FROM THE HELM S
PRING IS UPON us and hopefully
to new PPE regimes… The list goes on. And so, despite the anxiety and challenges to wellbeing,
Covid-19 is in its autumn! Certainly this year has been unprecedented and all of you will probably be glad to see the back of it. However, rust never sleeps, as they say, and by necessity everyone at Sea Rescue has been busier than ever! I’ve been buoyed by the swell of activity among our staff and volunteers, who, through pure passion and enthusiasm, have innovated and created their way through the year to maintain and deliver the life-saving services expected of us. We have been busy operationally, with more medevacs in six months than we usually have in a year (lots of coronavirus cases), as well as a constant stream of rescues, more online training than ever before and plenty of whale disentanglements! All in a constrained environment and, let me say, fortunately with very little in the way of Covid-19 infections among us. We’ve been surprised by the demand for our services when things were ‘locked down’. Crises often bring out the best in people and
the community around Sea Rescue has collectively supported one another and wrestled through positively, enthusiastically! As they would say, ‘It’s what we do.’ Sadly we’ve had to delay our AGM and awards – always a great evening of celebration – but we’ll catch up again and make sure that our stakeholders and volunteers receive the essential recognition they deserve. Our Integrated Report 2019 is probably the best ever, so get a copy online from our website and read it cover to cover. You’ll note that our auditors’ report is a testimony to our governance structures and our commitment to transparency and stakeholder accountability. Lastly, we recognise the huge challenges within our economy and the need to keep people working and so we’ve made extraordinary efforts not to retrench staff, to support volunteers and to keep our projects moving forward so that they keep people employed and to play our part, in however small a way, in keeping people alive. Saving lives is our mantra, directly through our services but also
we’ve certainly seen our donors rally behind us. Volunteers are responsive as ever and staff are flexible, adapting to business abnormal. Everyone has repositioned and adjusted, and remain committed despite the catastrophes. Our Call Centre staff operated from home for two months; training staff shifted content online through webinars; water-safety educators went live on radio in vernacular languages; and medical staff adapted
through our social and economic contribution. It’s wonderful that our beaches are open again. Heaven knows we need the fresh air in more ways than one. Stay safe out there!
DR CLEEVE ROBERTSON, CEO
CAPE TOWN: NSRI, 1 Glengariff Road, Three Anchor Bay 8001; PO Box 154, Green Point 8051 Tel: +27 21 434 4011 Fax: +27 21 434 1661 Visit our website at www.searescue.org.za or email us at info@searescue.org.za www.facebook.com/SeaRescue
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SEA RESCUE SPRING 2020
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