Port Vila businessman, Bryan Death and his partner Val have just spent ten days in Queensland and on their return to Vila this week emailed fellow tourism promoters and other business colleagues and associates, friends, and everyone they could think of from government officials to church groups, telling them of the heartbreak they'd seen in Queensland.
"Within 24 hours we've been offered a shipping container and free shipping, and instant offers of food, clothing, toys and household goods from the Australian and Chinese expatriate communities and service clubs. We're hoping to see our container filled and on its way within the next week."
Mr Death said a business associate in Emerald – a town which had been ninety per cent inundated and was just west of Rockhampton, one of the State's worst-affected flood areas – had offered to receive the container and to arrange distribution of its contents through aid authorities to the most needy in Emerald.
"Vanuatu is itself normally the recipient of aid and appreciates the value of such assistance from overseas in its development and times of crisis, so it is nice to think that we can play a part – no matter how small – in helping others in such desperate plight as those in Queensland."
