Notations On Our World (Special Week-End Edition): A Salute to @MOAS

MOAS is a Malta-Based charity that has overseen numerous rescues of Syrian Refugees.    Our Founder gave us a heads-up on it as he finished a column in his Founders Corner and shared his personal thoughts as he saw a report on SkyNews.   Thanks to him, we have been on the prowl to get to know this organization and assessing what we can do to be supportive of it.

Such selfless souls are to be commended as we hope to do what we can to support them partly through underscoring what they're doing as we do so with this:

Harsh conditions have made the Aegean sea crossing more treacherous than normal for refugees. View this email in your browser

Your support is everything. Thank you. As we've seen firsthand over the past month, the number of refugees making dangerous sea crossings shows no sign of slowing down in 2016. Thanks to your support, we will continue to help save lives at sea. Click here to continue making an impact. Operations Update: Dec. 23rd - Jan 22nd On December 23rd, the Responder, our 52m rescue vessel with two high-speed rescue launches, began its mission in the Aegean Sea. Bitter temperatures, bad weather and harsh conditions have made the crossing between Turkey and Greece more treacherous than normal. Despite this, we're proud to report 378 refugees have been rescued and/or assisted so far. We've shared some details from our recent rescues below.  A special thanks goes to all our partners, including CISOM, ERRC Malta, and Lagan Search & Rescue, as well as the Hellenic Coast Guard for their continued support. January 22nd: Early this morning, the MOAS crew rescued 29 people, including 9 minors and 3 babies, from a boat with a faulty engine that was headed towards the rocks in Agathonisi. We were then saddened to hear that simultaneously, another 2 tragedies occurred on the islands of Farmakonisi and Kalolimnos. Every life lost is a tragedy for all of us.  January 15th: MOAS rescued 20 people from a sinking boat, including 3 children. 3 other children found deceased after drowning. Sky News filmed the harrowing rescue, and later spoke with MOAS director Martin Xuereb.  January 10th: 55 people rescued from an overcrowded wooden vessel. January 9th: 40 people rescued from a heavily deflated rubber dinghy. Guardian reporter Patrick Kingsley was on board, click here to read his full account.  January 2nd: Children given medical assistance by CISOM medics after their boat was shipwrecked. (MOAS was not involved in the rescue directly.) Reporter Mark Stone also shared details of his role in the recent MOAS rescue of a Syrian family.  Crew Member Spotlight: John Hamilton  As MOAS's Search and Rescue Operations Officer, John Hamilton is in the thick of the action. During MOAS rescues, John deploys one of the rhibs from the MOAS mothership, coordinates how best to proceed, and helps refugees safely board the vessel. We're lucky to have had John as a MOAS crew member since its inception, and are sincerely thankful for his constant dedication to saving lives at sea.

Partner Spotlight: Akos Varga Rescue swimmer Akos Varga joined us on the Responder from ERRC Malta at the beginning of January. Thank you for your dedication and hard work. Sound Toys Campaign Raised $220K Last month, audio effects company Sound Toys offered a different weekly music plug-in to their customers, with all proceeds going to MOAS. We're thrilled to report that thousands of producers, engineers, and recording artists participated, and the campaign raised $220,218 to help save more lives at sea!  Partner Spotlight: Roberto & Eugenio Welcome aboard to Roberto & Eugenio, the most recent CISOM medics to lend support to MOAS in the Aegean. Thank you for your service. Guardian Charity Appeal Raised £2.5M The Guardian and Observer raised a record breaking £2.5 million for their refugee charity appeal, which featured MOAS and 5 other charities.The proceeds will allow the Responder to stay at sea for another full month. Watch the thank you video, featuring the MOAS team!