Issue two 2014

Vista
The magazine of Volunteer Service Abroad
(
VSA
)
Supporting family health and wellbeing
In the last two months, Ive experienced
two UN conferences that really illustrated
some of the critical issues for our part of the
world. In New York, the conference involved
inevitable late nights working and long
queues to get into sessions to discuss the
post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) and our role, as a volunteer agency, in
them. It was UN business as usual.
In Apia the following week for the third UN
Conference on Small Island Developing States
(SIDS), the country was out in force, proud to
be hosting, instead of the hostility of New York
citizens to the UN! Every village voluntarily
sported decorations, and meals were served by
senior civil servants, all doing their bit.
Te two conferences demonstrated the chal-
lenges we, as VSA and as citizens of the Pacifc,
face. Both conferences were about development,
but largely focussed on mitigating and adapting
to climate change particularly in relation to
energy, health, agriculture and disaster recovery.
What is heartening is that signifcant
groups are taking meaningful action. In New York,
a highlight was hearing about companies
such as Disney developing their businesses
responsibly and playing a proactive role in
enironmental conservation. I presented VSAs
work in sustainable tourism in Bougainville
with Rotokas Ecotours and Vanuatu with
Millennium Cave Tours. People, including
tourism experts, were interested to hear about
these countries just starting out in tourism, with
the intention of doing it in a sustainable way.
At SIDS, where the theme was Genuine and
Durable Partnerships, to see New Zealand and
the EU supporting the Pacifc in its renewable
energy strategy was really exciting, and to hear
talk about Pacifc countries being incubators for
new green technology was really positive.
Huge corporates are also planning how
to maximise their involvement. If you have
people from corporates engaged, as VSA
has with partners Downer and GHD, they
champion development and inclusive growth.
But volunteering still faces challenges in
being recognised. In New York we worked to
get volunteering into the outcome document
that will go on to become part of the UN
Secretary Generals report about the SDGs.
Even well-informed advocates would say, why
volunteers? Governments should just do it.
I would tell them about Tim Fletcher, whose
story is in this Vista, volunteering as a doctor in
Papua New Guinea, because governments cant
and wont do it all. Even if governments did
do more, it isnt just about flling service gaps,
its about building skills and capacities so that
local people can deliver the service themselves,
long after the volunteers have gone.
UNDP Administrator Helen Clark
attended SIDS and reinforced the work NGOs
do, saying that meta problems dont always
need meta solutions small actions together
can have a transformative efect. Te stories
in Vista show how our volunteers each work
towards solving those meta problems, and
the way problems and solutions are connected
with each other, for instance the impact
climate change has on access to fresh water,
good hygiene, nutrition and health.
Te SIDS theme of genuine and durable
partnerships is central to what VSA does in
every area, and we look forward to forging
more partnerships as we work with our
neighbours beyond 2015.
Tn koutou o
Te TaoTwhi

VSA is New Zealands largest and
most experienced volunteer agency
working in international development.
We bring together New Zealanders
and our Asia-Pacific neighbours to
share their skills and experience,
working to transform lives and
create a fair future for all.

Sir Edmund Hillary, VSAs founding
President, believed passionately
that if people work together in equal
partnership they can achieve great
things. Today VSA knows that we
make the most difference through
people, partnerships and the lasting
relationships these create.

Our volunteers come from a wide
range of backgrounds, from business
mentors and lawyers, to health
professionals and eco-tourism
operators.

VSA believes all people and
communities deserve to be treated
equally with respect and dignity.
Become a
VSA volunteer
Go to www.vsa.org.nz to find
out about application criteria, to
register your skills, or to see what
assignments are being advertised.

Become a
VSA supporter
We send people not money, but we
need money to send people. Visit
www.vsa.org.nz to donate or to find
out about becoming a VSA member.

Join a local
VSA branch
Phone 0800 VSA TO GO
(0800 872 8646) for details
of the branch nearest you.
Te Tu
-
ao Ta
-
wa
-
hi Volunteer
Service Abroad Inc is a registered
charity (CC36739) under the
Charities Act 2005
Kia ora
Te Tu
-
ao Ta
-
wa
-
hi Volunteer Service Abroad
Patron: His Excellency Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae GNZM, QSO,
Governor-General of New Zealand President: Gavin Kerr, QSO Kauma
-
tua: Awi Riddell (Nga
-
ti Porou), QSM
Council Chair: Farib Sos, MNZN Council members: Professor Tony Binns, Peter Elmsly, David Glover, Shona Jennings,
Juliet McKee QSO, Dr Simon Mark, Evan Mayson, Sandy Stephens MNZN Chief Executive Offcer: Dr Gill Greer CBE, MNZM
Te Tu
-
ao Ta
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wa
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hi Volunteer Service Abroad, 32 Waring Taylor St
|
PO Box 12246
|
Wellington 6144, AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND
Tel: 64 4 472 5759 Fax: 64 4 472 5052 Email: vsa@vsa.org.nz Website: www.vsa.org.nz
Vista is the offcial magazine of Te Tu
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ao Ta
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wa
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hi Volunteer Service Abroad Incorporated. Please note that views expressed
in Vista are not necessarily the views of VSA. Editorial and photographic submissions to the magazine are welcome.
Please address all queries and submissions to the Editor, Vista, at the address above. Please ensure all material is
clearly marked with your name and address.
VSA. All rights reserved. ISSN 1176-9904
Reproduction of content is allowed for usage in primary and secondary schools, and for tertiary studies.
Vista is printed on environmentally responsible paper. It is chlorine free and manufactured using sustainably farmed trees.
The New Zealand Government is proud to provide
significant support through the New Zealand Aid
Programme for New Zealand volunteers who
work in a development capacity overseas.
Gill Greer CEO
Contents
Opening doors
for people
with disabilities
Cover photo:
Mrs Carol Norogua (Callan Services)
and Liv Loftus (VSA)

Photo: Chris Mitchell
Live from Apia
A report from the
Small Island Developing
States conference
WASH for
human rights
Everything starts with
clean water
Stretching
health services
in East New Britian
Behind
closed doors
Turning victims of domestic
violence into survivors
News roundup
Latest news, views
and happenings
From one
cup of coffee
Liv Loftus on growing a
social life on assignment
4
10
14
6
12
9
13
Family health
and wellbeing
How VSA supports
good health
15
October 2014 Family health and wellbeing Vista
The third conference
of Small Island Developing
States (SIDS) was held in Apia
in September, and VSA made
its presence felt. SIDS confer-
ences are a chance for these
small, particularly vulnerable,
countries to take the spot-
light and concentrate on their
needs and challenges.
VSA CEO Gill Greer, Inter-
national Programme Manager
Junior Ulu and Polynesia
Country Programme Manager
Ryan Brown attended the
conference, which had around 3000 participants. Junior says
we work in 10 of the 20 Pacic countries in SIDS, and with
this years theme of durable and sustainable partnerships,
VSA had a lot to offer.
VSA co-hosted, with United Nations Volunteers, a side
event to the conference, exploring the positive impact of
volunteering in international development. Panellist Ulla
Gronlund, UNV Programme Ofcer in Fiji, said Volunteerism
has a critical role in providing people and communities with
the ability to directly engage in their own development, and
have on impact on global development results.
VSA sent seven short-term volunteers to work with the
organisers to keep things running smoothly, and exchange
experience and skills.
Samoa couldnt have done a better job hosting, Junior
says, When you can mobilise a whole country to support
the cause Theyve really put themselves on the map.
News roundup
4
Family health and wellbeing
Te countdown is on
New Zealand premiere:
Timor-Lestes frst feature flm
Small Island
Developing States in Apia
VSA and Te Body Shop
On August 18 this year the countdown
began: 500 days until the end date for the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
VSA is part of an international group of NGOs sharing
stories about the ways volunteering supports sustainable
development. Across the globe volunteers support millions
of people connecting people, transforming lives.
Volunteer groups have made a very real, but too often
invisible, contribution to the achievement of the MDGs.
As we count down the last 500 days of these goals,the 500
Ways websitewill feature a new volunteer story every day.
Since August, stories about VSAs volunteers have been
shared online all over the world. To see these stories, and
the work of our fellow international volunteer organisations,
visit 500ways.org
The Body Shop showcased
VSA nationwide in August selling
VSA Friendship Bracelets from their
Action Stations. Nearly 1,000 bracelets
were sold.
A card with the bracelets
described the work of VSA volun-
teer Sarah Gwynn, who mentored
girls through a partnership with
the Samoan Victim Support Group
(SVSG) and Samoa International
Cricket Association (SICA). Their
joint Bring Back the Smiles clinics
supported the girls by building self-
esteem and giving them a sense of
pride and achievement.
Barrie Thomas, Director of The
Body Shop NZ, said, the work that
VSA volunteers undertake in the
Pacic can be life changing, both for
the volunteers and the groups they
work with, and Im delighted that we
can help make this happen.
The Body Shop has made a
signicant contribution to creating
awareness of VSA and raising funds.
We are grateful for The Body Shops
support and for featuring VSAs work.
VSA is delighted to host the New Zealand premiere of
Timor-Lestes first homegrown feature lm. Beatrizs War
will screen in two fundraising events: at Downtown Cinema
Palmerston North on October 17, and at Wellingtons Roxy
Theatre on October 29.
Set in Portuguese Timor during the Indonesian occu-
pation, Beatrizs War is the rst lm to have been made
about Timor-Leste by a Timorese crew. The movie was made
over the course of 8-10 years with enormous community
support in Timor-Leste.
Each month, the producers would hold fundraising
movie screenings which would bring in enough money to
shoot a few more scenes.
VSA International Programme
Manager Junior Ulu.
Sarah Gwynn at The Body Shop.
Tickets are $25, available from Eventbrite.co.nz (Wellington),
or by emailing hilary_smith@xtra.co.nz (Palmerston North).
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Vista Family health and wellbeing October 2014
News roundup
5
Family health and wellbeing
Mark your calendars:
Congress is coming
goes nationwide
Staf comings and goings
Invitations are out for this years Congress, to be held at
the Royal Society in Wellington on Saturday, November 8.
There are two keynote speakers: Elizabeth Tongne from
Wide Bay Conservation in Papua New Guinea, who will join
in conversation with returned volunteers John and Jenny
Spencer, and Barry Potter, a former volunteer and general
manager of VSAs partner GHD, which is sending staff on
secondment to Vanuatu.
Returned volunteers Norah Riddick (Callan Services,
Bougainville), Emily Stannard (Loto Taumafai Society
for People with Disabilities, Samoa) and Mike Stewart
(Vunapope International Primary School, Papua New Guinea)
will also speak.
We will also announce the winner of our prize for excellence
in international development journalism. Judges author Lloyd
Jones, lawyer and journalist Linda Clark, and Radio New
Zealand Internationals Deputy News Editor Don Wiseman
have joined CEO Gill Greer to choose the winner, who will
receive a trip to Vanuatu next year to learn more about
international development in practice.
If you have not received your invitation to Congress,
please email Laura at vsa
@
vsa.org.nz
Our newest awareness and fund-
raising campaign, SpeakOut VSA, spread
the word around New Zealand in August.
Twenty-ve returned volunteers spoke
to 33 audiences including community
groups, schools and businesses in
Auckland, Napier, Wellington, Hamilton,
Nelson, Christchurch, and Otago.
The speakers gave audiences a
glimpse into the unknown Pacic life
in developing countries that Kiwis mostly
know as holiday destinations. Audiences
were impressed.
Wayne Burley of the Lions Club of
Mairangi Bay said I know that those
present got a lot of information out of
Rosie Pattersons talk, which was done
with an enthusiasm which I know we
were all impressed and inspired by!
Digby Prosser of the Lions Club of
Christchurch commented Bill Kingan
was well received by our club members.
He related to our age group in a very
Weve had farewells and welcomes at VSA in the last
few months. In the Wellington ofce, Kerry De La Haye and
Michelle Evans have joined as Manager Human Resources
and Organisational Support, and Financial Controller,
respectively, after Judy Mikozs departure.
Kesaya Baba has come on board as a Programme
Administrator, working across the International Programme
and Partnership Development Units.
Chris House is our new Communications Manager,
with Lesley Smeardons return to the UK, and Elizabeth
Owens has taken the reins of our Partnership programme
from Ruth Harrison.
We have had three new Country Programme Managers
take up their posts in the last couple of months Anita
Edgecombe, who was a Programme Ofcer in Wellington,
has moved to Honiara to lead the Solomon Islands team
after Alexa Funnells departure. Alison Turner nished her
assignment as Programme Manager in Bougainville, and has
been replaced by Raewyn Tretheway. Raewyn is a returned
volunteer, having worked as a legal adviser in the Solomon
Islands in 2008. Finally, Diane Thorne-George, who has
volunteered twice as a preschool teacher trainer in Vanuatu
and Timor-Leste, before being Programme Manager in
Vanuatu, has taken over as Timor-Leste Programme Manager
from Karen Horton, who returned to join the International
Programme Unit in Wellington.
A warm welcome to all of our new staff, and our very
best wishes to those moving on to something new.
Members
Watch your mailboxes at Christmas for our gift to you
relaxed and friendly manner.
Collectively the Club really enjoyed
Bills company and presentation.
Would recommend to other clubs.
Bishopdale-Burnside Rotarys John
Walsh enjoyed Suzanne and David
Dallys costumes: They came in
Tongan dress and brought some
Tongan craft items. This added an
extra dimension to the presentation.
We will use this years campaign
as a basis for SpeakOut VSA in 2015.
A huge thank you to all our returned
volunteers who took part. If you
would like to be involved next year or
have an audience that would be inter-
ested, we would love to hear from
you at speakout@vsa.org.nz.
SpeakOut VSA
Suzanne and David Dally with the Garden City
Rotary Clubs Yvonne Hiskemuller (left).
October 2014 Family health and wellbeing Vista
St Marys Hospital in Kokopo, East New Britain, Papua New
Guinea, has bed space for 190 patients. About 2,500 babies
are delivered there each year. Te hospital provides ante- and
postnatal care; general medical and surgical services; outreach to
isolated communities in the province; and outpatient services.
Earlier this year, a measles outbreak saw 12,800 patients treated
over two months at St Marys. Another outbreak, this time of
the mosquito-borne disease chikungunya, caused more than
1,000 patients to seek treatment, waiting until 10.00 or 11.00 at
night to be treated.
Right now, St Marys has just one doctor.
VSA volunteer Dr Tim Fletcher has just fnished his
two-year assignment at St Marys, alongside his counterpart,
general surgeon Dr Felix Diaku. A third doctor, a German
volunteer obstetrician, is on leave and will rejoin St Marys
soon but until then, Tim says, When Ive gone, Felix is going
to be here on his own.
Dr Diaku has an ovarian cyst to operate on later in the
morning when we visit St Marys, but joins Tim to give us the
grand tour of the hospital grounds. If it gets busy, Tim says,
theyll have to run a scaled-back operation and send more
patients to Nonga. (Nonga is the next nearest hospital.) Or,
jokes Dr Diaku, dont get sick in Kokopo!
Te doctor shortage in Papua New Guinea is chronic,
Dr Diaku explains. Tere is only one medical school in the
country, in Port Moresby. Te average frst-year intake is just
40-50 students. As Tim points out, Papua New Guineas popu-
lation is predicted to double by 2035.
St Marys is part of the Catholic Archdiocese of Rabaul
(CADR), which has been a VSA partner organisation for a
decade. In that time, nearly 20 volunteers have worked with
CADR across its services. Another volunteer doctor has been
recruited by VSA to replace Tim and should arrive later this
year, but Tim will be missed. In the maternity ward, head
midwife Sister Maria says of Tim, hes a nurses doctor can
you get him back?
In the frst year of Tims assignment, the mortality rate
for children at the hospital halved, due to Tims leadership in
following good protocols. Before going to Papua New Guinea,
he was practising as a GP in Rotorua, but undertook a course on
tropical medicine in London before taking up his assignment.
6
Stretched health services in East New Britain
When Ive gone, Felix is going
to be here on his own.
VSA volunteer doctor Tim Fletcher.
With government health
services thin on the ground in
Papua New Guinea, volunteers
and NGOs step up to fill the gaps.
A nurse provides care for a premature baby.
Dr Felix Diaku (centre) with parents of a girl in the paediatric ICU.
A nurse administers a malaria blood test.
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Vista Family health and wellbeing October 2014
His specialty at St Marys has been tuberculosis:
Papua New Guinea has the highest rate of TB
in the Pacifc. Te emergence of a multi-drug
resistant strain has compounded the problems
of medicine shortages and access to treatment
for remote communities. St Marys has two TB
wards one for patients who are not conta-
gious, and an isolation room for those who
are. Tim oversaw the installation of mosquito
nets for TB patients malaria and TB are a
bad mix, and hospitals are high-risk places for
contracting malaria, as mosquitos bite infected
patients then transmit it to others.
Te problem with TB, Tim says, is while
its treatable, it requires a long drug course.
Patients will start to feel better and stop taking
the drugs, causing it to relapse and become
resistant to the drugs. He said hes heard calls
for all TB patients to be hospitalised until
theyve completed months of treatment, but
the country doesnt have enough hospital
beds for that.
Right now, the hospital is fairly quiet, in
contrast to two months ago when every bed
was full during the measles outbreak. Dr Diaku
says they think they can trace the outbreak back
to breaks in the vaccination programme due to
volcanic eruptions in Rabaul Mt Tarvurvur
and Vulcan destroyed 80% of Rabaul in 1994
and Mt Tarvurvur erupted again in 2006. Te
regions afected by the eruptions are the regions
the measles was prevalent, Dr Diaku says.
Te day after we visited, Mt Tarvurvur
erupted again, blanketing areas to the west of
Rabaul and Kokopo with ash.
Everywhere around the hospital, there are
signs of where NGOs and other donors have
worked to alleviate the PNG governments
healthcare shortages. Te mosquito nets in
the TB, paediatric and baby wards have been
donated. Te artwork in the paediatric wards
was another donation Simba, Spider Man
and Mickey Mouse adorn the walls, except
Univol Rosie Paterson worked in the
CADR Projects ofce with Phil Dolby in 2013.
Along with working on the nurses accom-
modation and other projects, she helped St
Marys apply for a vehicle for medical staff
to perform their twice-weekly community
visits. The hospital had just one, limiting their
reach and ability to perform certain services.
Rosie notes, for instance, that maternal and
child health were taking precedence over HIV
and AIDS outreach.
Sister Susan Gevia, head of the CADR
HIV/AIDS ofce took the idea to Rosie and
together they approached Jean-Pascal Henry
of the Digicel Foundation (Digicel is PNGs
largest telco) with an application for 75,000
kina for a new vehicle. Standing next to the
new ambulance behind his house in Kokopo,
Jean-Pascal, who says he bonded with Rosie
over football games on the lawn, says I said
wed double it K180,000. Ive travelled a
lot in those remote regions and I knew this
is the best thing to give. This is a Toyota
Landcruiser ambulance, fully equipped with
medical supplies, refrigerated cabinets, a gurney
and oxygen tanks.
Jean-Pascal, who handed over the keys
to St Marys the week after we met, says the
Foundation sees the vehicle as a pilot for a
potential eet. Theyve attached requirements,
such as visits to certain numbers of people in
certain regions, and the CADR will be respon-
sible for its upkeep, but if it goes well, Digicel
would look into providing more.
Rosie had extended her assignment at the
end of last year, hoping to be around for delivery,
which illustrates how slowly wheels can grind in
development. But she was sent photos of the
delivery ceremony in July and now says simply,
its awesome news.
7
A former volunteers work pays of
Population
Serves area of 200,000 (PNG)
Serves regional population
of 270,000 (NZ)
Doctors
4 staff doctors and 2
volunteer doctors (PNG)
300 doctors (NZ)
Nurses
100 nurses (PNG)
2,400 nurses (NZ)
Beds
Total bed space 190 (PNG)
Total bed space 484 (NZ)
Deliveries
2,000 a year (PNG)
3,323 a year (NZ)
Anaesthetists
2 anaesthetic technicians (PNG)
53 anaesthetists (NZ)
Blood lab staff
5 (PNG)
20 (NZ)
Maternal mortality
220/100,000 (PNG)
8/100,000 (NZ)
Infant mortality
50/1,000 live births (PNG)
5/1,000 live births (NZ)
Comparing
health services
in Wellington
and Kokopo
Sources: CCDHB, WHO,
UNPD, St Marys Hospital
St Marys Hospital,
Kokopo, Papua New Guinea (PNG)
Wellington Hospital,
Wellington, New Zealand (NZ)
Senior nurse Sister Kakap and Dr Felix Diaku.
The ambulance provided by the Digicel Foundation.
Family health and wellbeing
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October 2014 Family health and wellbeing Vista
8
in the Intensive Care ward, where the murals are all religious
iconography, a comfort to parents in their worst hours.
Esther, who is fve years old, is the only patient in the
Intensive Care ward, and has been there some time. She is
listless, skin and bone, and both her parents are at her bedside.
Tim says that as anyone whos spent time in hospital knows,
family support is a massive part of recovery. Tat is even more
true here, where patients rely on family for everything not
immediately medical including food.
Te hospitals old family kitchen (haus kuk) had been
transformed into a meeting room and ofces, leaving patients
and their families nowhere to prepare food. Locals could cook
at home, Tim says, but there were a small number coming
from a long way of with no families. Teres a charity-funded
kitchen that feed eligible patients, but not their families, which
is a problem for breastfeeding mothers.
Te week before our visit, a new haus kuk was opened,
thanks to a donation from Tims family. Its a simple place, with
open fres for cooking and a stack of frewood and coconut
husks, set at the back of the hospital grounds. Tim is thrilled
to see a family preparing food its the frst time hes seen it
used. A family with a young boy have a stack of greens, kaukau
(kumara) and some coconuts; there are pots full of water
boiling over the fre.
Tim snaps pictures to take home with him, delighted to see
it in use. A family doctor, through and through.
Getting health projects
up and running
sible areas, its hard to estimate costs. Communication can
take up to three months, relying on mail and messengers,
and there have to be contingencies for getting materials to
site (by boat, or even being carried on foot).
Its hard to organise around that sort of thing, Phil says, so
they have another 20 submissions planned while two major
projects, including a 1.5 million kina proposal for a remote
health centre, await donor approval. In the meantime, theyre
responsible for the upkeep of the Archdioceses existing
projects, for which they have their own local carpenter, who
also provides training. Laisat says hell assemble a team for
each project, train them and theyre straight on the job.
Better to do it that way so the communitys involved and they
take ownership of the project.
The old nurses accommodation for St Marys was
80 years old when VSA volunteer Phil Dolby started his
assignment at the CADR Projects Ofce.
By all accounts the buildings were run down and not very
accommodating. The two new blocks, built on the same spot
as the old building, have been open for nearly a year now,
housing up to 80 single nurses. Married nurses have family-
friendly rooms elsewhere. They are, says nurse Sister Lucy,
jealous they cant move their families here.
Designed by a local architect, the two dormitories are
(relatively) cool, even before the overhead fans are on. They
have inviting common areas, and kitchen and laundry facil-
ities. Theres space on the grounds for nurses to grow food.
Most importantly, Sister Lucy says, We attract more
nurses and they stay longer. When they stay longer, they are
more likely to do further study.
Phil points out that the PNG government pays nurses to
a certain number and level, and the ceiling hasnt gone up in
about ve years, so the hospital has to nd money to pay for
the extras.
With his counterpart Laisiat, Phil has just had funding
approved for a new rural health centre, and has another three
or four in the pipeline. Most of the job, says Laisiat, is
writing. Its an exhausting sounding process, though Phil
and Laisat are clearly used to the trials and setbacks.
Because most of their proposed projects are in inacces-
Volunteer Phil Dolby (second from right) with counterpart Laisiat
(second from left) and St Marys nursing sisters.
Top and bottom: the haus kuk in action
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8,800
patients were
treated by visiting
medical specialists
www.vsa.org.nz
Connecting people transforming lives
VSA
:
2013

14
3,783
people were
coached or mentored
2,037 women;
1,746 men
8,180
people attended
training courses/days
4,393 women;
3,787 men
752
organisations were
supported by capacity
building programmes
6,269
people got new
or improved
access to drinking
water sources
Photo: Ben Mattson 2013
In 2012, the Poutasi Development Trust (PDT),
in partnership with the Tindall Foundation and VSA,
established Poutasi Gardens. The Gardens currently
supply over 20 restaurants and resorts on Upolu
with fresh locally grown produce, replacing imported
produce and providing new products to market.
VSAs partnership with the Tindall Foundation
began when VSA returned to Samoa in 2012, with
VSA supplying volunteers to Tindalls existing project in
Poutasi Village.
Special Projects Manager at the Tindall Foundation,
Trevor Gray, says of the partnership, Its been a
successful match: both our organisations are innovative
and extremely effective.
After three years the Poutasi Gardens now employs
ve full time workers, four of whom are women, including
the team leader. The Gardens buy produce from more
than 10 local families and sell to its customers.
Seventy per cent of all income from the Gardens
project is paid directly to people in the district for
services performed or products purchased. 10,000 tala
(around NZ $5,000) now goes back into the community
each month, allowing the community to support a
preschool for 25 children and the Poutasi Arts Centre
for local artisans to make and sell their products.
The project has also trained 20 village members
in intensive horticulture and garden staff are now
managing many aspects of the garden independently.
Growing crops from seeds, preparing beds, applying
fertiliser, spraying for pests, irrigating, and harvesting
and post-harvest handling were all new concepts to the
people in the village. In addition to training in horticulture,
gardens staff have also received training in nancial
literacy, opening bank accounts and other life skills.
Key to the success has been Glenn Cant, Horticulture
and Marketing Adviser, who volunteered for 19 months with
his wife Sharyn, who coordinated the Poutasi Arts Centre.
Glenn led the rebuild of the gardens after Cyclone Evan
in 2012, and the business success has grown from there.
The success of this project comes down to several
factors, according to VSAs Programme Manager for
Polynesia, Ryan Brown. Having strong, effective
local leadership has been extremely important and
key to setting up and maintaining a business within a
village context. Another factor has been treating the
Poutasi Gardens as a business and having the business
stand-alone from the village structure, applying business
principles including a strong customer focus, prudent
spending and a focus on staff training and development.
Trevor says hes extremely happy with the way
Tindalls investment has been matched by VSAs
massive investment in providing these volunteers
its a brilliant way for a little foundation like ours to get
reach and local judgement.
Snapshots
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Joining forces in Samoa
VSA Volunteer Glenn Cant (second from left), with Poutasi locals.
Volunteers Melanie McIntosh (pictured) and Dana Mac-
Diarmid are supporting Timor-Leste NGO Empreza Diak to
extend their successful dried fish scheme to six more
communities. In its existing locations, the programme increased
participants incomes from $8 to $80 each month.
Volunteer Jim Bennie lent his support to several Vanuatu tourism
organisations while on assignment, as well as making proposals
to benet the industry as a whole. One was the Host Vanuatu
programme. This year, with funding from the New Zealand Aid
Programme, tourist-facing businesses have been able to sign up
for hospitality training.
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Governance in the Solomon Islands
Autonomy in Bougainville
VSA volunteers have found that supporting good
governance in the Solomon Islands is not just about
giving legal advice. Its about supporting good and fair
decision-making.
As Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Provincial
Government and Institutional Strengthening in the
Solomon Islands, writing laws was just a part of the
work Melanie Phillips did. Anybody can write a law,
or look up a law , she says what you really want to
inuence is long-term decisions.
As an example, she says there were two provincial
elections last year, but the budget for voter registration
was cut by the Ministry of Finance. The question was,
do we have to register voters? Melanie says that by the
letter of the law, no, its not mandatory to register voters.
But she points out that as over 65% of the Solomon
Islands population is under the age of 25, a huge cohort
of people had turned 18 since the last elections. You
cant stop them from voting. Melanie advised delaying
the elections by two months to undertake a shortened
registration process, in which workers travelled to
provinces to sign up new voters 10-15,000 new voters
were registered.
Since 2009, six VSA volunteers have worked with
provincial governments in the Solomon Islands to give
VSA volunteers have helped Bougainville build its
autonomy from the ground up.
Since their rst autonomous elections in 2005,
20 VSA volunteers have worked in all nine divisions
of the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG).
With a general election to be held next year, the
ABGs priorities have shifted focus to information and
communication, as Alison Turner, VSAs Programme
Manager in Bougainville during 2013-2014, says.
Our assignments are partner-led, so current volunteers
have been working to help the ABG increase its
visibility and transparency and use their unique skills
for maximum impact.
Volunteer Tyler Rosolowski quickly saw the need to
include the whole of the ABG in his work to improve the
Ministry of Educations IT, and secured funding to build
a complete network of 300 PCs, training four locals
in IT to maintain it. He also wrote a White Paper on
bringing a bre-optic cable from the Solomon Islands to
improve connectivity, and secured 5m kina (NZ$2.4m)
for a feasibility study.
While volunteer Tyler worked to ensure future IT
connectivity, Volunteer Cameron Grifths was working
to bring Bougainvilles history into order.
Bougainvilles legacy records, paper and electronic,
from before the conict and continuing through to
independence, had been kept in one of the governments
old tin shed stores since the government moved to
Buka in the 1990s. It was a mess but Cameron was
able to bring order to the chaos, creating a ling system
to keep the records in their place.
In total, 1,500 records were sorted and preserved.
Good governance is something that must be achieved in
order for Bougainville to become fully autonomous good
records management contributes directly to that goal.
Alison says within the ABG, theres a real desire to
keep working with New Zealand volunteers. Kiwis are
fondly remembered due to the countrys role in peace-
making and a history of working collaboratively with
partners. Weve got great volunteers doing excellent
work... we keep being asked back.
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VSA Volunteer Melanie Phillips
legal advice and help strengthen procedures. Theres
a real sense that youre building on work started by your
predecessors, Melanie says. And Melanies work will
also be built on by a new volunteer, due to start their
assignment within the next six months.
The country as a whole has benetted from the
VSA programme for as long as we can remember.
Robert Kaua, Ministry of Provincial Government and
Institutional Strengthening.
VSA Volunteer Cameron Griffths begins his assignment.
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Their ages ranged from 21-74
with the average age being 47.
57% were women; 43% were men.
In the 2013-2014 financial year VSA volunteers shared their
skills in a record number of 191 assignments across Asia-Pacific.
Assignments by region
Our highlights
Volunteers undertook a record number
of assessments during the year 191 in total,
up 25 from last year.
We ran a street poster campaign for the
first time to raise awareness of VSA among
the general public in March and then went
to 11 towns in New Zealand in June.
We hosted a conversation between CEO Gill Greer
and Rt Hon. Helen Clark on 22 August, 2013, to a
sell-out audience in Wellington.
The first six cadets were recruited for
the VSA/Downer Leadership Programme.
Auckland University joined Victoria and
Otago in offering its development students
the opportunity to participate in VSAs
UniVol programme.
We established eight new partnerships with
New Zealand based and regional organisations
including Himalayan Trust and the Pacic Islands
Forum Fisheries Agency. The number of assignments,
as a result of our partnerships, increased from 11 to 24.
We conducted a review of our work
in Timor-Leste.
We launched the VSA Excellence in
International Journalism award to encourage
greater international development media
coverage in New Zealand.
We launched VSAConnect, the alumni
association for returned volunteers and
their partners.
Assignments by length
95%
124 1,077 21
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74
Ninety five per cent of all VSA assignments were in the eight core countries:
Papua New Guinea (including Bougainville), Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa,
Tonga, Tokelau, Kiribati and Timor-Leste. The remaining assignments involved working
with key partners in the Galapagos, Fiji, Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia and Nauru.
We worked with 124
partner organisations
across the Asia-Pacific
Our volunteers spent a total
of 1,077 months in the
eld equivalent to 90 years.
58% Melanesia;
21% Polynesia,
20% in Asia and
1% in South America
41% Short-term;
59% Long-term
(a year or more)
VSA
:
2013

14
Short-term Long-term
58%
21%
20%
VSA is supported by the
New Zealand Aid Programme and
private and corporate donations.
Te Tao Twhi Volunteer Service Abroad Inc is a registered charity
(CC36739) under the Charities Act 2005.
Vista Family health and wellbeing October 2014
9
Opening doors for people with disabilities
Its little lunch at Callan Services in Kokopo. Outside,
VSA volunteer Liv Loftus has rounded up the 30 or so kids in
class and, with teacher Carol Norogua, is leading them through
hectic games of Cat and Mouse and Whats the Time Mr
Wolf? Te children are energetic and giggly the plan, says
Liv is to tire them out, but it never works. Teyre still running
around and Im exhausted!
Callan Services is a Special Education Resource Centre,
providing inclusive services to people with disabilities. Histori-
cally, attitudes in Papua New Guinea towards people with
disabilities have been poor. Te countrys National Disability
Resource and Advocacy Centre (NDRAC) states that there are
about 975,000 people with disabilities in PNG. Of this group,
about 2% receive services.
Te key challenge, according
to the NDRAC, is that the
attitudes and structures that
exist in society not only nega-
tively afect the health and social
well-being of people with
disabilities, but limit their opportunities to participate in society.
Papua New Guinea ratifed the United Nations Conventions
of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in September 2013.
Callan Services, which has branches all over PNG and
Bougainville, has been working for more than 20 years to
change attitudes. Pius Norogua, Programme Manager for
Callan Kokopo, says the inclusive nature of their programme
is important. Early intervention classes start at the age of three,
to motivate the children. Classes are a 50/50 mix of children
with and without disabilities, he says, in part so that children
without disabilities develop empathy and understanding.
Later, when they grow up theyll have developed trust with
disabled people, and maybe help them.
VSA has been working with Callan Services for a decade.
Previous volunteers have worked to fundraise for Callans
projects, taken part in ear/eye screening in remote areas, under-
taken community awareness programmes and organised dona-
tions of equipment such as wheelchairs.
Teacher Carol Norogua has been with Callan Services in
Kokopo for six years and in that time has worked with several
volunteers. She says with VSA helping us, its very good to
experience diferent strategies for how to help children with
special needs in the classroom.
With new activities and lessons, I am learning from them
and they are learning from me at the same time.
UniVol Gabby Banks introduced learning through play
during her assignment in 2013 ordinarily learning in schools,
even preschools here, has been very much by rote, with a teacher
lecturing from the front of the room. When we arrive, the children
are stringing beads learning organisational and fne motor skills.
As Liv calls them to order, they fght to hold her hand in the circle
before singing Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.
Vinnie Roberts is volunteering with Callan as Management
and Administration Adviser
(Disabilities). Callan had lost
their fnancial ofcer, so shed
taken on that role, too, until
Laurence, whod been Financial
Ofcer with Callans national
ofce, arrived in March. Vinnie says hes been a lifesaver. Im
glad hes here.
Vinnies worked with local businesses to get fnancial support
for crucial expenses the latest purchase is a new copier/fax
machine for the ofce.
Teir major project over the last couple of years has been an
opticians clinic, which anyone in the community can access for
eye checks and new glasses.
Te opticians clinic has recently hired two new technicians:
Bosco and Fidelis are puzzling over a broken lens grinder when
we visit. Tey both have disabilities, and are fully employed
by Callan.
Vinnie says the Optical Centre is our income baseits
really been topping up Callan when weve got no money.
At the moment, she adds, not a lot of people know about it, so
the next step is publicity. In PNG, that normally means word of
mouth. Indeed, VSAs new programme ofcer Rela Mesulam,
who lives in Kokopo, is quick to say shell be bringing her
Mum for her next check-up.
Vinnie Roberts, Mrs Carol Norogua and Liv Loftus. Liv plays with some of Callans students.
I am learning from the volunteers
and they are learning from me.
Carol Norogua, teacher, Callan Services, Kokopo.
Callan Services in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea, promotes inclusion for all.
Family health and wellbeing
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October 2014 Family health and wellbeing Vista
10
Behind closed doors:
Family violence
in the Pacic
VSA volunteers are working across the Pacic
on a pressing issue
:
the regions appallingly high
rates of violence against women and children.
If an angry husband decides to try to get his wife back from
one of Bougainvilles safe houses, he will have to contend with
Sister Lorraine frst. Te four safe houses, established and
run by the Sisters of Nazareth as the Nazareth Rehabilitation
Centre, ofer safety and advice for women and their children
escaping violent homes.
Liz Hicks has been volunteering as management adviser for
the Centre for the last year, and says Sister Lorraine is not to
be messed with. She remembers one husband showing up with
reinforcements as she and Sister Lorraine were about to go to
bed we were in our nighties, but Sister Lorraine just said to
them, Come back in the morning. We wont have a conver-
sation after dark.
Teres a power attached to the nuns, Liz says. In fact,
theyll often be the ones to deliver protection orders to violent
men. Liz is the second VSA volunteer to work at the Centre:
Susan Hinkley acted as Legal Adviser prior to her arrival.
Liz, whose background is in NGO management, says the
thing that excited me about Sister Lorraines programme is
that she also educated men and boys. Te Centre runs sexual
health classes for girls and boys, which cover family violence
along with information about contraception and STIs. For
adults, Sister Lorraine ofers human rights training, identifying
key people who can take messages back to their villages.
Liz says she concentrates on the UN legal framework that
underpins human rights the UN Declaration on Human
Rights (UNDHR), the Convention to Eliminate all forms
of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Liz took these
complex documents and made them each into A4 bullet-
pointed sheets. People want to know how it afects them,
directly. When they understand that, then they can go back
and read all the fne print.
Te safe houses themselves in Buka, Chabai, Buin and
Arawa have been funded by the New Zealand Aid Programme
and AusAid and the Centres own fundraising. Tey take a
two-pronged approach, Liz says, providing safety and access
to justice through protection orders. Te orders are fairly well-
policed, she says, If you break them, its automatically six
months in jail, no questions asked.
Liz has worked on a number of initiatives, including a clear
process for moving women from being a victim to a survivor.
Te Centre can provide whatever women need to complete
that step, whether its legal help or life skills training. Te fnal
step is reintegration. For the woman in question, that could
mean going back to her home village or it could mean going
back to her husband.
Viktoria Degerman also volunteered in Bougainville, as part
of the team that launched a Family Support Centre (FSC) at
Buka General Hospital in November last year. Viktoria says
that other agencies such as the Sisters of Nazareth were already
doing great outreach, but the FSC has a unique medical and
psycho/social standpoint that is a basic necessity to deal with
immediate trauma.
Te FSC provides medical and psychological support to the
victims of family violence.
Since Viktoria left in April shes continued to stay in
touch with the FSC team, and says shes pleased to see that
a donor grant from UN Women that they applied for had
been approved, along with another from Counterpart Interna-
tional, which have provided the Centre with the means to keep
recruiting and training local volunteers. Tese volunteers help
to alleviate the workload (they hope to eventually open the
Centre 24 hours a day), but Viktoria says involving volunteers
We move women from being
victims to survivors.
Volunteer Liz Hicks, manager, Nazareth Rehabilitation Centre.
Sister Lorraine (centre) with fellow Sisters of Nazareth.
Liz Hicks (left) with Sister Lorraine (centre).
Family health and wellbeing
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Vista Family health and wellbeing October 2014
11
Tackling violence in the Pacifc
by Ayako Ioroi, volunteer Programme Coordinator
(Ending Violence Against Women and Girls) with UN Women
Violence against women occurs in every country of the
world, rich and poor, in peace or in conict. To counter a
Wicked Problem, the international evidence base on
good and promising practices for interventions has grown.
Unfortunately, the ability to replicate good practice is a
challenge, given the diversity of cultural and socio-economic
situations around the world.
Domestic violence is the most common form of
violence against women (VAW) in the Solomon Islands, and
is widespread. Solomon Islands women are at greatest risk
of violence from an intimate partner: 90% of women who
reported violence experienced it from an intimate partner.
Most cases of VAW are settled by means of customary law
and practices at the village level.
There are numerous barriers that women and children
face in accessing support services and justice in the Solomon
Islands. There are many reasons for this: stigma surrounding
VAW; lack of formal survivor support services (including
legal aid) outside Honiara and chronic understafng at
local levels of Government; lack of legislation specically
related to domestic violence and marital rape (the Family
Protection Bill has just passed on 27 August); lack of legal
minimum age for marriage; and lack of economic indepen-
dence on the part of majority of survivors of VAW.
The Solomon Islands Joint Programme on Eliminating
Violence Against Women and Children (Joint Programme
or JP) has been developed as a collaboration between
the Government and six United Nations organisations
(UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, WHO, and ILO).
Until very recently, UN agencies have worked on their own,
sometimes working with the same partners and over-
lapping or duplicating efforts.
The JP will serve to provide more harmonisation
between UN Programming on VAW and child protection,
beyond current levels of joint programming, bringing this
work under one strategy.
also engages local women in the Centre activities, spreading
knowledge of it and makingpeople feel comfortable accessing
it if necessary.
Each month, the FSC sees 20-30 new clients, and around
20 ongoing clients, with the numbers increasing all the time.
Both Viktoria and Liz say that as awareness of their centres and
of family violence issues goes up, the numbers of women and
children (and some men at the FSC) keep climbing.
Unfortunately, says Viktoria, there seems to have been
little change in gender violence rates for some time, though
she adds that good data is hard to come by. Te contributing
factors are complex: while the link between confict and
violence is known, Viktoria says the rates of gender violence
are the same in Bougainville as they are in Papua New Guinea,
despite the Bougainville Confict.
Tere is certainly, she says, more awareness and talk of
equality between men and women, but both Viktoria and Liz
say traditional views of women as chattels are still around. Liz
says shes had men show up at safe houses saying things like,
Weve come for Robert you have something that belongs
to him.
Viktoria remains immersed in it, even after her assignment:
gender-based violence in Bougainville is her thesis topic. Its
really a never-ending job, and change has to happen slowly, but
I did feel that things were achieved at the FSC that will make
a lasting impact.
Violence against
women in the Pacic
New Zealand 33.1% (partner only)
Solomon Islands 63.5% (partner only)
Papua New Guinea 67% (partner only)
Australia 57%
Kiribati 73%
Samoa 75.8%
Sister Lorraine (centre) teaching a workshop.
Women staying in one of the Nazareth Centres safe houses.
Percentage of women who experienced
partner/stranger violence, source: UN Women, 2011
Family health and wellbeing
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October 2014 Family health and wellbeing Vista
12
WASH for human rights
Waste Management
and Health Vanuatu
Clean water isnt just a health issue, it
cuts across all areas of life. Peter Brown is
volunteering as a Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene (WASH) Advisor to World
Vision on Tanna Island, Vanuatu.
He says, Its hard really to think of
something that WASH doesnt impact
because everyone needs water to live.
Providing secure toilets at schools
increases attendance rates of girls because
it increases their safety. School atten-
dance can also increase because children
dont have to spend three or four hours
each morning collecting water. Post-
natal deaths through infection decrease
because water is available for washing
hands and equipment.
In Kiribati, Roslyn Clark is volun-
teering as Water and Sanitation Engineer
at the Ministry of Public Works and
Utilities in Tarawa, Kiribati. Tis small
nation has its own problems with water,
dues to its extremely low altitude and
high-saline water table. Roslyns manager
Martin Mataio says Improvements
in WASH would greatly improve the
quality of life for I-Kiribati, in particular
women and children. Children are more
susceptible to diseases, and improvements
in water quality would reduce diseases.
Life for women, especially, improves
with easy access to clean, safe water,
as culturally they are responsible for
collecting it.
But, Martin explains, Te water and
sanitation in Kiribati is lacking. Tere is
a lack of awareness about good hygiene
practices, a lack of planning on sani-
tation systems and no funds to actually
complete the works.
At a practical level, he adds, within
the water and sanitation engineering
unit, we lack the necessary skills to
be able to drive these larger projects.
Roslyns daily technical support and
advice within the ofce and water
engineering team has helped to build
that capacity, he says.
Roslyn says Kiribatis water supply is
fragile and at risk of saltwater intrusion
from sea level rise.
Tis water supply is pumped from
the Bonriki water reserve, however only
operates for approximately two hours,
every other day.
Currently, she says, the lack of space
and basic infrastructure increases the
risk of contamination from human and
animal waste, which causes diseases.
Roslyn is working on a number of
projects to make improvements: reha-
bilitating South Tarawas wastewater
system, constructing 30 residential
toilets in South Tarawa, and a study of
king tides and salinity levels of Onotoa,
an outer island.
Back in Vanuatu, World Visions progr-
amme is relatively new, but Peter says people
are beginning to wash their hands more and
use toilets more so weve made a start in the
right direction.
World Vision has also built nutrition
education in to their programme,
because many of the communities in the
area have high levels of child stunting,
meaning children are short for their age.
Tis usually means that brain devel-
opment is afected resulting in reduced
ability to concentrate and learn, so they
may have difculties at school.
Malnutrition is caused by poor diet,
but also diarrhea from unsafe sanitation
and water. World Vision teaches people
how to cook a balanced diet for their
children.
Te design phase of the water supply
programme in Tanna has fnished, so
Peter will see out his assignment on
working with the rural water supply
department to ensure that the water
sector is strong enough to support the
on-going sustainability of the project.
It is common practice for
Ni-Vanuatu households to burn piles
of leaves and branches from the
garden, and sometimes household
rubbish such as tin cans, tyres, plastic
and food waste gets added.
The smoke created from burning
plastics contains cancer-causing chem-
icals and can cause lung diseases
such as asthma and emphysema.
Once these chemicals are airborne
they settle on fruit and vegetables in
the garden and in the food we cook.
The harmful chemicals also land in
our rivers and the salt water, contami-
nating where we swim and sh for food.
Many patients are admitted
to Northern Districts Hospital in
Luganville each year with diseases
caused by inhaling the smoke from
burning rubbish.
As a result Luganville Municipality
together with the Department of
Health is working to raise awareness
in the community of the harmful
effects of backyard burning.
The Municipality has developed
brochures and yers outlining alter-
native options to burning such as
composting your kitchen and garden
waste, recycling your aluminium cans,
reusing your plastic bottles for kava,
petrol or as water bottles, ensuring
that the residents are aware of our
new and improved waste collection
service and informing them of the
opening hours and gate fees at the
waste disposal site.
If our municipal wardens see
a rubbish re, they will issue the
resident with a warning and provide
them with the reading material.
We have also supported this with
radio ads, church notices and signs
in public spaces, as well as adapting
our logo to encourage people to
do the right thing and say NO to
backyard burning.
by Mary OReilly,
volunteer Waste Management Adviser
at Sanma Provincial Council &
Luganville Municipal Council
Family health and wellbeing
Onotoa Island, Kiribati.
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Vista Family health and wellbeing October 2014
United Nations SIDS Conference
13
Representatives from 115 countries attended the third UN
International Conference on Small Island Developing States in
the frst week of September in Samoa, and VSA was amongst
the delegations.
Te goal was to build durable partnerships and secure
sustainable development for Small Islands Developing States
(SIDS), which are often remote, low lying, and acutely
vulnerable to climate change as well as social, cultural and
economic issues.
Hundreds of partnerships to beneft the Pacifc were forged
during the week between governments, businesses and civil
society organisations.
Te Conference was an opportunity for VSA to put our
case forward for action to address the importance of
volunteering to be better recognised, and to show that
volunteering is critical and central to delivering successes to
small island developing nations.
Te conference gives us a much wider audience to network
and partner with, Dr Gill Greer, VSA CEO, said.
Tis conference allows us to strengthen our relation-
ships with some of our in-country partners and organisations
wanting to work with us. We can also advocate strongly for
volunteerism to be better recognised.
We continue to push our messages out to encourage the
integration of volunteering into development initiatives and to
make sure it is part of SIDS practices and policies.
I feel that SIDS has united civil society, private organisa-
tions and governments even more, with a renewed sense of how
important the discussions are on issues such as climate change,
disaster management, and gender and youth engagement.
Over the week Ive heard some very good stories and
positive feedback about our volunteers and the contribution
they make to their host country and partner organisations.
Te positive contribution of volunteers in Samoa was cele-
brated and acknowledged over dinner.
I was pleased to get a chance to catch up over dinner with
our volunteers serving in Samoa as it was an opportunity for
me to hear their stories, and for me to give our volunteers a big
thanks for their contribution.
I am also very pleased about our parallel event, co-hosted
with UN Volunteers, that discussed how volunteering can
enhance partnerships and development as part of the on-going
Small Island Developing States discussions, to ensure commu-
nities work together to make a diference.
At the closing ceremony, there were tears as participants said
farewell to friends they made in just a week. Tese friendships
will likely strengthen partnerships, enabling better lives.
Gill said she was very impressed with the hospitality with
which the Samoan people embraced the conference and
delegates, with a variety of cultural events accompanying
the schedule of conference sessions. Te cultural side of the
conference in Samoa is just one positive aspect of a great
conference. A small island nation in the South Pacifc made a
big impression.
Te SIDS Conference 2014 has ofcially closed but discus-
sions and work evolved from it will continue. Te theme of
Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
through genuine and durable partnerships, as selected by the
Samoa Government, will be carried over to the next SIDS
conference in 2023.
I congratulate the Government and the people of Samoa
for an amazing efort and successful conference, and enabling
the voice of the Pacifc to be clearly heard, says Gill.
We participated, we shared, we learned, and we have a
vision for our focus on partnerships, which are the solid foun-
dations of our work.
Well done to Samoa, and, in the local language Malo
Lava.
by Angie Enoka
(left-right) VSAs Samoa-based volunteers, Angie Enoka with volunteers Christine Hartley and Pamela Fleming, VSA Polynesia Country Programme Manager Ryan Brown
and CEO Gill Greer.
The UN goes to Apia
Family health and wellbeing
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October 2014 Family health and wellbeing Vista
the sessions, which keeps me busy when Im not at netball.
I was telling Vinnie, the other VSA volunteer working with
me, about the aerobics, which got her thinking about joining
in with us or maybe it could be something we could do in the
evenings. To cut a long story short, I now take aqua aerobics
at Ropopo Resort for anyone who wants to join in. As if that
wasnt enough I have brought a guitar and other volunteers and
I are starting up jamming sessions!
I have also recently become involved with planning for
ANZAC day commemorations, with my music system
becoming very useful for the service and the aerobics; Ive now
accumulated lots of PNG/East New Britain music! All from
just that one cup of cofee.
14
From one cup of coffee
I left Wellington at the end of February, sadly saying goodbye
to my friends and family at Wellington airport but knowing
I was in for an amazing adventure. Arriving in Kokopo, East
New Britain, I discovered that I was the youngest volunteer in
the area, although many of the expatriates had children, but all
either early teens or younger. So I set out to keep myself busy
while not at work with Callan Services.
It started with going to cofee on my second Saturday,
chatting about rugby, as you do, next thing you know I am in
a corporate box watching the PNG Hunters play the Mackay
Cutters in the 2
nd
round of the Queensland Cup! Even better,
the Hunters won, so it was of to a local night club called Te
Shed to celebrate. Luckily I was able to stay with a fellow expa-
triate, saving me the trouble of worrying about how to get
home, as travelling alone at night is not an option.
My frst PNG nightclub, and the chance to meet people my
own age. Drinks fowed, well, as quickly as the elderly barman
could manage and conversation came easy. I sat talking to some
local women who were in a netball team called the Argmark
Ravens. Tey asked if I played. I hadnt for the last fve years but,
hey, Id give it a go. And that seemed to be it! I was suddenly a
Raven, inducted by going up and dancing with them all, practice
on Tuesdays and Tursdays, with games on Saturdays.
Te frst practice was hard in such humidity but I made it
though. Back at work I was recounting my dancing and netball
experience to a co-worker when her face suddenly lit up and
she asked if I would take the kids for dancing/aerobics in the
mornings! We settled on Tursday mornings, and as I started the
frst session I thought, Yes I can tire these kids out! but oh no,
after half an hour of working out these kids just wanted to do
more, not even sweating! I am however working on it, with lots
of balancing and core muscle work - it gets them up and moving
and laughing, which is the best. It also means that I have to plan
Now, in my seventh month here in PNG, netball has
fnished. Our A team won the fnals and are regional champions
now! We had a little Ravens get together on the 6
th
September
to give out trophies for people in each of our A, B, C teams.
I was awarded with Most Punctual Player for the B team!
To fll my time I am still doing Aqua Aerobics at Ropopo
pool. Men still seem to be intimidated by the class, but the
ladies are enjoying it, even though they joke Im a slave
driver, insisting that chatter is kept to a minimum. I say they
come back each week so I cant be that bad! Ive also taken
to playing squash on Mondays and Tursdays to keep up my
ftness. Its a hard game and Im out of breath at the end, but
it makes me feel like I could keep running! Its great fun and
I get to chat and hang out with my friends when not playing,
as well as keeping score for others. Tere are regular yoga
classes as well, but for me its a bit slow. I prefer pilates, and
I pretty much fell asleep at the end of one session! All in all
Im staying ft, though maybe not eating well (what student
does), getting slimmer and able to chase after the kids at
work because of it!
VSA Volunteer Liv Loftus at a volunteers lunch. Liv Loftus with fellow volunteer Vinnie Roberts.
VSA volunteer Liv Loftus, working at Callan Service in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea,
nds lots of ways to stay active and involved with her new community while on assignment.
Family health and wellbeing
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Vista Family health and wellbeing October 2014
Donate
today
You can support the work VSA
volunteers do to help people in the
Asia-Pacific live healthier lives. When
people have good health for their
whole family, they have a better chance
to lift themselves out of poverty.
Use the donation form attached to
this page. Just fll it out and post it
to us, or donate through our website
vsa.org.nz
Family health and wellbeing
Facts and gures
VSA supports family health and wellbeing
people got new or
improved access to
drinking water sources
In the year July 2013July 2014
:
Funding was obtained for
a new ambulance to reach
30,000 people in remote
communities
The mortality rate
for children at St Marys
hospital halved
patients were
treated by visiting
medical specialists
6,269 30,000 8,800 50%
countries.
Countries where access to good health care is difcult, where communicable diseases such as tuberculosis are still rife,
where people with disabilities can be invisible, and where gender-based violence is prevalent.
20 15 8
volunteers working
in this area with
partner
organisations in
Right now, there are:
Family health and wellbeing
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PNG
EAST NEW BRITAIN
SAMOA P
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BOUGAINVILLE
SOLOMON ISLANDS
VANUATU
TIMOR-LESTE
KIRIBATI
TONGA
www.vsa.org.nz Connecting people transforming lives
Where our volunteers are working to
support family health and wellbeing in the Asia-Pacic:
VSA
Vernette Roberts
Callan Services
Kokopo
Tapu Tuisuga
Samoa Victim Support Group
Apia
Julia Sherriff
Childfund
Dili
Roslyn Clarke
Ministry of Public Works and Utilities
Tarawa
Phil Dolby
Catholic Archdiocese of Rabaul
Kokopo
Olivia Loftus
Callan Services
Kokopo
Tim Fletcher
St Marys hospital
Kokopo
Renae Carr
Samoa Cancer Society
Apia
Sara Calman
Women and Children Crisis Centre
Nukualofa
Lesley Young
Women and Children Crisis Centre
Nukualofa
Daria Romanos
Youth Worker at NCYC
Luganville
Janesha Bhana
Churches of
Christ Medical,
Santo
Karen Roberts
CARE International
Port Vila
Marni Gilbert
UN Women
Honiara
Ayako Ioroi
UN Women
Honiara
Moniek Kindred
World Vision
Buka
Liz Hicks
Nazareth Rehabilitation Centre
Chabai
Mary OReilly
Sanma
Provincial Council,
Luganville
Peter Brown
World Vision
Tanna
Claire Davies
Vanuatu Family
Health Association,
Port Villa