Concert to benefit Islanders

Press, 25 February 1987, Page 42

Concert to benefit Islanders

By

COLLEEN FOLEY

NZPA staff reporter

Rarotonga The cash people swapped for tickets to the Cyclone Sally benefit

concert held in Wellington could be used to pay for anything from tarseal to windows. The concert, organised to raise money for relief work in the Cook Islands, featured top New Zealand bands and was sponsored by a number of businesses.

Mrs Helen Wong, a member of the Cook Island hurricane recov-

ery task force, said her group bad arranged for

anyone who was uninsured to have their cy-cione-damaged homes repaired free.

Islanders who had roofs damaged or windows broken could buy the repair materials and be reimbursed by the group. If repairs had not already been made, local Ministry of Works staff were available to help out if needed, Mrs Wong

said. When Cyclone Sally hit the Cook Islands in the

first week-end in January, heavy seas damaged a section of road in the main township of Avarua. Tarseal to repair the road had only just arrived.

Clearing up still to be done also includes replanting coconut trees and replacing school desks.

So far New Zealand had given almost SSW,OM worth of aid in supplies and services. New Zealanders had also contributed to appeals organised by local Cook Island communities.