Photo Gallery - Humanitarian Vessel Vega
Westerbeke 7.6 BTD with over 15,000 hours finally replaced.........
In April 2016, after years of reliable service, the Westerbeke 7.6 kW diesel genset in the Humanitarian Vessel Vega was finally replaced. Shortly thereafter, Shane Granger, Vessel Master, wrote to thank us and expressed his inspiring personal perspective on all they do. See his note below the photos.
Westerbeke Corporation is proud to support the admirable dedication of Shane and Meggi and their network of hard working colleagues. Check out their Facebook page and visit their website to learn more about their mission.
From Shane Granger, Master - Humanitarian vessel Vega, July 8, 2016..........
The past few months have been hectic here on Vega. Procuring almost 20 tons of new educational and medical supplies for this year’s deliveries was quite a challenge bearing in mind we are a small Mom & Pop charity who depend on a large network of friends. Meggi and I do almost everything ourselves from contacting sponsors and ordering medical equipment to repairing the hull and keeping the rigging ship shape. At least thanks to you we once again have dependable power to charge batteries and provide for power tools.
The new genset is in and working like a champ! She sits there in her sound box and purrs like a happy kitten. You cannot imagine what a pleasure that is. If you remember the old Westerbeke generator gave us over 15,000 hours of service through some pretty rough conditions, so we have high hopes for the life of this one also. But that is the side we see here on board.
There is another aspect even more Important and those are the 9,400 doses of vaccines for infants and children we have in the dedicated chiller along with other medications that must be kept cold until we can deliver them. Without that generator we could not provide those life saving medications to the small island communities we assist. For many of those islands, when we leave they do not see another outside face until we return the following year. We are their only contact with the outside world.
Getting to the places where Vega’s supplies make such a difference is often a grueling task. There are long night watches, heavy seas that set Vega rolling in an uncomfortable manner, strong winds and torrential tropical downpours. It isn’t always a picnic carrying a load of tools, equipment, and supplies to some of the most isolated islands in the world, yet Meggi and I often manage it alone for months at a time, driven by a powerful sense of personal accomplishment coupled with the knowledge that all the effort and hard work are for a worthwhile cause, that there is a difficult mission to be accomplished and its success depends on us. Pride in accomplishment is our reward.
In the middle of my night watches when its wet and cold I console myself by remembering the feeling when we hand over our supplies to those who really need them. It is heart warming to know that even though we have suffered and worked hard to gather and deliver Vega’s cargo of hope to places most boat owners would never dream of going, it was all for a worthy cause and sincerely appreciated.
For us it is knowing that our efforts will save lives and help provide a better future for a few of the forgotten people and places bypassed by our hectic fast paced world. People whose dreams are of simple things like better tools to farm with, better schools for their children, or better health care from the local health post.
Having just finished with our first deliveries for this year we are now in Flores stocking up on provisions for the 2nd of 4 segments in our yearly journey. That leg consists of 2 small islands and East Timor. Even though East Timor was flooded with aid at one time, very little of that money found its way to the rural educational and medical services.
Those are the communities we do our best to assist by providing the educational and medical supplies as well as teaching aids and diagnostic equipment they need to get the job done. Mostly what they need are basics such as pencils and pens or exercise books and chalk although we also provide teaching aids, globes, maps, and other materials. The midwives and health workers always need bandages and other expendables as well as antibiotics, umbilical clamps, blood pressure cuffs, new disposable syringes, and vaccines for the new born and infants. The lists are long and comprehensive.
Before the year is out we will have impacted life on 18 small islands and East Timor directly effecting the lives of roughly 48,000 people. We can do this thanks to your kindness and understanding. Without trust worthy power these deliveries would simply not be possible. Thank you from Meggi and I here on Vega, but more importantly from the many people whose lives your kindness has helped make a little bit better.
Best and warmest regards,
Shane & Meggi
Humanitarian vessel Vega