The magazine of Volunteer Service Abroad ( VSA )

Vista
Issue two 2015

The young Pacific

Tn koutou o
Te Tao Twhi

Kia ora

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.

As I write, the formalities at the UN in

New York have drawn to a close and the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have
been launched. Now all there is to do is act
on them. Designed to eliminate poverty, the
SDGs, or Global Goals as theyve been
dubbed, set out the priorities for international
development until 2030. The 17 goals include
health, education, women and climate change.
But I think the stories in this Vista show that
there could have been a goal entirely dedicated
to young people, particularly when 90% of the
worlds youth live in developing countries.
A real challenge for VSA going forward
is how do we do more for young people? As
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, this is
the first generation that has the power to end
poverty and the last with the power to end
climate change. Thats the heritage from my
generation and they cannot hope to address
those issues unless we invest in them.
The Pacific offers some particular
challenges. The Asia-Pacific loses around
US $89 billion every year due to girls and
women having poor access to education and
employment, so we need to invest in quality
education, and thats why the work of our
volunteers modernising the curriculum and
teaching methods is so vital.
Schools must also be safe places for girls.
In places like Nepal, for instance, the dropout
rate of girls is huge, partly because there are
no private sanitation facilities for them to use
when they start menstruating, so our work
in water, sanitation and health (WASH) is
connected to that need, too.
Financial literacy is also crucial. Young
people, as in the tale of Dick Whittington,
are still drawn to cities, thinking their lives
will change. Half the worlds people now
live in cities. So the more countries become

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
0800 VSA TO GO (0800 872 8646)
for details of the branch nearest you.

Gill Greer CEO

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

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.

urbanised, the more we need to find ways of

supporting young people to be entrepreneurial,
to run their own small businesses and make
their own opportunities.
Thats why I love VSA. I come from a
background in education, health and human
rights. VSA is a development organisation in
the broadest sense, delivering development
gains in line with our partners needs
and priorities. Our volunteers model the
values that we believe in. We have UniVols
and other young volunteers, for instance,
doing spectacular work with their partner
organisations, demonstrating that young people
can be given responsibility and deliver on it.
We also see the ways in which young people
can influence their own communities across the
Asia-Pacific, as children educate their parents.
When you teach children about hygiene,
disaster resilience, or health, they teach their
families, as we see with Louise Thornleys work
on tobacco control in Tokelau.
Weve had a series of volunteers working
in education, from primary to tertiary level,
in Solomon Islands. They have done some
outstanding work to educate teachers and
improve students learning experiences. The
ripple effect of educating young people goes
beyond measurement. They will bring up their
children differently, they will have aspirations,
their children will have aspirations, and so you
lift a country, generation by generation, out of
poverty.
Im proud of the work our volunteers do to
help make that happen.

Council Chair: Evan Mayson

Council members: Dr Simon Mark (Deputy Chair), Deidre
Brooks, Kirsty Burnett, Dr Jo Cribb, Peter Elmsly, David Glover,
Juliet McKee QSO, Farib Sos MNZM, Sandy Stephens MNZM

Te Tu-ao Ta-wa-hi Volunteer Service

Abroad Inc is a registered charity
(CC36739) under the Charities Act 2005.

Chief Executive Officer: Dr Gill Greer CBE, MNZM

VSA Online
www.vsa.org.nz

Vista is printed on environmentally responsible paper. It is chlorine

free and manufactured using sustainably farmed trees.

VSA. All rights reserved. ISSN 1176-9904 Reproduction of

content is allowed for usage in primary and secondary schools,
and for tertiary studies.

Contact Volunteer Service Abroad

Wellington Office: 32 Waring Taylor St, Wellington,
Aotearoa/New Zealand
Postal Address:
PO Box 12246, Wellington 6144,
Aotearoa/New Zealand
Telephone:
Fax:
Email:
Website:

0800 872 8646 or 64 4 472 5759

64 4 472 5052
vsa@vsa.org.nz
www.vsa.org.nz

Vista is the official magazine of Te Tu- ao Ta-wa-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
marked with your name and address.

Contents
4

VSA: developments

The young Pacific

Reconnecting with culture

Sport for everyone

Marathon man

10

Young volunteers

10

Picking up the phone in PNG

11

Young people promote health

12

From the office to the orchestra

12

Celebrating young people in

Timor-Leste

VSA latest news.

VSA volunteers work to ensure the largest

youth population the world has ever seen dont
get left behind.

Reconnecting Ni-Vanuatu people to their culture

through art.

Samoa hosts the Commonwealth Youth Games.

Accompanying partner Tim Noble starts

something big.
UniVols talk about their experiences.

Papua New Guineas first free, national hotline for

victims of family and sexual violence.

Using pester power for tobacco control in Tokelau.

Henrietta McNeill provides a master class.

A young country with a young population.

13

Changing stages

14

The Channel

15

Facts and figures

Clowning for a serious cause.

Theres only one way to get anything into Tokelau.

Cover photo: Young girl in the custom village of Yakel on Tanna Island in
Vanuatu. Photographed by Elizabeth and Peter Brown.
Current photo: Coconut Palm trees in Solomon Islands. Photographed by
Jacob Fleming.
Back photos: VSA volunteer Dave Morgan, Vanuatu. VSA volunteer
Daria Romanos, Santo, Vanuatu. VSA volunteer Kate Kan-Shaw, Samoa.
VSA volunteer Peter Brown, Vanuatu.

VSA: developments
Volunteering takes
its place

All 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals can be found in detail at

www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

On September 25, world leaders met in New

York to ratify the United Nations 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), providing the roadmap
to international development for the next 15 years.
The Pope, politicians, civil society organisations and
celebrities were all present for a week in Manhattan.
Pope Francis launched proceedings with an address to
the UN General Assembly, reiterating his previous calls
to deal seriously with climate change and poverty. The
week ended with a concert in Central Park hosted by
Stephen Colbert and Salma Hayek.
The razzle-dazzle contrasted starkly with the
ongoing refugee crisis, and with the everyday work
of our volunteers. Early in 2016, the UN will set the
indicators by which the goals will be measured
covering everything from health and education to
addressing climate change and eradicating poverty. The
goals, unlike the Millennium Development Goals that
they replace, apply to every country, and every person,
whether they live in Auckland or Addis Ababa, so all
governments will be required to report on their own
progress on the goals.
After extensive work by advocates within an
international group of volunteering organisations,
including VSAs CEO Gill Greer, volunteer groups have
been recognised in the SDGs as being essential to
their implementation. In addition, the Addis Ababa
Action Agenda, which came out of the Financing
for Development conference in July, also endorsed
volunteers as part of an enhanced and revitalized
global partnership for sustainable development,
led by governments, [which] will be a vehicle
for strengthening international cooperation for
implementation of the post-2015 development agenda.
Volunteers contributed a huge amount to the
successes that were seen under the MDGs, so
being recognised formally as they carry on that work
is testament to their impact. Now, Gill says, the
challenge will be to retain the increased visibility of
volunteering and integrate the new SDG agenda into
our work, in line with partners priorities.
www.vsa.org.nz

Welcoming our new

staff
With the appointment of Faleolo Leo to VSAs
first permanent office in Apia, all of our programmes
now have local country programme officers to assist
the programme managers. Faleolo will work with
Programme Manager (Polynesia) Ryan Brown, who
is based in Wellington, to provide much-needed onthe-ground support in Samoa and around the rest of
Polynesia.
International Programme Manager Junior Ulu says
with our programmes expanding, our programme
managers were in real need of local support. Were
happy to have found people who dont just provide
that support, but have invaluable local knowledge and
networks, as well.
In the last year, Chris Rimats has been in Bougainville,
David Nalo in Vanuatu, Lydia Dentana in Solomon Islands
and Nene Correia De Almeida in Timor-Leste.

Congress reminder
Invitations for Congress are out dont forget
to register. This years Congress will be held at the
Royal Society in Wellington on Saturday, November 7,
followed by the AGM and, later, dinner at Dockside
restaurant for a harbour view of the citys Guy
Fawkes fireworks display. Register at http://bit.ly/
congress-2015, or by emailing Kelly at vsa@vsa.org.nz

Women of Influence
In September, it was announced that
three members of the VSA whnau were
finalists in this years Fairfax/Westpac
Women of Influence (WOI) Awards.
CEO Gill Greer is a finalist in the Global
category, Council Member and Chief
Executive, Ministry of Women, Jo Cribb
is a finalist in the Public Policy category,
and volunteer Henrietta McNeill (Samoa Association of
Manufacturers and Exporters) is a finalist in the Young
Leader category (see page 12).
The WOI awards were founded in 2013, committed
to increasing the visibility of womens leadership in
New Zealand, highlighting the important contribution
women take in creating a bold and diverse future for
New Zealand.
The category winners, and an overall winner, will be
announced in Auckland on November 4.
October 2015 / Page 4

Buy the books

Geoffrey Robert
with partner/
VSA volunteer
Sue Lancaster
at The Alo
Release book
launch.

Our volunteers accompanying partners are never

idle, and Geoff Mein, accompanying his partner Sue
Lancaster in Dili, Timor-Leste, has used his time to
complete his first novel. The Alo Release, a tech thriller
about genetic modification, was launched in Dili in
September.
Geoff, an experienced journalist, published under
the pen name Geoffrey Robert, though was inspired
by the real names of several of his VSA colleagues
in the book as he put it in his speech at the launch
party, an American television network producer on the
take is called Dave Lowe. Shelley [Sutherland] is the
communications manager for a biotech corporation,
and Joris [de Vocht] is chairman of the International
Federation for Biotechnology Information.
The book, which is set in and around Wellington,
has so far received rave reviews, and is available as an
ebook at www.geoffreyrobert.com.

A great snap of the book First to the Top, taken at the top of the Aiguille du Midi
(3800m), near Mont Blanc, Chamonix, European Alps. Photo taken by Jaz Morris
(Phoebe Morriss brother).

Another book this one aimed at a much younger

audience has also been released with a few VSA
connections. First to the Top Sir Edmund Hillarys
Amazing Everest Adventure is an illustrated childrens
book by Taranaki author David Hill and illustrated by
Phoebe Morris the daughter of VSA volunteer Fiona
Morris. Copies of the book, published by Penguin,
are on their way to Vanuatu to be donated to a local
preschool. As David Hill says: a book about VSAs
founding president, illustrated by a current volunteers
family, its 1.75 degrees of separation, isnt it?

A marathon, not a sprint

The Cyclone Pam appeal was the most successful
humanitarian appeal VSA has ever run, and is being
disbursed to volunteers and their partner organisations.
It has been used to support preschools, agricultural
organisations and small tourism operators to do what
the Vanuatu government has called for, and build back
better.
To play their part in the fundraising, on July 5, VSA
Wellington staff laced up their sneakers and took part
in the annual Wellington Marathon. The team members
ran the 5km, 10km or half-marathon events in VSAs
brand-new t-shirts on a typically gorgeous winter day in
the capital, raising $1,781 in sponsorship to go towards
recovery work in Vanuatu.
VSAs fundraising relationship with The Bodyshop
continued this year, with friendship bracelets once
again on sale throughout New Zealand at Bodyshop
branches in August and September. As always, were
grateful for The Bodyshops ongoing support.
Our generous supporters continue to boost our
efforts through the usual fundraising channels. We are
www.vsa.org.nz

grateful for our donors who allow the great work of our
volunteers to continue.

VSA Wellington staff (left to right): Gill Greer (CEO), Helen Carter, Anna Ravendran,
Chris House, Sarah Barnett, Chris Mitchell, Kesaya Baba and Karla Paotonu.

October 2015 / Page 5

Photo: Murray Loyd, 2015

The young Pacific

VSA volunteer Daria Romanos takes a literacy class in Santo, Vanuatu.

VSA volunteers are working to ensure

the largest youth population the world
has ever seen dont get left behind.
Travelling to school in Solomon Islands is not always
easy. Schools are built where the government has land,
which means more often than not theyre scenic, but
remote. Kay and Les Dawson volunteered with the
Isabel Education Authority, and in his two years, Les
did the tour of the islands schools six times. He set
out before first light in a long boat captained by a guide
with the sea running in his veins. Some trips meant
we were out in the open sea for up to six hours, Les
says, then its a 45-minute walk through the bush to
the school.
You work hard for your education in the Pacific.
In Isabel Province, students board, as thered be no
way to make the trip every day. The schools have no
power, so supplies are brought in just like Les was by
longboat and on foot and the diet is non-perishable
noodles and tinned fish, supplemented by the school
gardens. Maintaining the schools is an uphill battle,
thanks to the same access issues.
While education is slowly improving, 26% of male
and 32% of female Solomon Islanders aged 15-29
are non-literate. Despite that, Kay says, the kids are
multilingual: they speak at least four languages: their
mother tongue, the local vernacular, Pijin and English.
There is so much untapped capability.
As those kids come of age, theyre graduating from
primary school in a world that doesnt necessarily
www.vsa.org.nz

11% of the worlds

15-24 year olds are
non-literate
offer them employment opportunities. Against this
backdrop, in August, director of the UNDP Helen Clark
delivered the annual Sir Paul Reeves memorial lecture,
shining a spotlight on some of the greatest challenges
and opportunities the world faces now. There are 1.8
billion people aged between 15 and 24 today, Clark
said, the highest proportion the world has ever seen.
As she explained, The energy, hopes, and innovation
of this large youth generation can bring a huge
demographic dividend to countries. But the opposite
is also true. A generation with many unemployed,
alienated, and disengaged youth is not a recipe for
peace and harmony. Around our world, youth are
disproportionately unemployed, and often lack access
to quality and affordable services.
Two million of those young people live in the Pacific.
In the countries where VSA works, around 20% of the
population is aged 15-24 (compared to 14% in New
Zealand). They make up a third of the working age
population, but are twice as likely to be unemployed as
their older counterparts.
Kesaya Baba is Programme Officer (Melanesia)
at VSA, and is Chair of the Board of Directors for the
Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights,
an international advocacy organisation. Her Masters
research explored the ways in which youth issues can
be included in New Zealand-based Pacific development
initiatives. She says traditionally in development
and traditionally in society too, young people are
overlooked.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) had
an emphasis on health and education for children,
October 2015 / Page 6

particularly those under the age of five. The successes of the MDGs
need follow-through, Kesaya says. Now were seeing a youth population
which is much healthier and more educated than ever before, but they are
missing out on those programmes to help them take the next step.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were launched
in September and will shape global development for the next 15
years, contain more references to young people as governments and
development organisations recognise the demographic dividend Clark
spoke about in her lecture. Kesaya says I see it as a feedback cycle.
Investing in young people contributes to the economy because theyre able
to participate in meaningful work, and economic development then has a
positive feedback on youth development. When they have the ability, Kes
adds, young people are some of the greatest advocates for pressing issues
such as climate change and gender equality.
Too often, she says, young people are seen as a problem, due to drug
and substance abuse, and teen pregnancy. One thing that came out really
strongly from my research is that issues around young people need to be
recognised as symptomatic of wider issues. Why are those young people
turning to substance abuse? In Bougainville, its because theres nothing
else for them to do. So VSAs projects around small business, for instance,
are in an indirect way contributing to improving the situation for youth.
Many VSA programmes have a youth component because of the focus
on marginalised portions of the population, from small business support to
vocational training, education and sexual and reproductive health.
More development agencies like VSA are starting to recognise the
need to support young people, Kesaya says. I think its really important to
have a positive stance on youth development. Young peoples voices must
be heard.

Young people = aged 15-24

Young peoples voices must be heard

UniVol Daria Romanos began
an evening literacy class at the
Northern Care Youth Centre in
Santo, Vanuatu, as a way to add to
the work she was already doing
there. Almost one in five adults
in Vanuatu are illiterate, with the
numbers even higher outside the
main centres. With grant funding
from VSA, Daria set up a classroom
and took classes each day mostly
adolescent and young adult women.
Ive always liked teaching people,
and the chance to help them for
their future motivated me, Daria
says. Volunteering is not what
youd expect. You expect to be the
one being useful and changing
peoples lives, when in reality youre
the one who ends up changing. Its
a very humbling experience.
www.vsa.org.nz

Photo: Murray Loyd, 2015

Kesaya Baba

VSA volunteer Daria Romanos teaching at her literacy

class in Santo, Vanuatu.

October 2015 / Page 7

This story was written by Volunteer Service Abroad

(VSA) Communications Manager, Chris House, while
visiting our programmes and volunteers in Vanuatu.
Delly Roy, partner of VSA Vanuatu staff member
David Nalo, is a woman on a mission. Five years
ago she started TEKS (Traditional Entertainment and
Kastom Support), an NGO which reconnects
Ni-Vanuatu people to their culture through art.
TEKS supports a range of traditional wisdom
practices such as dance, music, singing, stories,
carving, weaving, painting, drawing and fabric art.
There are two principal ways that TEKS engages
with communities to support these activities: first by
assisting village groups to organise and host Mini Arts
Festivals (MAFs), and secondly, by documenting these
festivals through co-produced audiovisual content in
local languages.
To support the audiovisual element, in June Murray
Lloyd, accompanying partner of VSA Volunteer Fiona
Morris, came over from Port Vila and ran training
sessions in photography and filmmaking for three
TEKS members Augustin Leasly, Rex Roy, and Naomi
Jogonmal. As a result of this, they are now better able

Photo: Chris House, 2015

Reconnecting with culture

Children painting as part of a Creative Arts Pikinini (CAP) workshop.

to meet their objective of making youth appreciate our

own traditional kastom arts, music and entertainment,
which dates back to long before contemporary and
modern arts and music were introduced, Delly says.
As well as this, TEKS have started providing cultural
orientations for VSA Volunteers. The partnership will be
further strengthened early in 2016, when TEKS will be
joined by a full-time VSA volunteer, an Administration
and Events Assistant.
You can find out more about TEKS online: www.furtherarts.org/teks-program/

Jess Thompson was a UniVol with the Samoa

Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee
this year, as they prepared Samoa to host nearly
1,000 athletes at the Commonwealth Youth Games in
September. Here, Jess writes about why the Games
were so important.
The concept of the Commonwealth Youth Games
isnt about winning, or international stardom, or
breaking records. Major events like this are about
participation, learning about anti-doping, balancing
education and sport, international friendships so
many concepts that we seem to forget at sports top
level. Half of Samoas population is under the age of 25,
so to see all these international young athletes just like
them following their dreams is inspiring.
UNICEF in conjunction with the Oceania Football
Confederation (OFC)/Samoa Football Federation and
the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) ran
a programme during the games called Just Play,
which focuses on sport for development in the Pacific.
Local school children were able to connect with Youth
Commonwealth athletes. How often would a Samoan
school kid get to play football with an athlete from the
Caribbean?
Samoa put their little island in the middle of the
Pacific on stage and presented as a nation to the world.
Did everything run exactly to plan? No. But what was

www.vsa.org.nz

Photo: Jess Thompson, 2015

Sport for everyone

Encouraging sport for young people in Samoa.

lacking in some respects was made up by culture and

an enthusiasm to make it work. Newly elected CGF
President Louise Martin described it as the warmest,
friendliest Commonwealth Youth Games ever.
Our Chief Coordinator, Vitolio Lui, summed it up
in his speech at the farewell to CGA Team Leaders
and CGF Executives: Your presence in our midst has
enriched our lives. We as a people do not possess
the means to go out to the world for this sort of
experience. But you, the world, the world of the young,
had come to us to share what we dont have. And we
feel so special, so privileged.
I for one am just excited to see what the concept of
the Commonwealth Youth Games does for international
development as a whole bringing accessibility and
grassroots back to sport.

October 2015 / Page 8

Photo: Tim Noble, 2015

Marathon man
With the success of the
event it has become a
fixture in Fijis sporting
calendar, with the 2016
event planned to tie
in with the leaving of
the Fiji team to Rio for
the Olympics. Being a
founder of an event like
this is something I will
always remember
Tim Noble
Suva Marathon in Fiji, founded by a group including Tim Noble.

Tim Noble accompanied his wife, Olivia Owen, who

volunteered with UN Women in Suva, Fiji. Tim got
involved in local sports, volunteering with the local
Olympic Commission, and wound up organising
something big. He writes about how it all happened.
The idea for a Suva marathon originally started with a
few like-minded expats that enjoyed distance running.
We floated the idea of a few of us running a marathon
along a small road winding around a few coconut palm
shaded lagoons, with someones long suffering spouse
driving a support vehicle carrying copious amounts of
sunblock, liquids and band-aids.

We floated the idea of a few of us

running a marathon along a small
road winding around a few coconut
palm shaded lagoons Tim Noble
Thinking that if we were doing it anyway, we should try
and get as many people to do it with us as we could
(at that point we thought 10 or 12 would be a great
success), we started spreading the word. Things came
to a tipping point when we realised this was something
that people were really getting into, and that if it was
set up right it could become an annual event.
Suva had never held a marathon before, and
Fiji hadnt held one in 13 years. Distance running is
underrepresented in the country, with the current
marathon record for a Fijian being set way back in
1988. Most children play rugby and netball so never
run more than 100m at a time. There are a few
small running groups who focus on smaller events
with nothing really over 10km, so a marathon was
something a little different.
www.vsa.org.nz

The first Suva Marathon in 2014 had slightly north

of 300 entrants, and the 2015 event had over 600. The
bulk of these were team entrants, so several people
each running sections of the full course, but there was
a hardcore group that did the full distance. In 2014 we
didnt advertise much, and what advertising was done
was left very late, so we were surprised when a fellow
travelled over from the States specifically to run with
us. In the 2015 race we had at least 10 people that
travelled internationally specifically for the race. Due
to the numbers we had to change the course to one
more accessible. There were still palm trees and a fair
temperature, and something I hadnt seen before in
Fiji green coconuts or bu handed out to runners as
refreshments.
We had an overwhelming level of support once
we told people what a marathon was, receiving
sponsorship from a huge range of individuals,
businesses and local government. For anyone that has
worked in the Pacific you can imagine what fun it is
trying to run anything on time, especially when a few
hundred entrants and a hundred-odd volunteers were
involved. It was so successful that most of the original
group that planned the marathon got stuck helping run
the event on the day and watched enviously as runners
crossed the line, with most finishing their first distance
running event.
With the success of the event, it has become a
fixture in Fijis sporting calendar, with the 2016 event
planned to tie in with the Fijian team leaving for the
Rio Olympics. Being a founder of an event like this
is something I will always remember. I havent yet
managed to run my Fiji marathon, but am looking
forward to 2019 when the first committee members
are coming back to see things from the other side of
the start line.

October
October2015
2015 / Page 9

Young volunteers
This has been one of the most
challenging things I have ever
done. While I was there to train [my
counterpart] Michael, his motivation
and attitude have truly inspired me,
and I have taken lessons from him back
to New Zealand.

VSAs UniVols have come fresh from studying

development or geography at Auckland, Victoria and
Otago Universities. Volunteering is their chance to put
what theyve been learning into practice. Here are
some of their highlights:

I joined them in singing, having

absolutely no idea what they were
saying, but it was so much fun. When
the Minister arrived, my new found
friends and I began to lead him to the
mess hall in song. Its incredibly hard
to describe the sense of community,
the sense of voice and the sense of
belonging that I felt in that moment.

Nataly Noguer Blue, Records Management and Archives Assistant in

the Autonomous Bougainville Goverments (ABG) Division of Media and
Communication, 2014

I got so much out of the experience as

a whole. You get so much benefit from
doing something completely out of your
comfort zone, as well.
Emily Steel, Youth Sports and Womens Affairs Officer at the Honiara
City Council in Solomon Islands

Sam Mehrtens, Student Sport Programme Assistant with Kabaleo

Teachers Training College, based in Kokopo, PNG

VSA volunteer Lauren Hart has worked to help set

up Papua New Guineas first free, national hotline for
victims of family and sexual violence.
Papua New Guinea has some of the worst rates of
sexual and domestic violence in the world, with around
two-thirds of all women experiencing violence at some
point in their lives. Now, for the first time, theres
a nationwide free phone line to help, based in Port
Moresby. And if there was any doubt about the need,
Lauren Hart says they received nearly 100 calls in the
first week alone when the line was launched in August.
There have been so many different calls relating to a
huge range of issues, although the main issues have
been recent family violence incidents, sexual abuse,
child welfare issues and child sexual abuse.
Lauren, a VSA volunteer with ChildFund PNG,
coordinated a 12-week intensive course for the
centres phone counsellors (mostly new social work
graduates from the University of Papua New Guinea),
which included familiarisation with services available
to callers, such as safe houses, family support centres
and emergency services.
The 1-Tok Kaunselin Helpim Lain employs five
telephone counsellors, two counsellors and two
senior counsellors, with an operation coordinator. All
of the counsellors are Papua New Guinean and fluent
in PNGs three official languages, and Lauren says
the programme is based around both Western and
Melanesian counselling styles, as a purely Western
model would not necessarily fit the context of Papua
New Guinea.
www.vsa.org.nz

Photo: Lauren Hart, 2015

Picking up the phone in PNG

Lauren Hart with phone counsellors from the Papua New Guinea national hotline.

Despite Papua New Guineas huge size and the

remoteness of so many of its communities, 75% of the
country so far has cellphone coverage, which makes a
phone-in service ideal. The counsellors are able to work
with callers to make plans to keep them safe in the
moment, as well as referring them to ongoing support.
While the need for the service is great, Lauren says
the helpline also represents, in the form of its young
women counsellors, the opportunity for young people
in the Pacific, when they have the privilege of good
health and education, to be able to contribute to the
wellbeing of the community. It is a huge achievement
for the service users and providers.
(The 1-TOK Kaunselin Helpim Lain is a partnership
between ChildFund Papua New Guinea, CIMC(FSVAC) and
FHI 360, supported by the New Zealand Aid programme,
USAID, ChildFund New Zealand and ChildFund Australia)
October 2015 / Page 10

To kick off our consultation for the tobacco

control policy project, we met with school children in
Nukunonu. Id anticipated a group of 10 or so, but the
teachers decided all of Years 5-10 should attend about
50 kids!
Alapati (Pita) Tavite, my co-worker, gave a
presentation on smoking rates in Tokelau and the
Pacific region. When he said that Tokelau was among
the highest-smoking countries in the Pacific, with
three-quarters of children exposed to secondhand
smoke, I heard gasps of surprise.
After Pita, I spoke about the health effects of
tobacco, the role of the tobacco industry, and solutions
underway in the Pacific. Then we divided the children
into groups and asked them questions.
Students said tobacco was a waste of money
and harmful to health. They said Nukunonu should do
more to address the tobacco problem because more
children are smoking and a lot of people are dying of
smoking.
The students ideas for action included: The price
should go up because it is so cheap for now, no
smoking in public places and decrease the smokes
that are coming to Tokelau. These ideas are consistent
with what the evidence on effective tobacco control
measures tells us.
Lastly, the youth agreed with the idea of a no
smoking rule for the school and its grounds. One
reason was: because its a bad example for kids
when teachers or parents smoke at school.
A week later, I was interviewing a woman for the
project. She told me her Year 6 nephew had come
home and said to her whole family, This white lady
came to school and said smoking kills people and
makes you ugly. (I didnt really say smoking makes
people ugly, but did show photos of skin damage!)
This boy then asked his relatives to quit smoking
because he wants them to be healthy. The woman
said her dad, a heavy smoker, was a little defensive,
but her nephews concern prompted her to think more
about her own smoking. The family had already agreed
to have a smoke-free home those who smoke do so
outside.
Children and youth are among our projects biggest
supporters many want tobacco-free environments
and some are critical of smoking. There are young
smokers here, for sure, but their younger siblings arent
so impressed.
This week I interviewed an 84-year-old lifelong nonsmoker, Paulina. I needed an interpreter as Pita had
www.vsa.org.nz

Louise Thornley teaching children about tobaccos effect on health.

Photo: Louise Thornley, 2015

Louise Thornley is volunteering as Tobacco Control

Policy Adviser with the Tokelau Department of Health.
She writes about the power young people have to
influence their families health.

Photo: Louise Thornley, 2015

Young people promote health

School children in Tokelau learning about tobacco.

left to attend meetings in Samoa. A teenager, Luhia,

volunteered. It was the school holidays, but I checked
with her mum anyway, as I would usually recruit adult
interpreters. But her mum was supportive and Luhia
already had an interest in our project shed previously
delivered anti-tobacco speeches at school.
It was a privilege to sit with these two Tokelauan
women, hearing Paulinas dreams for a healthier,
tobacco-free future. And its todays young people, like
Luhia, who could support the elders to lead this journey.

October 2015 / Page 11

Henrietta McNeill grew up living in different Pacific

countries, a sun-soaked childhood that sounds idyllic.
But being exposed to the realities of the Pacific,
including poverty and hardship, inspired her to return to
work with her former neighbours to give more people a
chance at a better life.
Now, the primary school she once attended in Apia
is not far from where shes working on assignment
with VSA.
Henrietta has already achieved a lot. She was on
the shortlist, alongside Lorde, for Young New Zealander
of the Year in 2014, recognising her work with global
youth. She has worked at the United Nations and
European Parliament on youth issues, and been a New
Zealand representative to the Y20 the youth version
of the G20.
Currently, Henrietta is working with the Samoa
Association of Manufacturers and Exporters
(SAME). She is making submissions to the World
Trade Organisation, the World Bank and the Samoan
Government.
While volunteering is principally about helping
others, Henrietta says shes getting plenty out of her
assignment, too. Ive been able to meet so many
people and make great connections. And getting
involved in the community outside of my assignment
has become a highlight.
Henrietta plays violin and viola, and has brought her
skills to the National Orchestra of Samoa, a scheme

Photo: Henrietta McNeill, 2015

From the office to the Orchestra

Henrietta McNeill with Samoas National Orchestra leader Enoch Fruean.

run by the Ministry of Education to expand musical

knowledge. Nine months ago, most of the orchestra
members hadnt touched a classical instrument. Its a
really exciting experience to be involved with a freshly
formed national orchestra.
Henrietta gives master classes to adult players,
who then teach classes of around 50 school children.
Despite the lack of resources, the programme is
popular: You have lots of kids gathered around two
cellos having a go.
Henrietta says, Being a VSA volunteer means that
you can contribute in a way that really uses your skills
to help and you pass those skills on, so you leave
people more capable than they were before.

Celebrating young people in Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste is a young country with a young
population the median age is just 18.5. Since
gaining independence from Indonesian rule in 1999,
the Government has worked to empower its young
people. It has a government department and Minister
dedicated to young people, and the countrys youth
policy was formed after consultation with young people
themselves.
Making sure young people have useful skills is key.
Aubrey Kirkpatrick volunteered as the Library Advisor
at Centro Treinamentu Integral no Desenvolvimento
Collegio (CTIDC) in Baucau, the second-biggest city
after Dili.
Aubrey and her partner, Ian Auld, who accompanied
her, say celebrations for young people in Dili, especially,
are frequent, often involving music or sports. Aubrey
says People understand that theyve had a hard time
and they want to have a better future for their young
people.
CTIDC takes in up to 100 girls from all around
Timor-Leste and offers vocational training and work
placement programmes. Youth unemployment,
particularly for young women, is high in Timor-Leste:
www.vsa.org.nz

while unemployment is just 4.4% overall, 18.7% of

young women and 10.1% of young men are out of
work.
Aubrey worked closely with Mana Joanna, a recent
graduate of CTIDC, in the library. They encouraged
students to use it and supported the centres staff.
The students were mostly babies during the violence
around the independence movement, but Aubrey says
it can be easy to forget that the young generation
still bear those memories. Theyre like any group of
teenagers, but then one will mention something about
visiting her parents grave and you remember.
Despite that, she says, the young women at CTIDC,
arent negative about being young in Timor-Leste.
Theyre still typical teenagers [the countrys history]
hasnt taken that away from them.
As teenagers, theyre all over Facebook. As she left
Timor-Leste in September, Aubrey says she could see
on the site that Joanna had already started making her
own changes at the library, and was posting photos of
her work. That was one of my biggest highlights just
seeing the pride she takes in sharing her work.

October 2015 / Page 12

Changing Stages

VSA volunteers are working

with partner organisations

Its a still night in Luganville,

Vanuatu, population 13,400, with
the only noise the quiet murmur
from the crowd gathered to see the
show. On stage the spotlight falls
on a tall female clown dressed in
a green fright wig, circus makeup
and billowing pants. She speaks
in energetic and fluent Bislama to
appreciative laughter.
The slight kiwi accent reveals
her to be VSA volunteer, Kate
Burry. She is five months into an
assignment as a youth worker with
the Northern Care Youth Centre
(NCYC), which caters to about 500
young people from Luganville town
and its surrounds, giving them a
focus in a country with high youth
unemployment. NCYC is also a
health clinic, and tonight Kate is
using humour to continue the
conversation with local teenagers
about sexual health and education.
Her audience sits cross-legged
on the grass in a serpentine line,
just out of range of the lights
beaming from the small outdoor
stage. They watch even more
intently as Kate is joined by
bantering puppets, including Cookie
Monster and a boxing kangaroo. I
cant help chuckling, even though
Im struggling to understand one
word in ten of Bislama, a creole
language that has evolved from
English. Its good to get people to
laugh Kate tells me the next day,
when we visit NCYC in the sunlight,
especially when demonstrating
how to put on a condom. Rosie
Phatu, who presents with me to the
kids, always says, Laugh first time.
Learn next time.
Tonight is not Kates first time
on stage. She has a theatre and a
development studies background,
and has found a way to fuse
her passions. The year before
volunteering with VSA, she was
involved with Stages of Change,
an award winning Solomon Islands
www.vsa.org.nz

Photo: Kate Burry, 2015

This story was written by Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA) Communications

Manager, Chris House, while visiting our programmes and volunteers
in Vanuatu.

to support, mentor and

empower young people.
Working alongside youth,
our volunteers:

Provide sexual
and reproductive
health services
and education

Work with young

entrepreneurs to
Kate Burry with students at NCYC.

theatre company that uses drama to

talk publicly about gender violence
and how it impacts the community,
while aiming to increase womens
participation in civil society and
peace making.
The day after the show, Kate
acts as our guide, taking us around
the youth centre, and introducing
us to her manager Leipanga Shem,
as well as Rosie and her other NiVanuatu colleagues, who Kate tells
us are all amazing people. She
shows us around the classroom she
teaches in, and then walks us past
hip-hop dancers sweating through
their moves in a small studio.
Outside there are boxers, musicians
and boys playing football.
Our guide is the latest in a long
line of VSA volunteers at NCYC,
or its parent organisation Wan
Smolbag (One Small Bag). Kate
feels she is starting to make real
progress, having just got a segment
on healthy relationships included in
their presentations to young men
and women. Its about getting
them involved in roleplay to make
them think about what qualities
matter in relationships, and the
importance of sexual consent.
It feels good to get through to
them, to reach them. It makes it all
worthwhile.

independence

Give vocational
training to open
up employment
opportunities

Protect the
victims of
violence and
abuse

Improve
IT facilities

Strengthen sports
organisations to
promote healthy
activity

Support youth
centres as hubs
of the community

October 2015 / Page 13

www.vsa.org.nz

Three boats at work - a small fishing boat brings in a wheelbarrow-load of tuna, the
barge heads seaward to pick up a load, and in the background the Goliath container
ship waits.

Id have chosen the umu experience

over lugging crates any day Louise Thornley
Photo: Louise Thornley, 2015

We spotted it looming on the horizon a container

ship which became the focus of our weekend. Bigger
than the boat we arrived on, it travelled here via Tuvalu,
1000 kilometres away.
Tokelaus only external link is a narrow channel,
dynamite-blasted out of the reef. This allows shipment
by barge while the goliath ship hovers beyond. The
atolls ocean waters are too deep for an anchor.
I knew that every person and object that journeys
here has to be surfed in on the waves. But its
something else to witness this process. The sight of
a tall container, perched on the barge, being guided
skilfully through the surf was gripping Friday night
entertainment for us. For the locals, its more a
labour-intensive, and sometimes risky, routine.
Our friend Mere and I joined other spectators,
while Joe and Ben took part in the communal unload.
As the waves rose and fell, we watched the men on
the barge veer skywards, then descend with a crash.
Once or twice the whole barge disappeared from view,
obscured by a wave.
Even a car was ferried in. After a surf ride, it was
gently hoisted up and onto shore by a bright yellow
crane. Only the cars muffler was knocked askew. A
motor-scooter didnt come off quite so well; it brushed
against the ships side in the lowering process and the
key fell from the ignition into the sea.
On Saturday, the men met at 5am for breakfast
and a rousing speech, before resuming the mammoth
unload. Mere and I helped the women prepare a feast,
cooked on the traditional umu, to thank the labourers.
Gender division, yes, but Id have chosen the umu
experience over lugging crates any day (and we got to
sample the freshly-baked food).
During the next week, Joe was looking for a
particular man to speak with. He was advised to look
at the General.
The where? asked Joe, not having heard of that
location. The General came the reply again.
So Joe headed off to the store, thinking perhaps it
was called the General Store (as in America). No sign
of the man there, though. And people looked baffled
when he said he was seeking The General.
Retracing his steps, Joe discovered his mistake,
eventually meeting another man, who revealed that the
person he sought was at the Channel.

Its all about the teamwork in Tokelau.

Photo: Louise Thornley, 2015

Louise Thornley is volunteering as Tobacco Control

Policy Adviser with the Tokelau Department of Health.
She is accompanied by her partner, Joe Wilson. Tokelau
is made up of three coral atolls Louise and Joe live on
Nukunonu, where everything has to be brought in the
hard way.

Photo: Louise Thornley, 2015

The Channel

The container ship drifts without anchor, hovering as close as possible for the unload
process note the height from which each item must be lowered. Considering the
task, there is little damage.

October 2015 / Page 14

Facts and figures

The
young
Pacific
VSA works inclusively
with young people in
the Asia-Pacific region
to benefit everyone.
Right now, there are:

53 volunteers
working with
35 partner
organisations
to support
young people
in 10 countries.

VSA believes that when all members of a community are

treated inclusively and given the chance to contribute, the
community as a whole will benefit. The youth population is
booming: if they are given the skills, support and
opportunities, they could change the face of the Asia-Pacific.

2025

Young people make

up one-third of all
working age people
in the Pacific, but are
twice as likely to be
unemployed.

In the countries where

VSA works, around
60% of the population
is under the age of 25.

By 2025 there will be

72 million more young
people than today.

In the countries where

VSA works, anywhere
from 8% (Vanuatu)
to 34% (Papua New
Guinea) of young
people are non-literate.
Sources: UNDP, Unicef

Donate
today
www.vsa.org.nz

Your support of VSA volunteers allows

them to help people in the Asia-Pacific.
When young people have good education
and health services and opportunities to
use their skills and knowledge, whole
communities will benefit.

Use the donation form attached to this

page. Just fill it out and post it to us, or
donate through our website.
Thank you

www.vsa.org.nz
October 2015 / Page 15

Inspiring
Change

Become a volunteer
VSA has over 100 volunteer vacancies available each year
for New Zealanders to share their skills and knowledge with
communities and organisations already striving for change.
Our volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds,
from business mentors and lawyers to teachers, IT
specialists, engineers and eco-tourism operators.

Support VSA

Find out more

Make a donation. Its a gift

that will keep on giving
because the programmes
that VSA volunteers help
put in place will continue to
have a profound impact after
they leave.

Our volunteers all have

stories to tell. When you visit
www.vsa.org.nz to see our
vacancies or to donate, read
about the work theyre doing
every day to create a better
future for all of us.

www.vsa.org.nz

VSA covers flights,

accommodation
& some expenses.
A modest living
allowance is also
provided.

VSA Online:

www.vsa.org.nz
Call:

0800 872 8646