WHAT CAN YOUR CLUB DO TO HELP CHILDREN IN VANUATU ? An ongoing appeal

Patsy and Mike Hill of the Kiwanis Club of Takapuna, Ewan Beck of the Kiwanis Club of Papakura and Jim Kyle of the Kiwanis Club of Matamata are New Zealand Kiwanians. They have been actively working on the despatch of school books and uniforms and other resources for Vanuatu schools for some years. They are in close contact with the Kiwanis Club of Port Vila in Vanuatu.
 
Secondhand books [fiction, non-fiction, reference and textbooks] have been collected from local New Zealand schools. Many New Zealand schools were only too pleased to find someone to take the books which would otherwise be burnt !!!

Think of telling that to a Vanuatu youngster with NO books at all.

Other items needed include uniform clothing, scrap paper, puzzles, games, maps, educational toys, measuring devices, etc. See the the letter from the Kiwanis Club of Port Vila for ideas. Sewing machines are treasured in the islands - especially hand and treadle ones as many villages DO NOT have power.
 
Second hand tools [carpentry, mechanical, gardening, kitchenware, agricultural tools such as hoes] are needed by the Rural Training Centers.

START COLLECTING THESE ITEMS.
 
THEN CONTACT PATSY, MIKE, EWAN OR JIM TO FIND OUT ABOUT HOW THESE ITEMS NEED TO BE PACKED FOR SHIPPING AND CLEARING VANUATU CUSTOMS.

They have been doing this for a number of years now, know what is needed and also know some of the pitfalls.
 
ANOTHER IDEA:  Treadle sewing machines can be bought in Vanuatu, at a cost of $400. But that is way beyond the budget that schools in the villages would ever dream of - so perhaps your club might like to sponsor a treadle sewing machine for a Vanuatu school?
 
Keen to do this ???  Contact District Treasurer Tony Popplewell to find out the best way to send the money over to the Port Vila club for them to organize purchase of a machine for a school over there.
 
CONTACTS:
    MIKE AND PATSY    email:  michaelpatsy.hill@gmail.com
    EWAN    email:  ebeck@xtra.co.nz
    JIM    email:  mrjimkyle@gmail.com
    TONY    email:  treasurer@kiwanis.org.nz

 
Click here to read the letter from the Kiwanis Club of Port Vila which requests this assistance.
 
Click here to read why Vanuatu has such a great need for this assistance.

This photo shows the children at one school on Efate, the main island of Vanuatu. They sang a number of songs to Patsy and Mike Hill and other Kiwanians from New Zealand who had just delivered school books, uniforms, etc. from New Zealand.

Kiwanis NZSP Division One home page / Horse race weekend in Vanuatu / New Zealand - South Pacific District home page