Volunteers are the life-blood of the YWAM KOHA
Watch a 60-second update on what’s been happening with the YWAM KOHA:
The purpose of YWAM Ships Aotearoa (YSA) is to empower isolated Island communities for a healthy future. We believe that we can improve the future of our Pacific neighbours.
A crew of long-term and short-term volunteers are essential to this mission. Everyone serving with YSA is a volunteer – including all the marine professionals, healthcare professionals, deck crew and staff.
It is not just long-term volunteers who contribute. Short-term volunteers bring their unique skills to meet pressing needs. In the last few months, significant upgrades and improvements have been made to the MV YWAM KOHA. The ship’s plumbing and electrical wiring have been improved. Volunteers from across New Zealand have also chipped rust, painted, installed wifi, built a laundry facility and cleaned.
Bryan Barrett, from Whanganui, has been volunteering off and on the ship for months. “It’s so rewarding,” said Bryan. “Suddenly, I have an opportunity to give my time and finances, knowing it’s going to be used wisely and for the benefit and for the good health of others less fortunate than myself. I tell people, ‘Have a go. There’s always something you can do. It’s very satisfying.‘“
Keith, an electrical engineer from Katikati, has been volunteering one day a week, representing thousands of dollars of donated labour. A mother and her daughter come every week and clean. A mother with two school-age children helps in the accounting department. A plumber from Masterton came with his family for a week during the school holidays and made significant progress with the installation of a new bathroom.
Volunteering is a blessing that runs both ways. The ship ministry is advanced, and individuals find significance in using their time, energy and skills for a purpose beyond themselves.
Current short-term needs on the ship include:
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- Welders
- Carpenters
- Engineers
- Deckhands
- IT professionals
- Marine professionals
- Administrators
- Cooks
- Media professionals
- Medical professionals
- General volunteers
If you would like information about volunteering, please contact us here, or call Hannah, our Volunteer Facilitator at 020 4028 6772.
Together we can increase the healthiness of our Pacific island neighbours.
For the sake of the Isolated,
Marty Emmett
On behalf of YWAM Ships Aotearoa & the m/v YWAM KOHA crew
P.S. We will be hosting more public tours on the YWAM KOHA, Saturday and Sunday 7, 8 and 14, 15 November. If you could tell your friends about these tours, it would be so helpful.