoroughfare. Occasional seafaring mishaps can be disastrous to the fairy penguins, so called because they are the smallest penguin species in the world.

The penguin sweaters are stored in oil-spill-response kits positioned in critical locations around Tasmania. In the case of an oil spill, little penguins are usually far too ill to be cleaned with water and mild detergent right away, and the scrubbing can be quite stressful. Instead, rescuers slip the oil-coated birds into wool sweaters, which prevent them from preening themselves and possibly swallowing toxic petroleum-based oil as they regain needed strength. The sweaters also serve to keep the penguins warm until their bodies are once again producing the natural oils (removed by the cleaning) necessary for their insulation and waterproofing.