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SurfAid Australia: Notice of Annual General Meeting
Notice is given that the 2008 Annual General Meeting of SurfAid International Australia will be held in the Coastalwatch Boardroom, Level 5, 53 Walker Street, North Sydney, on Tuesday 12 August 2008 at 4:00 pm.
Katiet Centre - Cooking and nutrition class a big success
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SurfAid Community Facilitator, Wati, holds a cooking/nutrition class at the Katiet Centre.
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SurfAid Community Facilitor Wati held a cooking and nutrition class for Care Group mothers from the hamlets (dusun) of Mongan Bosua, Katiet and Sao in April.
About 20 mothers attended the day-long workshop which incorporated a range of activities at the Quiksilver SurfAid Community Health Training Centre.
The mothers collected a variety of locally available, healthy food and, under the guidance and instruction of Wati, they prepared three different types of meals that would be ideal for pregnant mothers, babies under 12 months and infants under five.
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International Board Visits The Mentawai To Review Programs and Direction
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International Board and staff with Pukarayat Care Group. Photo: Kirk Willcox/SAI
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SurfAid's International Board (IB) held its annual field meeting in the Mentawai Islands in March, reviewing the programs and setting the future course of the organization, which is now eight years old.
Board members Steve Hathaway (chairman), Ray Wilson, Harry Hodge and Paul Riehle were all able to make the trip while Santiago Aguerre unfortunately had to make a last-minute withdrawal due to illness. All donate their time voluntarily to SurfAid.
Senior management staff in attendance included CEO Dr Dave Jenkins, who also sits on the International Board, Chief Operations Officer Andrew Judge, Program Director Alan Rogerson and Country Director Bart Rombaut.
+ Read the full story
AusAID Reviews E-Prep Program in the Mentawai and Nias
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The Wakil Bupati (Vice Regent) of the Mentawai, Yudas Sabaggalet, at the inauguration and first test run of the new radio station, Radio Sasaraina, in Tua Pejat which is now broadcasting E-Prep programs. Photo: Kirk Willcox/SAI
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In late April/early May, a team from AusAID – the Australian Government’s Agency for International Development – conducted a mid-program review of SurfAid’s three-year, $3.15 million Emergency Preparedness (E-Prep) Program in the Mentawai and Nias islands that AusAID funds as part of the Australia-Indonesia Partnership.
The E-Prep program, which targets 55 coastal villages (22 villages in the Mentawai Islands and 33 villages in Nias), began in October 2006 and focuses on three objectives:
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Raising community awareness.
- Building the capacity of the community and developing contingency plans.
- Disaster mitigation.
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Staff Profile – Mona Lisa in the Mentawai

E-Prep staff member Mona Lisa, left, performed in a traditional Mentawai dancing exhibition in the village of Tiop, on the island of Siberut Selatan, during a ceremony on the AusAID program review visit in April. Photo: Kirk Willcox / SAI
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SurfAid has its own Mona Lisa and she’s just as valuable to the team as the more famous one hanging on a wall in the Paris Louvre.
Our Mona Lisa, 25, has been part of the E-Prep Program team in the Mentawai Islands since June 2007.
Born on the northernmost Mentawai island of Siberut, Mona Lisa lives in Katurei village in South Siberut and she works in the hamlets of Tiop and Sarausau.
She is one of 12 dedicated E-Prep Community Facilitators who live together with the target communities, speaking the dialect and understanding the local culture and customs.
+ Read the full story
Preparing For the Next Big Earthquake:
SurfAid Profiled on Australia Network
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Photo: australianetwork.com
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On 7 May 2008, Australia Network's NewsHour, which airs throughout Asia and the Pacific, broadcast "Preparing for the next big earthquake", a story focusing on the September 2007 earthquakes in the Mentawais and SurfAid's role in improving disaster response through the E-Prep program, which is sponsored by AusAID. The piece included information on SurfAid's efforts to expand the broadcasting capability of local radio in the islands, as well as an interview with E-Prep Programme Manager Jason Brown.
SurfAid International Profiled by ABC News
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Photo: ABCNews.com
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SurfAid International was profiled by ABC News on 18 April 2008 as part of their World News Webcast. Highlighting SurfAid's role in disaster relief following the recent earthquakes in the Mentawai Islands, the report includes an interview with Dr Dave Jenkins, who discusses SurfAid's mission to combat preventable disease and improve nutrition through education.
SurfAid International Reaches Milestone in Malaria Free Mentawai Program

Photo: Bob Barker/RovingEye |
SurfAid International has completed stage two of its Malaria Free Mentawai (MFM) program, delivering mosquito nets and malaria education to 53,000 people on three of the four Mentawai Islands, off Indonesia’s West Sumatran coast.
This milestone has been reached in 12 months, since the launch of the program in March 2007, despite delays when the SurfAid malaria teams were diverted to emergency work after the two major Mentawai earthquakes, measuring 8.4 and 7.9 on the Richter scale, in September.
+ READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE
Earthquake Relief Effort Succeeds!
THANK YOU! On behalf of the people of the Mentawai Islands affected by the two massive earthquakes last September, thank you to all the SurfAid International donors that contributed to the emergency relief effort launched by SurfAid International.
With your contributions, SurfAid distributed food, shelter, water, and medical help in partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF – Doctors Without Borders) Belgium to communities totaling 47,000 residents.
+ For a full wrap-up please follow this link.
BREAKING NEWS: More Quakes Rattle Region
Situation Report 1
Situation Report 2
Situation Report 3
SurfAid International Launches Quiksilver SurfAid Community Health Training Centre
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Mentawai Vice-Head Yudas Sabaggalet, Quiksilver's Bruce Raymond and SurfAid's Dr Dave Jenkins officially open the Community Health Training Centre.
Photo: Kirk Willcox/SAI
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SurfAid International has opened the first stage of the Quiksilver SurfAid Community Health Training Centre at Katiet, in the Mentawai Islands, off Indonesia’s West Sumatran coast.
The centre, which has been funded by the Quiksilver Foundation, has been designed by leading organic agriculturalist, Brendan Hoare.
+ READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE
+ For more information please visit www.katiet.org.
SurfAid International Wins Prestigious Global Humanitarian Award
Aid organization SurfAid International has received the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO) 2007 Humanitarian Award at the World Congress of NGOs awards ceremony in Toronto, Canada.
The award recognizes SurfAid as one of the best non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the world, a testament to their groundbreaking and effective approach to providing aid.
+ READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE
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