The HISTORIC VESSEL VEGA was built in 1892 by Norwegian boat builder Ola H. Nerhus for trade in the North Sea and the Baltic. VEGA and her volunteer crew are still working, sailing over 6,000 miles every year delivering humanitarian cargo of hope, and empowering local people to solve their problems.

Sailing with a purpose

Vega 1892 is a small, highly effective “Mom & Pop” initiative dedicated to helping remote often isolated communities in Indonesia and East Timor. We concentrate on improving educational and health services. Empowering small communities to solve their own problems is another important part of our mission. Vega delivers training, tools, educational and medical supplies according to a list of what is needed by each community. Those supplies are sponsored or donated by our friends who want to help others. Vega delivers those donations directly into the hand of teachers, midwives and health workers who need them to do their job.

Kits for Kids

If you are an active parent or teacher in Penang, Singapore or Jakartajoin our yearly Kids for Kids drive by motivating clubs, students and schools to donate schoolbags filled with everything students in remote settings need to improve their education.

Each backpack contains items from a listwe provide along with a small stuffed toy, note and photograph from the child who made up that kit. We check each bag then add a new toothbrush and any missing items.

If your school, club, or company would like to participate please contact us.

Sailing with a Purpose. The HISTORIC VESSEL VEGA built-in 1892 in Norway is still sailing, delivering cargo’s of hope and empowering people.

IT Equipment

These days Indonesian final exams are online.
A student without computer skills is lost. Health workers need to maintain community statistics and access vital data.

Many companies and schools change laptops, projectors and network equipment on a regular basis.
Donating that retired equipment to needy schools and vocational training centers gives students in poor areas a better chance in life. We refurbish that equipment with new batteries and software to create computer labs. When equipment breaks down we collect it for repair or proper disposal.Contact us for details.

Medical Supplies

We support midwives, health posts and free clinics to ensure they have the equipment, supplies, and medications needed to do their work. This s not an easy task. We ask health workers and midwives for their on the ground experience and requirements, then consult with knowledgeable doctors.

Based on that information we purchase equipment and pharmaceuticals for delivery.The lists are often long, complex and daunting.

Your help will save lives.

Bringing Light to Schools & Midwives

Most remote communities have no electricity.

Schools and health posts are forced to rely on candles or kerosene lanterns. Midwives need an easily portable, rechargeable source of light. Small-scale solar installations help alleviate these problems. Together with renewable energy experts, we designed solar power kits for health posts and schools. For midwives, we have a special solar-charged portable power pack/light combination. The Vega team delivers these kits, provides maintenance training and supervises installation.

If your club, school or company would like to sponsor one or more of these installations, please contact us.

A chance to see again

An inexpensive pair of reading glasses can have a huge impact on someone’s life.
Reading glasses are an important part of our mission. We never have enough of them. Carpenters, weavers, seamstresses, people with a host of skills requiring good eyesight, are valuable assets to their family and community. As we grow older our eyes lose the ability to focus on things which are close. Communities lose valuable artisans. According to WHO over 500 million people in the developing world could have their vision restored with a simple pair of reading glasses. The Vega team provides reading glasses and trains local health workers in how to fit them.

Please consider helping us with this program. A small donation will make a huge difference to someone’s life.

Environment

Our focus on environmental protection and waste management began several years agowhen island communities requested help solving this rapidly emerging problem. Since then we have initiated several successful projects and want to take those programs to other islands. These programs are implemented by local teachers and village leaders. Our approach is three-fold. Teaching aids for schools, community education, equipment and support for implementation. We have done all we can.

Now we need sponsors to help replicate these programs.

Our Story

Shane Granger and Meggi Macoun, owners of Historic Vessel Vega, began their humanitarian work right after the 2004 Tsunami by delivering medical staff and supplies to the island of Sumatra. From that modest beginning, the concept shifted to assisting remote islands in Eastern Indonesia and East Timor. “We are not out to save the world. All we want to do, in our own small way, is to help others in a manner that makes a meaningful difference. We concentrate on being efficient and effective”, says Granger. The results speak for themselves.

Vega 1892 is the catalyst for an extended group of friends who believe together we can make a difference in the lives of a few isolated communities. If you would like to join us, your involvement will be rewarding and very much appreciated.

Donations are the wind that fills our sails

A friend once said, “it doesn’t help to fill the boat with supplies if you can’t make deliveries.”

Vega is an all-volunteer operation. There are no salaries, expensive offices or benefit packages. Almost all of what we receive goes directly to deliverables. We do all we can to cover operating costs ourselves. Insurance, fuel and food are the main expense. Vega participates in boat shows and holds open house days where we sell our T-shirts, spices, coffee and books. The results help, but are never enough.

Help from people like you is vital if we are to continue our work.