When Typhoon Soudelor hit Saipan in August, it affected more than just its human residents--the Saipan Zoo was also heavily impacted. None of the animals were hurt, but the facilities were damaged, and because the zoo is a private, for-profit organization, it was not eligible for FEMA assistance. Forced to close the zoo for safety reasons, owner Frank Aldan set up a GoFundMe account on Facebook to seek additional funds to make the necessary repairs. Through this effort, several of our team members found out about Frank's dilemma and volunteered their time to help him reopen the zoo. Since mid-August, FEMA volunteers have spent their Saturdays clearing debris, cutting trees and providing food to help the zoo recover. One of the largest trees on the island was on the zoo's property, and the typhoon blew it over. The tree was so big that volunteers from our staff spent over four weeks cutting it into manageable pieces. Last week, Frank celebrated his 60th birthday and the volunteers were invited to share his special day. Frank's grandson, Thunder, wanted to say thanks to our team members, so he selected some of his favorite rocks and painted them as tokens of his appreciation and presented them to the volunteer crew. Now our staff will always have a piece of the zoo in our hearts and a special token to remind us of the lasting friendships we made here.

Description:

The original finding aid described this as: Date Taken: 2015-12-12 22:33:34 UTC Photographer name: FEMA News Photo City/State: Saipan, MP Disasters: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Typhoon Soudelor (DR-4235) Disaster Types: Typhoon

Display date:

2015-12-12

Format:

image

Collections:

Digital Public Library of America

Contributors:

National Archives at College Park - Still Pictures

Content partner:

National Archives at College Park - Still Pictures

Availability:

Not specified