A visit to a village in Vanuatu

Youth Challenge International Vanuatu (YCIV) arranges challenging experiences for Australian, Canadian and Ni-Vanuatu youth. The international volunteers raise money to come and undertake capacity building projects in remote communities in Vanuatu. There are usually an equal number (approx) of international and local volunteers on each project. The purpose of the projects is to have young people working together learning each other’s language and using their skills to accomplish a predetermined outcome for the community in which they will be living.

In Emua village in North Efate the outcome was a Youth Skills Summit. The volunteers had to live in the community, design the conference that would take place over a week, promote it and present it in a community that has limited resources. The community hall, a whiteboard, some pens and paper and a lot of good will and willing hands are the only real conference facilities. No electricity, no overhead projectors, microphones and Powerpoint presentations – no supporting DVD’s, videos, recorded music or electronics!

The village is an hour and a half slow bus trip over rocky and potholed roads to the north of Port Vila which is the capital. I travelled up there for the second day of the conference, accompanying guests speakers that the group had invited from the Department of Lands and the Ni-Vanuatu Business Association. There were over 35-40 youth from this village and others nearby who attended on that day. They sat quietly and listened to the guest speakers who spoke on land rights and ownership and also on how to start a business, and what might assist it to be successful. They diligently took notes and discussed the presentations.

I wandered around the village talking to the people and I was shown the living quarters used by the international volunteers. They slept on mats on the floor, under mosquito domes of varying shapes and sizes. There was an outdoor kitchen and eating area. The toilet and shower room were contained in a tin shed that the doors sort of didn’t quite fit! These young people live here for 4 weeks and a family adopts them to assist with language skills and integration to the village. What a fabulous experience for them – one that will live forever in their memories and longer in their hearts. Here are some photos from the day. Click on the photo for a larger version.