Dear colleagues and friends,

We are writing to you now in response to the tsunami that has devastated lives on the island of Samoa in the Pacific.

As you probably know, the Dulwich Centre has a long-standing relationship and partnership with the Just Therapy Team from The Family Centre in New Zealand. This is a team that comprises of Maori, Pakeha (European) and Samoan colleagues.

Taimalie Kiwi Tamasese, Tafaoimalo Loudeen and the entire Just Therapy Team are now working day and night to respond to the villagers that have been directly affected by the tsunami.

Here is a recent update from The Family Centre Team:

Taimalie Kiwi and Tafaoimalo Loudeen are working under the direction of the Samoan Ministry of Health Disaster Relief Coordinator and he desperately wants help working with trauma. Some people are going further up the mountain, because of the fear it could all repeat and others lost babies out of their arms, were forced to let go family members, etc. This is making the medical effort much more difficult, so we have spent the weekend pulling together training resources and discussing approaches with leading people in the field in the US, Australia and New Zealand, some of whom can help over there.

Kiwi and Loudeen have developed a base at Nofoali'i (Kiwi’s village), to host workers going up into the mountains, providing food and shelter for them. The trauma team and other medical and relief personnel being brought in to Samoa will be housed there.

Sue Mitchell, who is a Dulwich Centre Faculty member, is also currently in Samoa with Medicine Sans Frontiers and she is going to assist Taimalie Kiwi in any way that she can.

Taimalie Kiwi is determined that responses to this disaster will be based on appropriate cultural healing knowledges and we will be aiming to assist her team in any ways that are seen to be appropriate.

We are writing to you now to ask for your help. The assistance that is being requested at this time is financial. A dedicated fund has been established to support the work of the Family Centre in response to the tsunami. If there is any way in which you can make a financial contribution to this fund it would be so greatly appreciated. The reconstruction efforts in Samoa will take many months and any support you can offer will make a real difference.

If you can offer a financial contribution please can you send it to:
BENEFICIARY ACCOUNT NAME: Dulwich Centre Foundation International Inc
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 345 Carrington Street, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia
BANK: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ)
BRANCH: 185 Hutt Street, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia
SWIFT CODE: ANZBAU3M
BRANCH NUMBER: 015 056
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 451789266

If you would like a receipt for your donation, please email Jane Hales (JaneHales@dulwichcentre.com.au) at the same time as transferring the funds to let us know the amount and Jane will send you a receipt.

Thank you so much for considering this request.

Whatever funds are collected will then be distributed to directly support work happening on the ground in Samoa.

Warm regards,
from all of us here at
Dulwich Centre.