Announcement from YWAM Ships Kona Regarding Re-opening

We are currently planning the re-opening of our base with staff living in Kona, and with others online. Most of our people are still with families back home and are eager to return when appropriate. Here are a few thoughts on how we are handling questions from staff abroad, volunteers waiting to rejoin our work and parents of students for upcoming schools.

Guiding principles on returning to our
training facility in Kona.

1. We will fulfill our mission and meet our standard of excellence. The core mission of YWAM Ships Kona remains unchanged, even in a changed environment. We are committed to maintaining excellence in all the forms that our training and volunteerism may take, regardless if it is on base here in Kona or on board one of our ships serving the isolated islands of the Pacific.
2. The health and safety of our community is paramount. Protecting our crew, staff and students is the starting point for each decision. When and how we resume all our pre-covid activities will be dependent upon our public health officials locally and their regulations. We are committed to adhering to these regardless of which nation our YWAMers are serving in.
3. We will carefully and prayerfully consider all decisions and plans for resuming activities. We will be bold in developing options for resumption of all activities, but also clear-eyed about the trajectory of the pandemic globally and the effectiveness and practicality of mitigation efforts across all of our international communities.
4. We will be flexible and innovative in the face of evolving circumstances. We will embrace fully the challenge and opportunity of exploring new ways to continue our mission as the circumstances evolve. The path of this pandemic is not linear; indeed, it will require us to be flexible for quite some time. So we will prepare for
   multiple scenarios and be innovative in our approach on a regular basis. The safety of our all our people, no matter where they work or what role they serve in is of the utmost importance.