Support for two Indian families from Whangarei NZ - Repatriation, funeral and family well-being support

It is with a heavy heart that we WHANGAREI MALAYALEE ASSOCIATION reaches out to you, seeking your support & compassion for two of our families during this time of immense grief.

Sarath Kumar (37yrs) & Ferzil Babu (34yrs) - beloved members of our community were on a rock fishing trip near Whangarei Heads. They were reported missing on 1st May night. Soon Police reached and located their car and personal belongings from the shore. After extensive resources were put into action by the authorities, the body of Sarath was recovered on 3rd May. Ferzil is still missing, & the search is ongoing.

Sarath hails from Alappuzha, is survived by his wife Surya S. Nair & 5 yr daughter, who were on his dependent visa status. He did his studies from School of Medical Education, Kottayam & had worked at Amrita, Kerala as a RN, at UB Eng. Maharashtra as an Occupational Health Nurse & also with MOH-Kuwait. The family migrated to New Zealand by end of ‘23, & he joined Whangarei Hospital as ED RN in Mar ‘24.

Ferzil hails from Muvattupuzha, married Ashni Mohan in Jan ‘23, and arrived in New Zealand in Jun ‘23. They were blessed with a baby boy 6 months back, and they had to undergo many hardships due to a complicated birth. He pursued his education at Nirmala College and started his career at TradeLine LLC Mussafah-UAE as an Admin. Supervisor. He was all set to begin a career here and that's when all these unexpected happened.

Let's unite together to support these families during their difficult times