MOAS launches campaign to raise funds for three upcoming rescue missions at sea

Search and rescue charity Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) is raising funds this winter for three upcoming missions to mitigate loss of life at sea.

The campaign was launched this week with a UK-targeted Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that can be viewed here and features a dramatic video simulation placing the viewer in the shoes of somebody fighting for his life at sea.

The campaign, entitled #OneMore, urges people to donate "one more life jacket", "one more emergency kit", "one more bottle of water", or enough to keep MOAS at sea for one more day.

The #OneMore campaign will also be rolled out across other platforms internationally in the coming weeks and supporters who wish to fundraise for MOAS are being urged to use this campaign to support their efforts.

"As winter approaches and the seas get colder and more hostile, refugees are still being forced onto dangerous boats as they flee war, poverty and persecution. Governments should continue to discuss how to solve this ongoing phenomenon, but in the meantime, we cannot sit and wait. We the people must come together to save lives now," said MOAS founder Christopher Catrambone.

"Each person we have saved has a story. They are mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. They are not numbers. They are human beings who want to survive. If a small donation can help save their lives, we cannot stand idle," said MOAS director Martin Xuereb.

Worldwide in 2015, at least 5,000 people have died making dangerous crossings. Over 3500 of these deaths were in the Mediterranean (IOM)

The Indiegogo campaign targets the UK from where MOAS received a surge of donations this fall after photos were published of the young Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi (pronounced Ay-lan) found dead on a Turkish beach.

MOAS (http://www.moas.eu) has named their two high-speed rescue boats in the Aegean Sea after Alan and his brother Galip. Their needless deaths sparked a global upwelling of support for MOAS and other mission to work tirelessly to provide search and rescue where needed.

Besides its mission in the Aegean Sea, MOAS is also planning to have a presence in the Central Mediterranean Sea and the Andaman Sea in South East Asia in 2016.