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Rebuild Vanuatu Infrastructure

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Helping families out with school uniforms and books in Nguna Island – May 2017

Background

A request was received from Connie Ross via her Peace Corp friend and volunteer Nancy Willard to assist her host village on Nguna Island. Connie sent this request to SHaRM Foundation members Stu and Deb Friend hoping SHaRM was able to assist.

In mid-2016, SHaRM was responsible for a very large shipment of new school uniforms reaching some 145 schools and kindergartens sent throughout Vanuatu schools donated by a Melbourne donor PWS coordinated by SHaRM member Robin Culph. Unfortunately, Utanlang Kindergarten was not one of those supplied.

Nancy has been assisting this village since her arrival with Peace Corp and had many requests to assist the kindergarten in the village following the severe damage caused by Cyclone PAM and subsequent cyclones in 2017 Cook and Debbie.

This remote village of Utanlang is only accessible by boat access from Emua Wharf on the NW coast of Efate and takes approximately one hour by open boat in good weather to make the crossing located in the very northern tip of Nguna. The locals rely on fishing and cultivation of citrus fruit and regularly sell their citrus in  Vila during the season.

Request

The request from Nancy was to assist a young family, a solo mother with three children and two children were ready for school. Unfortunately they couldn’t afford school uniforms, books, stationery and backpacks, plus had limited casual clothing as well as pay for the tuition fees needed to commence school in Nguna.

SHaRM Foundation has been very pleased to assist coordinate all the donors in making this happen and so quickly to supply the items requested in early May 2017.

Kindergarten

The kindergarten is a locally built island structure with iron roof and concrete floor but since the subsequent cyclones since Cyclone PAM, it is now leaking and requires some expert attention. The kindergarten only has a bush toilet with no adequate handwashing facilities. A tank provides water but there is no guttering to harvest the water run-off from the roofing iron and therefore limited water supply is available at times.

 Utanlang Kindergarten taken May 2017

 

Island style Kindergarten
Interior of island-style kindergarten showing numerous holes in the roofing iron – needing repairs
Kindergarten Bush toilet

Help is Needed

Nancy’s initial request was to assist the two children of Netty. namely James and Maline. This was done in May 2017 when donors came together to support the request – Ratua Foundation (Isabelle Henon, Leah Fischer) donated two complete school backpacks complete with books, stationery and accessories via Cyrille Mainguy; SHaRM Foundation secured school uniforms (Black and white) – shorts and 2 shirts each plus under clothing ideal for Nguna schooling. A large parcel of used clothing for James and Maline was also donated by SHaRM Foundation via the Malkom Family.

We understand that the James and Maline were to commence school in the second term. As of early June, this has not yet happened. We are awaiting confirmation that James and Maline have now commenced their school lessons in the second term 2017.

 

Netty, Nancy and Mama with Ratua bag – plus items donated via Ratua Foundation, SHaRM Foundation, Cyrille Mainguy and the Malkom Family

Request for Further Kindergarten Assistance

Nancy has made further requests to see if SHaRM Foundation or their donor pool can assist the kindergarten further – these items :

  • Kindy level reading books and readers
  • Kindy story books, colouring books and puzzles
  • Charts – shapes and animals
  • Hand puppets
  • Water play items
  • Ropes for swings
  • A-Z Alphabet cards
  • First Aid Kit

Note: Most of these items above are on the supply list from SHaRM Foundation for September 2017 delivery. Please assist SHaRM Foundation if you have any items you would like to donate or contribute towards this project or as a volunteer.

Repairs and Maintenance to the Kindergarten

  • Roofing iron required – 7m x 14m
  • New toilet constructed – compositing toilet and hand washing facilities or repairs undertaken
  • Guttering sufficient to catch water from roof for toilet and drinking use and to drain to tank available

Note: These items are on the donor listing and as soon as we have items available then these will be allocated to Nguna and the village of Utanlang and/or volunteers to assist with the work.

Acknowledgement 

On behalf of the SHaRM Foundation team, we wish to thank the following donors for making these donations possible:

  • Cyrille Mainguy for coordinating the Ratua Foundation bags for James and Maline
  • Ratua Foundation (Isabelle Henon and Leah Fischer) – 2 BackPacks
  • Malkom Family – donation of clothes for James and Maline
  • Connie Ross
  • Nancy Willard (Peace Corp)
  • SHaRM Foundation

Dated : 17 June 2017

Prepared by : SHaRM Foundation Steph Neilson

Founding Member www.sharmfoundation.com

Filed Under: Completed Projects

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Welcome to SHaRM Foundation

On the night of March 13th 2015, Super Cyclone Pam hit the island nation of Vanuatu. Made up of 100 small islands, Vanuatu is the home of 250,000 people, many of whom live in traditional villages. Imagine being up all night as winds of 250kms pound your house and that of your neighbours. In the morning you go outside to find that somehow your house is still standing but those of your friends and family have literally ‘blown away’. No pots or pans; no knives and forks; no plates or cups. Your local school or kindy is now just a concrete slab without walls, roof, desks, chairs or books. This is what many people in Vanuatu faced in March. As a result, it is SHaRM’s objective to rebuild schools so that all children can gain access to an education. We are committed to helping this small island nation rebuild after cyclone Pam.  

About Sharm Foundation

On Friday 13th March 2015, Super Cyclone Pam hit … Read More >>

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Rebuild Vanuatu Infrastructure - "Building a brighter future for Vanuatu children"

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