When you visit coastal communities in developing countries we want you to feel empowered and knowledgeable so that your trip will be enhanced and the locals will be helped in a positive way.

It is not positive to give island children sugar lollies and candy. Many of them have a better diet than western children and consequently have fewer cases of tooth decay, obesity, diabetes and other chronic lifestyle diseases.

We will carry out humanitarian projects when we get requests for help.  They fall under the headings of:

General humanitarian aid - Village survey

Education - School survey

Health

General Humanitarian Aid

As an OceansWatch member you are an ambassador for us and are invited to talk to the village leaders and fill in a village survey. This survey helps us identify projects that OceansWatch members can participate in.  For specific projects that the villagers identify, fill in the Project Application Form. It is recommended that you print out some of these forms before you go travelling and then send them to PO Box 1803, Whangarei, New Zealand.  Forms for filling in online will be available soon.  This information will be added to the humanitarian Map below. Please look at the map to see if there are any needy villagers in the area you are travelling to.

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Education

Education is the key to raising living standards. We are interested in developing a relationship with as many schools as possible. Please fill in school surveys when you can. Most schools in developing countries are very under-resourced. Supplies that will be useful include paper, exercise books, pencils, chalk, paint and coloured pencils.

Health

Reading glasses can be very useful to older islanders to allow them to carry on their craft work, reading etc. We are keen for members to help us collect reading glasses. Please ONLY collect reading glasses and send them to OceansWatch, PO Box 1803, Whangarei, 0140, New Zealand