Wondering who Limoni is?

This is Maki's brother and Best Friend growing up in Kapa.

Katilimoni Finau Moala and his mom Ana Moala.

We're down to 1 week until our fundraiser. If you're able and willing to help with donations, please do. You can reach me via email mtvuki@gmail.com or send monetary donations to

And Good Works

6420 Trajan Drive

Orangevale, Ca 95621

Thanks for all of the help that's already been given! We appreciate it!!

Take care!

---Tiff

The Princess Ashika ferry on the bottom of the ocean floor 360 ft. below.

Isn't this Incredible?

MV Princess Ashika

August 5, 2009 11:00 pm

FERRY SUNK.

93 PEOPLE MISSING

http://www.matangitonga.to/home/ads/ashika/20090813_missing.htm

Look for the name Katilimoni Finau Moala/ number 27 ( age47) Kapa Vv. This is Maki's brother in who we are honoring. If you notice this is only 37 names out of the entire 93 missing, not yet recovered.

Please notice the ages of the many people still missing. There is even a brand new baby 3 months. Man!

We're down to 1 week and 2 days until our FUNDRAISER, I'm getting excited for this and am hopng that we will have a large crowd. Please continue to spread the word. Any donation for our yard sale, bake sale, or monetary donations are appreciated. Let us all rally together and make a difference for our brothers and sisters in another country.

One other thing, I'd like to end with. Did you know that every $1 USA is between $2-$3 Tongan pa'anga(money). We can all make a difference! Hope it's a great day for you. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE HELPED AND THOSE THAT ARE WILLING. IT IS MOST APPRECIATED.

Letter from Limoni's Wife!

(This is an email that we rec'vd this morning from Limoni's wife, Oh I feel so sad for her. There are other families who are in the same situation that she's in except they've lost a couple of people to even losing all of their family.)
Please keep these people in your prayers. Let's rally together and help them too!


Hi Makiteli

Although we didnt meet before but we did because you are good buddy and cousin of Limoni. Maybe you heard what happen now but I wish the body will be recovered and its very hard to me like the arrow put into my heart. I tried to accept it but it very painful, no one knows just myself. Me and my other daughter will come to tonga on monday and i hope i meet you anytime with your wife and kids. My other daughter will stay because they just came from tonga we will keep in touch at the future. Love to all the family over there even the wife and kids.

Love from Ofa, Deborah, Manuhili jr and Nunia jr.

They've located the Princess Ashika!!!

Hooray! They've found the ferry down 360 ft. Now if the Gov't can get down that deep, hopefully they can recover these bodies of all of our loved ones.

This news just makes me want to work even harder to get Maki there. Please if you live within the area and have anything that you could donate to our Yard sale, will you please help us? Even a few bucks will go a long way! This is today's news article. The number of missing is still at 95.


Tonga News : Outer Islands
Last Updated: 12 Aug 2009 - 18:51 GMT+1300

Sonar detects missing ship at 110 metres (360 ft.)

12 Aug 2009, 17:25

Nuku'alofa, Tonga:AN underwater search team has this morning, August 12, located what appears to be the sunken vessel Princess Ashika, lying upright in 110 metres of water, at the position indicated by the emergency beacon and final radio call, 11 nautical miles south southwest of Nomuka in the Ha'apai Group."It is important to realize that nobody onboard could still be alive," Tonga Police Commander Chris Kelley said, in announcing the find at a 4:00 pm press conference today.The vessel is too deep for the New Zealand and Australian navies to conduct recovery operations.Sonar detectionHe said that at about 11 am today, a combined Tonga, Australia, New Zealand Naval Dive and Underwater Search Team, operating from the Tonga Defence Service Voea Pangai, using the REMUS sonar system had detected a vessel, "which fits the general size and shape of the missing ship.""The position identified by the REMUS system coincides with the positions given by both the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon and by the Master in his final radio call."The position is also corroborated by the presence of an oil slick, various debris and a mooring line."One of the two bodies was also found [earlier] at this location," said Cmdr Kelley.He said that also the onsite team had not visually confirmed the identity of the vessel, "but we have a high level of confidence it is the Princess Ashika," he said.In deteriorating weather conditions, the combined Navy Team have suspended operations, and bad weather is forecast throughout the next few days.Identification imagesCmdr Kelley said that the HMNZS Manawanui is due to arrive in Nuku'alofa on Saturday morning and will support the naval team in conducting further reconnaissance operations on the Princess Ashika, using a remotely operated vehicle to take images and ascertain the identity of the vessel."It is important to understand that neither the New Zealand or Australian navies have the capability to conduct recovery operations beyond 60 meters."Mapping"Our next step is to use HMNZS Manawanui with the ROV to explore the wreck site and map the debris field around the vessel."The weather condition on the site do not allow the navy team to deploy the ROV vehicle until we have very suitable very calm conditions," he said.Exclusion zoneCmdr Kelly emphasized that there is an exclusion zone in place. "No members of the public can travel to the area without authority from the Police Commander."

Flyer for the Garage Sale.... Please pass around!

Tongan Ferry Sinks! Ninety five Missing Or Dead.

Mostly Women And Children.

NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga (AP) -- Giving women and children the comfort of cabins while men stayed on deck may have doomed them to be trapped inside an overnight ferry that capsized in heavy seas off Tonga, officials said. Dozens are missing and feared dead… [including a family member of ours – father of four.]

HUMANITARIAN FUND RAISER TO

HELP THESE FAMILIES

*Will You Help Us, Please?

Bake Sale, Costume Jewelry and Garage Sale

Saturday, August 22, 2009

7441 Windjammer Way, Citrus Heights, Ca 95621

Bake Sale Items To STEPHANIE ELKINS 916.390.3877

“Cookies, Cakes, Pies, Breads, et al”

Garage Sale Items To TIFFANY VUKI 916.677-6919

“Any valuable item/goods, furnishing, et al”

Financial Contributions Also Most Welcome!

To: Good Works!

6420 Trajan DriveOrangevale, CA 95662

Check out our blog!

PrincessAshika.blogspot.com

* U.S.A. -- One Family Member (Maki) Flying To Tonga For September Memorial Service

(Pics. to come soon)

The search continues....

As of today the count for unaccounted is 95 and still rising we fear. Maki has been on the phone a few times to Tonga and it is very somber there. Many people on edge just waiting for some news. We understand right now that this is a search and rescue, but boy the waiting sure is nerve racking. We feel like our whole life has been turned upside down. In the back of our minds we know that it is very LIKELY that Limoni's body will never be recovered. We are still holding out hope that he is in the ferry, locked up untouched. This is the newest update from the matangitonga.to website.

BAD WEATHER
We tried to go out this morning at 5:30 but the weather condition was very bad and we haven�t been able to conduct that second mission. In the meantime the vessel returned to anchor and the forecast weather for today and tomorrow are strong winds. "So it is unlikely that we will be able to conduct further operations today or tomorrow. We expect that we would not be able to deploy for the continued search mission until tomorrow night." Cmdr McMillan said to give people an expression of how difficult the task is "just imagine four or five rugby fields with a car there at night and use a torch to shine to try to find it. And then put 60 to 100m of water on top of that, with uneven ground where the vessel can hide behind a hill, is very challenging," he said. "The depth limitation for the sonar equipment is a 100m, if the wreckage is deeper, we do not have the capability to reach beyond that depth. The divers cannot go beyond 50m in depth."He said the alternative is there are other international organisations that are able to go deeper and it is of the Tongan Government to decide that.We are still in the very early days of the underwater search operation the environment we are working on is not a search and rescue mission, it takes time and it has taken all this time to search, he said.

So as the search continues for our loved ones so does the search continue here for donated items to be sold at our Fundraiser. Please if you have ANYTHING that you're no longer using and would like to donate we'd love to have it. We can pick it up or you can drop it off to us. We're just under 2 weeks until this event. Monetary donations are greatly appreciated too. Thanks for all those who are so willing to help. I couldn't do this by myself. You can reach me at 916-677-6919.

Oh my gosh!

One of our nephews(Mak's baby sister Paea's son) Siua Mahina survived! We didn't know he was on board as a crew member! This is so exciting! What a wonderful life! This boy is an amazing person, when we were in Tonga in 02 he would run up the coconut tree and swing himself like a monkey barefoot! What a sweet boy he was too. He's now 18 yrs old and is a survivor! What a blessing!

Hooray! Hooray! I'm dancing...imagine that!