Christchurch Earthquakes sparks urgent need for laptops for Christchurch #eqnz

Update as at 1.3.11: The collection point for #Laptops-4-Christchurch #eqnz is at Wellington’s Remarkit. Address and contact details here: http://bit.ly/laptops-collection-point (Info supplied by NZTE’s John Fergusson)

Update as at 25.2.11: John Ferguson tells me he has 400 laptops of the many needed for Christchurch. All must be under 3 years old & in working order. Delivery details at the bottom of this post. Keep spreading the news. – JW, Tweet Twins

The Tweet Twins are reeling in the shock that today (Thursday) 30 people are confirmed crushed within the Christchurch Cathedral (Christchurch, New Zealand) and 120 buried within the Canterbury Television Building that collapsed from 6 floors to 5 meters of rubble. We know in the TV centre are many Japanese English students, who in the immediate aftermath were known to be sending text messages to their families in Japan and the others were many of the television production staff. Sadly their cries for help are now silent.

Our prayers and thoughts are with all those immediately affected and pray you can find the strength to cope with your very personal tragedy.

l

New Zealand’s largest natural disaster happened yesterday in the very English city of Christchurch. The 6.3 scale quake shook the city, including numerous ongoing tremors. The damage is substantially greater than the Sept 2010 shake. The region has been shaken to the core with trapped people both dead and alive in buildings everywhere.

The international community has sprung into action with expertise and manpower arriving. Australia our closest neighbour and special friend sent in a team of rescue workers last night and a 300 strong Police force is arriving in the next 24 hours, other Governments are also responding rapidly. As a country New Zealanders are thankful our friends are coming to help… thank you we need you more than ever.

All New Zealanders are in shock and everyone has a connection to this favourite city.  One of the Tweet Twins has a daughter living near the airport and is safe, though her partner had a lucky escape in his office. Another daughter from the well know pop trio Tre-belle were in the city donating their musical talent at the Pike River Memorial Fund Raising Gala Dinner Concert 12 days before the earthquake in the Grand Chancellor Hotel Ball Room, that suffered castrophic cracks and destined to collapse at any moment. The Pike River Coal Mine disaster in Sept 2010 saw all the miners buried alive and currently they are entombed deep in the earth’s crust.

This is the first time in living memory that dead bodies have lined the streets in NZ and the general public have been so badly battered.

Numerous fund-raising activities have immediately sprung into action in typical Kiwi spirit and we want to tell you of one where you might be able to participate in that has gone out from one of the Government’s business arms.

There are ways you and your contacts can help out due to the Christchurch earthquakes, so please pass this on.

Donations can be made through information at these sites:
http://www.redcross.org.nz for NZ based donations
http://www.wildingfoundation.com/ for international donations

We received this message via our professional network:

‘Christchurch earthquake – you can help.

If you have a working laptop you can donate, send it to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, well packed with the hardware and software specifications listed on outside of box to:
John Ferguson, Sector Manager – Digital Content and Technology, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Level 11, 23-27 Albert St, Auckland.

We will find a business that can use it.

Please be generous.

John Ferguson
Sector Manager, Digital Content and Technology
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
World Trade Promotion Organization ‘Best of the Best’ Award Winner 2008
Level 11, The ANZ Centre
23-29 Albert Street
PO Box 8680, Symonds Street, Auckland, New Zealand

When talking about the earthquake on Twitter, please use the hashtags #eqnz and #christchurch

Thank you so much for helping. We are all in this together.

Posted by Jenny Wilmshurst & Kevin Andreassend, Tweet Twins Social Media