Fundraisers to help fire hit market vendors

APIA – Two campaigns have been launched to help stall holders recover from a a devastating fire in Samoa which saw the country’s main flea market destroyed last week.

The Savalalo market which sells crafts, souvenirs and
artefacts, is a major tourist drawcard so local businesses are among those rallying to help.

One of the campaigns, ‘Samoa Offering Hope’ or SOH, is being run by Samoa’s Hotel Association, local banks and the accounting firm Betham & Company.

The Hotel Association’s President Adele Kruse says the community wants to help the 293 vendors who have assisted the town for so many years.

“As a tourism industry we’re very cognisant of the fact that the work that our fleamarket vendors provided augmented our tourism effort. Aside from the fact that we want to help, from one neighbour to the next, we’re also concerned about doing this for economic reasons.

Kruse says all vendors will need to be registered so the funds can be distributed directly to them at the end of the month-long appeal.

A separate appeal aimed at getting wider overseas support was launched last week. One of its members Edwin Puni says it will run for another three weeks.

“At the end of the three weeks we will hand over the money raised and the money’s going straight to the association of the stall holders and the idea is to be distributed to each of the vendors that were affected.

“It’s a small amount that we hope will help each and every one of the stall owners restart getting their little businesses up on their feet again.”

In the meantime the government is giving around $US380 to each of the stallholders.

Puni says it is great to see them receiving support from the government, the private sector and elsewhere around the world.

“Our independent fundraising was actually also to signal to those in Samoa that they are not forgotten.
So it’s great to see the Samoa government and now to hear that the Samoa Hotel Association has also launched something. I think that gives assurance to the local businesses that there’s support for them.

Now the main market for the vendors’ goods has been destroyed, Puni says there are also plans to assist further by exporting the vendors’ wares.

- RNZI