Following this year’s Operation Christmas Drop, which allocated over sixty packages of goods to islands in Palau, each State which received presents will be in charge of distributing them to families, says the US Embassy.
Due to the Federated States of Micronesia’s decision to opt out of the annual Christmas tradition this year, Palau has received a larger share of the goods, with four drops each taking place in Kayangel, Peleliu, Angaur, Sonsorol, Pulo Anna, and, for the first time, Koror.
On December 6, 7, 9, and 10 last week, four Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft and a Japan Air Self-Defense Force C-130H Hercules took off from Anderson Air Force Base in Guam and dropped packages attached to parachutes over these islands, filled with supplies such as toys, educational materials, and food. The bigger States of Koror, Kayangel, Peleliu, and Angaur received three packages a day.
In Kayangel, which received a total of twelve boxes during the drop, households will be receiving gifts by picking numbers. According to Kayangel Governor Richard Ngiraked, every household on the island has received a number, which will tell them what gifts they will get from the drop. Governor Ngiraked says that the gifts will be divided evenly between the twenty-seven households, with twenty-seven bundles consisting of a mix of gifts, and that the number system will keep distribution fair.
Before the distribution takes place, however, the Governor says that the island is taking the extra precaution of spraying down the packages with cleaning chemicals and letting the packages sit in the sun, in case traces of the virus have been left on the packages. The Governor says that this precaution is not really necessary, considering the preventative measures which were taken prior to the drop, such as disinfecting packages with a bleach solution, letting the gifts sit for a minimum of seven days in storage before packaging, and the use of PPE’s by those handling the gifts. However, the State is taking the extra precaution to set people’s minds at ease.
In Peleliu State, gifts from the drop will be distributed on December 23. The Peleliu State Office has said that the Christmas Drop delivered over one hundred pieces of school supplies and toys to the island, and that these will be distributed evenly to the children on Peleliu at a “Christmas Carol” event held on the night of the 23rd at the new State Building.
Koror State, which is participating for the first time in the Christmas Drop this year, is still determining how to distribute the gifts received during the drop. Just like the other big islands, Koror State received a total of twelve packages, each weighing between 400 and 600 pounds. However, Koror, with a much larger population than the other States, has the added challenge of dispersing the gifts fairly. According to Koror State Governor’s Chief of Staff Jolene Ngoriakl, a meeting today is meant to determine the “fairest way to distribute” the items.
Details on how the gifts will be distributed in Koror should be available by Wednesday or Thursday this week. Stay tuned for further updates on Christmas Drop distribution this Friday.
States to distribute Christmas Drop gifts to families
