Following the recent upgrade of it's generator and lighting unit, the St Leonards- Indented Head Brigade were faced with the an all to familiar question - what to do with the old generator?
The previous 4.5kw generator, which had kindly been donated to the Brigade by the former Ladies Auxiliary, had been instrumental in operating the old halogen spotlights on the trailer. Over time, the generator had become considerably loud to operate, and the halogen spotlights themselves became outdated with the introduction of LED lighting equipment. So, with the changeover of lighting to LED and purchase of the new 1kw generator, the old unit became surplus to the requirements of the Brigade.
At a Brigade meeting, the future of the old generator was discussed. Brigade member John Best suggested donating the generator to the people of Tatau – a small island located in the New Island Province, east of Papua New Guinea. John had travelled to Tatau for work on a number of occasions, and found the lack of power supply over there quite a challenge!! There is no power on the island, and the people rely on a small amount of solar power for their lighting. However, there is nothing there to provide enough power to operate power tools, such as grinders and saws.
After a quick discussion, the Brigade membership unanimously moved a motion to donate the old generator to the people of Tatau. This would pose another adventure! Getting the generator to the island was the easy part- pop it in a shipping container and send it off. The hard part was being able to get it out of storage when it got there!! After a couple more trips, and some lengthy conversations, the generator finally arrived in the village. John Best, who did a power of work to get the generator there, was happy to officially handover the generator to Dennis Topu and family.
It goes to show that supporting communities comes in all shapes and sizes- and isn’t always close to home.
Author: Libby Symons