A public meeting was held Monday evening to discuss the future of the 2010 Aitutaki Cyclone Pat Appeal Fund, following ‘pressure’ from the Rarotonga-based Aitutaki People’s Association and the Aitutaki Hostel Committee for the funds to be released to help finance the upgrade of the Hostel.

A total of $216,000 was raised for the Aitutaki Cyclone Pat Appeal, which was spearheaded by the Committee, to assist residents affected by Tropical Cyclone Pat that devastated the island in the early hours of February 10, 2010.

According to the 2010 Aitutaki Cyclone Pat Appeal Committee, all donations were recorded and banked in two accounts under the Committee, Bank of the Cook Islands to cater for Pa Enua donors, and the then Westpac, now Bank of South Pacific (BSP).

“The balance of donated funds stands at $118,000,” said a statement issued by the Committee.

The Committee has confirmed and produced bank statements verifying that the balance of funds raised through intense fundraising here and donations from overseas are still “untouched and remain fully intact” in the Bank of South Pacific.

“We want to dispel any rumours and innuendo that have been made by the uninformed that the fund has been mis-spent in the last 15 years and therefore no longer exists,” stated the Committee.

“The Committee has come under huge pressure from various groups over the years wanting to access the remaining fund for pay for various projects of their own. All were turned down.”

During the meeting, a motion was moved for the matter to be taken back to the Aitutaki Island Council by mayor Nick Henry and for the people of Aitutaki to decide if they supported the remaining funds going on the Aitutaki Hostel in Rarotonga, or want it to remain untouched in the event of an emergency on the island.

Henry will relay the Aitutaki decision to the Committee, who will likely attach conditions to the release of any donated funds in the interest of accountability, transparency and remaining credible to the thousands of donors.

“We believe that every single person who donated towards the Aitutaki Cyclone Appeal would want their money to benefit the people living on Aitutaki and want it held safe until such time it is needed,” the Committee said.

“We believe for the Committee to fold under pressure and simply handover $118,000 to the Aitutaki Hostel Committee, would have been a betrayal of the trust placed in us by every single donor. It would have violated the generosity and vaerua (spirit) in which money was donated and placed in our care.

“The (Aitutaki Cyclone Pat Appeal) Committee members saw ourselves as guardians of monies raised through the generosity of our people following the serious damage Aitutaki suffered during Cyclone Pat in 2010. We were entrusted with looking after this money and ensuring that it was wisely spent. We believe we have fulfilled that task.”

Cook Islands News understands that the 2010 Cyclone Appeal Fund is the only major domestic fundraiser which was audited by the Cook Islands Audit Office and the findings made public. It is also the only community fund that has “remained fully accounted for, healthy and intact for 15 years”.

A full examination and audit of the Appeal funds was carried out by then Auditor General Paul Allsworth and his team at the government Audit Office. The findings were that all Committee records and finances were in order.

“We have always believed that public transparency to be a key guiding factor, and at every step the Committee issued public statements to let our people know exactly how much money had been raised, how it was going to be used and the expense involved.”

According to the Committee, following Financial Secretary Garth Henderson’s advice to identify an area where many Aitutaki residents would benefit post-cyclone Pat, and after consulting with the Aitutaki Island Council at the time, it was decided that providing water tanks for residents in need would be the most sensible option.

“The Committee received many different requests for assistance, to buy fridges and stoves, to help rebuild cyclone damaged private homes, to buy furniture and so on, but we believed providing water tanks would be a niche area in which donated funds could be most fairly spent,” the Committee said.

“The responsibility of distributing the water tanks was left with the Aitutaki Island Council as the Committee felt the Council would be more aware of where the greatest need amongst Aitutaki residents would be at the time.

“Since the closure of all fundraising, financing the water tank project, the balance of donated funds has remained untouched.”

The Committee made a resolution at their last formal meeting that the balance of funds would remain safe in the bank to directly assist the island of Aitutaki should there ever be another devastating cyclone or other emergency affecting the residential population requiring immediate financial assistance.

“That has been the situation until now.”

About two weeks after Cyclone Pat devastated Aitutaki – around 400 people with Aitutaki connections attended a public meeting to find a way forward to best help the island residents.

The Cyclone Pat Appeal Committee was elected – chairman George George Williamson, deputy Vaitoti Tupa, treasurer Nga Takaiti, secretary Florence Syme-Buchanan, members Doreen Kavana Boggs and Mona Ioane.

“Our Committee worked incredibly hard, setup and staffed a full-time Appeal office in the Aitutaki Hostel for many months, coordinated all fundraising, ensured all fundraising events had all donations recorded and banked directly into the Appeal Fund. The public response from our country alone was phenomenal – raising a record $216,000.

“We have stayed transparent, accountable and credible as we represent all the good people who gave their hard-earned money to help Aitutaki. There is a healthy balance remaining in the bank and we hope that its original intent of directly helping the people of Aitutaki in the event of a natural disaster will be respected and upheld.”