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VSAs window on the world of development issue tw

ORDER YOUR PEOPLES CHOICE CARDS

FROM OUR 50TH ANNIVERSARY PHOTO EXHIBITION

DETAILS ON PAGE 2


2/9

Gill Greer CEO

Te-na- koutou oTe Tu- ao Ta-wa- hi

unteer Service Abroad works

h people in the wider Pacic

ding the skills and energy of

w Zealanders to strengthen

mmunities striving for change.

About VSA(Volunteer Service Abroad) is a home-

wn Kiwi volunteering organisation and

as placed more than 3,500 skilled

Zealanders on volunteer assignments

overseas since 1962.

recruit ordinary New Zealanders to

eve exceptional work with our partner

nisations. Our work is locally identified,

cally relevant and locally delivered.

are an independent charity and are

n-governmental, non-religious and

non-political.

ecome a VSA volunteer

o www.vsa.org.nz to find out about

lication criteria, to register your skills,

to see what assignments are being

advertised.

ecome a VSA supporter

send people not money, but we need

y to send people. Visit www.vsa.org.nz

onate or to find out about becoming a

VSA member.

oin a local VSA branch

e 0800 VSA TO GO (0800 872 8646)

r details of the branch nearest you.

ao Ta-wa-hi Volunteer Service Abroad Inc

egistered charity (CC36739) under the

Charities Act 2005

New Zealand Government is proud to

de significant support through the New

land Aid Programme for New Zealand

olunteers who work in a development

capacity overseas.

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, QSOKauma-tua: Awi Riddell (Nga-ti Porou), QSM

Council Chair: Farib Sos, MNZNCouncil members: Don Higgins (Deputy Chair), Professor Tony Binns,

Susan Hinkley, Dr Simon Mark, Evan Mayson, Sandy StephensMNZNChief Executive Officer:

Gill Greer

TeTu-aoTa-wa-hiVolunteer ServiceAbroad, 32 WaringTaylor St, PO Box 12246, Wellington 6144

AOTEAR OA/NEW ZEALAND

Tel: 64 4 472 5759 Fax: 64 4 472 5052 Email: [email protected] Website: 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 a nd 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 farmed

eucalyptus trees.

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CONVSATION

News, views and happenings

FEATURE

Te opening o the 11th Festival o Pwas a magical experience or Annab

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS

Former volunteer Russell Priest reunwith a Solomon Islands riend ater


A small oral history project ishelping preserve VSAs history.


VSA has held 50th anniversary eventhroughout New Zealand and even

FROM THE FIELD

A waste audit in Luganville is helpingVanuatu town get on top o its rubbis

FEATURE

VSAs Arica programme ends ater 2

GROWING SUPPORT

Te latest news rom our undraisin

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:VSA 20112012Highlights rom the last nancial yea

4 6 1

COVER:The top fve photos in the PeoChoice Awards for our 50th anniversaryexhibition, Windows to Another Worldphotos are available as a set of cards sufor all occasions.

To order your Peoples Choice Packwww.vsashop.org.nz

As I write this I am about to leave or Canada to attend the annualconerence o the International Volunteer Cooperation Organisation

(IVCO). Te theme is Volunteering or Development: Innovation andimpact in a changing development environment.

One o the things well be discussing is the UNs Millennium Development

Goals and what the development agenda will be when the period orimplementing the goals ends in 2015. Well also be looking at where volunteering ts into that.

Im looking orward to meeting representatives rom other international volunteering

organisations and hearing their views on these important issues. Im also looking orward totelling them about the work our volunteers are doing, and the challenges and satisactions

o working in the wider Pacic area.Since taking up my position as CEO in July Ive been impressed by the energy, commitment and

passion o our volunteers and o our sta. It means I can honestly tell my colleagues overseas that

VSA is a high-perorming organisation that delivers value or money and really makes a dierence.While Im away I will also be talking with a number o international oundations to explore

ways we might start unding additional work. Tese are very preliminary conversations. As mosto you know, in June the government announced that it would provide core unding to VSA orthe next three years, rather than approving the usual one-year grant.

Tis has given us more certainty than we have had in the past. It means we can go ahead

with our immediate plans to provide more Kiwis with the opportunity to volunteer, anddevelop new assignments in partnership with New Zealand businesses and organisations.But like all NGOs, we cannot aord to be complacent, especially at a time when needs andpriorities are changing rapidly.

Ive been lucky enough to arrive just as VSA began its 50th anniversary celebrations.Tis has provided me with a crash course in VSAs history, and helped me appreciate the

enormous contribution our volunteers have made over the last 50 years.Te challenge now is to make sure that our volunteers can continue to contribute in the same

way or the next 50 years. One o the VSA Councils priorities is to ensure that VSA stays relevant,

responsive and resilient. Te Council is committed to developing new ways o unding our workwhile retaining our ocus on people-centred development, and initiatives that are locally developedand locally delivered.

Ill let you know how my conversations go when I return. In the meantime, Im lookingorward to meeting many o you at the annual Congress and 50th Anniversary Reunion Dinner

being held in Wellington on 10 November.

contentsVistaissue two 2012


3/9

A woman of many parts

VSAs new CEO Gill Greer has been busy since she started her jobon 9 July.

She has attended VSA events in Auckland, Wellington and PalmerstonNorth; been welcomed at ceremonies at VSAs Wellington oce andat Parliament; taken part in a panel discussion about how NGOs can

work together organised by AU Business School, and talked aboutthe importance o women and girls in development to members o

UN Women Aotearoa.Shes also Lived Below the Line with her VSA colleagues or ve days,

and has even managed to t in a couple o overseas trips. Te rst was

to Samoa in September to meet our volunteers there and attend an eventto celebrate VSAs 50th anniversary and the 50th anniversary o theNew Zealand-Samoa reaty oFriendship. More recently she attended

a conerence o international volunteering organisations in Canada.Her goal, she says, is to help raise awareness about VSA.

Te thing thats really struck me since I started at VSA is howcommitted and hard working the sta are, and what an extraordinarycontribution VSA volunteers have made, both past and p resent. I want

everyone in New Zealand to know about what we do.Gill comes to VSA rom six years as director general o the Intern-

ational Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) in London. She waspreviously executive director o the New Zealand Family Planning

Association. Tis work has been recognised in both the New Zealand

and British honours lists.But as many VSA sta members discovered when they consulted

Google ater Gills appointment was announced, she is a woman omany parts. She spent 20 years as a secondary school teacher, and

was at one point assistant vice chancellor at Victoria University.

She is also something o an expert on the New Zealand writersKatherine Manseld and Robyn Hyde. She has written and contributed

to books about both writers and she continues to be interested in them.Tese days, however, her interest is overlaid with her more recent

experience in the elds o sexual health and reproductive rights.

Manseld had several miscarriages and is thought to have suered romuntreated gonorrhoea, while Hyde experienced the stigma o being

an unmarried mother.I always joke that I wont talk about Manseld or Hyde now unless

I can talk about how like millions o women today their lives would

have been dierent i amily planning had existed, says Gill.

Tis photo o two children

laughing on the beach in Boug-ainville took the top spot in thePeoples Choice awards or our

50th anniversary photo exhibition,Windows to Another World.

Te photo was taken by VSAsInternational Programme Manager

Peter Swain during a visit to Pidiavillage in 2007. Te village isone o the main l ocations or the

movieMr Pip. It is also whereVSAs Bougainville-based volun-teers go to experience village lie.

Te children in the photo are

rom one o the amilies the

volunteers stay with. I met them

again on a recent trip theyre a

little bit older now. Teir grand-

mother is a longtime riend o

VSA , and she also plays

Miss Havisham inMr Pip.

Second place went to the

exhibition publicity shot o

Duk Duks members o a

secret society based in the Rabaul

area in Papua New Guinea

making their way through orest

covered with ash rom the nearby

avurvur volcano. Te photo

was taken by Layne Steve nson.

Almost 1000 people cast votes

or the Peoples Choice when the

exhibition toured to our cities

during June and July.

* Te ve most popular

photographs rom the exhibition

are now available as a Peoples

Choice Pack o cards that are

suitable or any occasion. A set

o ve cards costs $15, including

postage and packaging. You can

order a Peoples Choice Pack

or two rom the VSA Shop:

www.vsashop.org.nz

And the winner is

There have been other books

that have told aspects of the

story of Pacic people in New

Zealand, or presented Pacic

Islanders in walk on parts in

a larger history.

Tangata o le Moana: New

Zealand and the People of

the Pacifc is the rst book

that has brought together in

a comprehensive way, in one

volume, the many strands that

make up the lives of Pacic

people in New Zealand.

Tangata o le Moana tells the

story of New Zealands growing

Pacic identity. In 1990 Mary

Boyd, eminent New Zealand

historian, noted that New

Zealand had taken a long

time to make up its mind that

it was a Pacic country, not a

European outpost.

In 2003 Kerry Howe, another

New Zealand historian, wrote

that Pakeha New Zealanders

never regard themselves as

Islanders or as of the region

A decade later, Tangata o le

Moana clearly sets out the case

for recognising New Zealand as

a Pacic Island nation and New

Zealanders as Pacic Islanders.

Tangata o le Moana is not

just a fruit salad of all the current

stories mixed together. There is

much original scholarship here,

and there is a compelling narra-

tive that draws in and captures

the reader. I found old stories

retold, but also read new stories,

and untold histories that had

been hidden, buried, or lost.

As Sean Mallon and Kolokesa

Mahina-Tuai write in the Introduc-

tion: In our version of the story,

Pacic Islanders will no longer

be extras, but key characters

in the historical narratives.

Peter Swain is VSAs

International Programme Manager

VSA Council member SandyStephens was hanging out or

something with plenty o favourater eeding hersel on just $2.25a day or ve days in September.

I wasnt hungry but I elt a greatneed or something strong and

punchy, she says. It turned out tobe bacon and eggs or breakast anda tasty curry in the evening.

Sandy was one o 70 people whoLived Below the Line or VSA rom

24 to 28 September. Tey includedellow Council member Shona

Jennings, VSAs CEO Gill Greer,

and nine VSA sta members.

Live Below the Line is aundraising initiative to help raise

awareness about the challengeso living below the poverty line.Participants have to eed themselves

on $2.25 a day or ve days.VSAs supporters werent conned

to New Zealand. Volunteer SimonDonald did his bit in Vanuatu,ater calculating the local equivalent

o $2.25. Much to the envy ohis ormer colleagues at VSAs

Wellington oce he was able to buyan eggplant and some tropical ruit.

Te prize or the most dedicated

Live Below the Liner goes to Melanie

Neweld whose birthday the ve days. She invited

o riends who were also tin the challenge to a share

where they enjoyed tiny q

o crackers and dip, some tea made with milk powd

even a semolina cake.Tanks to Melanies e

and those o all our othe

supporters we have nowmore than $23,000 to su

VSAs education work inPacic.You can donate uend o October; visit

Craving flavour

Sister Lorraine Garasu,the inspirational heado the Nazareth

Rehabilitation Centrein Bougainville, is the

keynote speaker at thisyears VSA Congress,being held in Wellington

on 10 November.Te Nazareth Rehabili-

tation Centre is a smallCatholic NGO set up inBuka in 2001 to help women and children who have been the

o violence. It also runs training and leadership courses or a r

community members. VSA has been working with the RehabCentre since 2007.

Among her many achievements, Sister Lorraine was awardInternational Women o Courage Award by the US State Depa

in 2009. Presenting the award, the US ambassador to Papua NGuinea, Leslie Rowe, described Sister Lorraine as an amazing

who had made a real dierence to the lives o women and chin Bougainville. She is a symbol o all the wonderul womenBougainville, she said.

Tis years Congress will be ollowed by a 50th anniversary ReunDinner at the Hotel InterContinental, where the guest speaker playwright Roger Hall. Roger has an unlikely connection with

In 1989 he wrote a play about VSA, You Must be Crazy, which perormed at parliament and then went on a tour o New Zealand

Places at the Reunion Dinner are limited and the tickets arast. o book your ticket, or to register to attend the 2012 Cocontact VSA 04 472 5759, or email [email protected]

CONVSATIONThe latest news,

views and happenings...

New Zealand and thePeople of the Pacific

Edited by Sean Mallon, Kolokesa

Mahina-Tuai, and Damon Salesa

(Te Papa Tongarewa, 2012)

Tangata o le Moana:

Reviewed by Peter Swain

CONV

Inspirational speakefor Congress

BOOK REVIEW

PHOTO: NELSON MAIL

Gill Greer at VSAs 50th anniversary event in Samoa in August.

www.livebelowtheline.co

Vista issue two 2012 Vista issue two 2


4/9

enjoy the spectacle.

Te next ew hours are spellbinding. ahitianwomen wearing stunning yellow skirts and

headdresses that shimmer in the sun sway theirhips in time to renetic drumming by bare-chested men. Te rhythms and chants o the

Aboriginal and orres Strait Islander people aremore gentle, while the scantily clad Rapanui

dancers are quite a hit.A hair-raising roar greets the arrival o

a group o Maori in eathered cloaks. Te

crowd roars again when New Zealandschampion kapa haka group e Waka Huia start

perorming. Nearby journalists scatter in rightas tattooed Maori warriors carrying spears comecharging at them.

Te group repeats their perormance orschoolchildren on the other side o the stadium,sending them into a renzy. Within minutes, the

crowd is returning the haka, lost in the moment.And so the night goes on, with wave upon

wave o pageantry showcasing the diversecultures o the Pacic. At one point, Honiaras

unreliable power supply ails and, as ichoreographed, the crowd steps in to ll thedarkness with light rom their mobile phones.

Te night closes with a spectacular reworksdisplay. I slip out o the stadium just beore itnishes, hoping to beat the trac. Its been a

long and sometimes stressul day, but right nowI eel there is nowhere Id rather be. I know I

have witnessed a once in a lietime experience.* Annabel Norman was on a six-month

assignment as a Festival Adviser in Honiara.

Te 11th Festival o Pacic Arts ran

Honiara rom 1 to 14 July. More th

people rom 23 Pacic countries peat the estival, includinga delegatioNew Zealand.

Annabel Normal was one o the

VSA volunteers who went on shortassignments with the estival, provi

management, administrative and losupport. Te others were UniVols LDryden and Hannah Quigan.

According to Alexa Funnell, VSASolomon Islands country programm

manager, having three volunteers induring the lead-up to the estival wreal bonus or the organising sta.

Te estival was a huge undertakithe estival village had to be built rom

and a lot o the inrastructure, such aand electricity supplies, had to upgradsays. Having three volunteers there m

dierence. Tey were able to provideand mentoring to the sta, most o wnever done anything like it beore. It

helped build their condence.She says the estival itsel was a h

success. Honaria was buzzing and sthe rest o the country, as there wer

estival events in other provinces.As soon as it started people wereawe. Many o them had never seen

beore, or lighting displays, and thereally excited to see people rom othcountries perorming, as well as Sol

Islanders rom other provinces. It wexercise in nation-building.

Tere was a huge sense o pride aSolomon Islanders that they had pulla successul, high-prole internationa

Festival opening amagical experience

The first day of the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts

in Honiara opened with a bang, and as

Annabel Norman reports, despite a few speed

wobbles along the way, the day turned out to

be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

am woken by a loud explosion and sit bolt upright, wondering iits a bomb. Ten I remember today is the rst day o the 11th

Festival o Pacic Arts. I check my watch as a second boom goeso. Its 4.10am, so the noise must be rom the reworks at the estivals

dawn opening ceremony.I throw on some old clothes, grab a bottle o water, an apple, a torch and

an umbrella and set o or the AE Oval to catch the rest o the ceremony.

When I get there I nd a trac jam o buses and cars and crowds opeople swarming towards the beach. Its still pitch black and, as I huntor a viewing space, I make my way past a local panpipe group, skirt a

huge pile o watermelons and kumara, then trip over a live pig destinedor a uture east a bit conronting or a vegetarian.

I nally nd a place to sit, surrounded by the Samoa and EasterIsland (Rapanui) delegations and, just beyond them, the Fijiancontingent who are singing loudly. o my let a group o tribesmen in

traditional loincloths, with painted aces and carrying spears, sit arounda re. Soon the Samoans are up dancing and the Easter Islanders are

trying to out-sing the Fijians; across the beach I hear the call oa Maori welcome.

Just as the sun starts to light up the sky, nine

Solomon Island war canoes appear on the easternhorizon and come charging towards the shore,

with drums beating and the sun rising behindthem. At the same time, seven huge vakas romparticipating Pacic nations sail in rom the north.

Its an amazing display and an outstandingstart to the estival, but theres more to come.

First, though, my colleagues and I have to dealwith last-minute preparations or the estivalparade and ocial opening ceremony being

held in the aternoon.Te estival oce is chaotic. During the

16 years I spent as director o the Nelson Arts

Festival I had a recurring nightmare that the

estival would start and we wouldnt be ready or it. For a ew hours inHoniara I eel as i the nightmare has become a reality.

Te requests keep coming at us or invitations to the PrimeMinisters opening party, or accreditations or delegates, and or copies

o the limited-edition estival programme. In Nelson I would havehad a meltdown, but in Honiara the Pacic way prevails; people waitpatiently, or accept a response o sorry not today, perhaps tomorrow.

Eventually I escape the oce chaos and, with my co-worker, Freda,head to Lawson ama Stadium to see how things are going or theopening ceremony. We arrive to nd schoolchildren rehearsing and

crew rigging the sound and lighting its all looking good.Ten we check the dignitaries stage and discover that there is no

seating, no lectern or PA system or the speeches, and no rereshments.We panic briey, then drive into town where we sweet-talk a local hotelinto giving us a lectern; a ew phone calls later and we have everything we

need crisis averted.Its not long till the next crisis, though. Despite being

assured that water would be supplied or the openingceremony an essential commodity or a ve-hour

event being held in 36-degree heat no water has

been ordered.I take a deep breath and call the local

sot drink company. Fortunately Ive metthe guy beore and, hearing the urgencyin my voice, he agrees to load a truck with

bottles o water and get it to the stadium.Te estival trac is so gridlocked that it takes

an hour and a hal or the truck to arrive, ratherthan the usual 20 minutes. But Solomon Islanders arepatient and hardy and, despite spending several hours in

the searing sun without water during the aternoon, theystill have energy to dance and sing well into the night.

As the ocial open ing ceremony gets u nderway

I slip up a back staircase to the pavilions rootop to

Huge pride in

festival succes

Above left:Te Hawaii delegation

perorm at the ocial opening ceremony o

the 11th Festival o Pacic Arts in Honiara.

Above:Solomon Island boys enter the stadium

at the opening ceremony.

Below:attooed Maori warriors bearing

spears delight and terriy the crowd.

A woman rom Malaita Provinceprepares or the ceremony.

Vaka on the beach ront in Honiar



5/9

hen a small blue envelopearrived in Russell Priests Feilding

letterbox last year, it marked thestart o an extraordinary journey back to theSolomon Islands to reunite with his riendEdward Haui 44 years ater they lastsaw each other.

In 1968 Russell spent a year as a schoolleaver volunteer, teaching at All Hallows Schoolon the island o Ugi in Makira province. Hebecame riendly with Edward, a preect at theschool and the pair corresponded ater Russellreturned to New Zealand.

He was several years older than me, asmost o the students at the school were, butit didnt seem to matter, he says. He wasa humorous, loyal and generous young man

and we just clicked.Eventually, though, Edwards lettersstopped arriving, leaving Russell bothconcerned and curious about what hadhappened to his old riend.

I thought about Edward a lot wherehe was, what he had done with his lie,whether he had a amily. My wie and I evenconsidered going to the Solomon Islands ora holiday to try to nd him, but it seemedpointless as Id lost all my contacts.

Meanwhile, in the Solomon Islands Edwardwas also keen to reconnect with his old riend.Last year, thanks to the internet, he did.A chance internet search by one o Edwardssons turned up Russells contact details andthe reunion wheels were set in motion.

I got this little blue airmail letter rom Edwardand I knew I just had to go and see him.

In July this year, Russell ew to Makirato reunite with his riend. He ound a manwho looked a lot older I was warned byhis sons that he was an old man and theywerent wrong but otherwise unchanged.

Hes still the same wonderul guy with agreat sense o humour that I got to knowso well in 1968. We just picked up wherewe had let o all those years ago.

For Russell reconnecting with theSolomon Islands was an emotionalexperience. Once again he ound himselsleeping under mosquito nets in villageswith no electricity and sharing easts withEdwards extended amily. At one east heeven gave a speech in Pidgin.

I got a standing ovation.He also discovered that, despite their years

o separation, he and Edward still have a lot incommon, including the act that both spent

their lives working in the agricultural sector.

Tat shared interest has set the stage ora uture collaboration between the pair.Russell is now looking at providing someventure capital to help Edward and hisamily set up a cocoa-drying operation.

Tey have a dryer but they need moneyto buy cocoa beans rom local villagesuntil they can grow enough cocoa o theirown. Its a great opportunity to provideemployment or people in the area and I amreally keen to support them.

Russell Priest is one of 20 returned

volunteers who have shared their

stories as part of this years 50th

anniversary celebrations.

Others include Helen Forrester-

Brown, who recalls running into a

naked man with a strategically placed

gourd and carrying a spear while she

was making her way to a government

outpost in Papua New Guinea in 1978.

I dont know who got the biggest

fright, she says of her encounter.

One of Jan Nivens most vivid

memories is of being asked if she and her

husband Rex didnt champor(meaning

to mix) while they were on assignment in

Malaysia from 1965 to 1967.

This was a polite way for people in

the Muslim community to ask if we

were having sexual relations, she says.

This of course led to the inevitable

question then why was there no

pregnancy? From there we had many

a conversation about family planning,

leading eventually to me setting up a

community family planning clinic.

To read more alumni stories or to

share you own, go to www.vsa.org.nz/

blog/alumni-stories/

Emotionalreunion reignitesfriendship

n balance, John and Di McKinnon preerred having bodylice to having eas.

Tey told me body lice were easier to deal with becausethey dont move very ast, while eas are a damned nuisance becausetheyre so quick and hard to catch, says Ji Stewart, who interviewedthe McKinnons or an oral history project commissioned by VSA aspart o this years 50th anniversary celebrations.

John and Di were VSAs rst volunteers in Nepal rom 1966 to1969. John worked as a doctor at Khunde Hospital, which was builtby VSAs rst president Sir Edmund Hillary, and Di taught Englishat nearby Khumjung School. Di in particular has remained veryinvolved with VSA since then. She was Council chair rom 1984 to1989, was a stalwart o the Nelson branch or many years, and hasalso helped with selection interviews.

Body lice were a act o lie in Nepal. One child who came to thehospital had so many lice that his clothes were moving; they had to beremoved and burnt.

But according to Ji, while lie was oten tough or theMcKinnons and or ellow interviewee Neil Bellingham, whovolunteered in Tailand rom 1964 to 1966, none o themcomplained about the diculties they aced.

It was rontier stu, she says. It was very cold in Nepal andJohn and Di had no electricity, only a little wood stove. For Neil,Tailand was hot and steamy and the liestyle was pretty basic.For all o them communication with people at home was almostimpossible. But at no stage did any o them say that lie was tough.

Te interviews will be added to a small VSA oral history archivethat so ar includes interviews with seven school leaver volunteers

Capturing VSAshistory on tape

As part of this years 50th anniversary

celebrations VSA has funded a small oral history

project to record the experiences of some of

our longest-serving former volunteers and staff.

rom the 1960s and 1970s carried out in 2005. All thoseinterviewed by Ji Stewart have been involved with VSA years or more. As well as the McKinnons and Neil Bellingshe interviewed VSAs current president Gavin Kerr and Vlongest serving sta member Carolyn Mark.

For Ji, who spent a year as a VSA volunteer in Samoa ione o the interesting things to emerge rom the interviewhow highly regarded VSA volunteers are in their host coun

A very strong theme is the critical role that VSA has plarelationship-building in the countries it has worked in. Voare ambassadors or New Zealand and they are well regardthere is a lot o goodwill towards VSA volunteers.

It also gave her an insight into how lie-changing the expervolunteering can be. Te McKinnons, or example, have maiclose ties with Nepal. John returned there requently to perooperations and Di runs a company that organises tours to Neibet, India and Japan.

It was such a git to listen to these people whose lives wprooundly changed by being a VSA volunteer.Ji is now about to embark on an independent oral hist

project that will be added to the archive. She has received o Culture and Heritage unding to interview people who to New Zealand as the spouses or partners o returning vo

I you are interested in taking part in this project, pleaseJi Stewart by email,[email protected] or call 04 47

* For more inormation ab out VSAs oral history archivlisten to the tapes, contact VSA 04 472 5759, ino@vsa

Russell Priest (let) and Edward Haui at All Hallows School, in Makira province, 1968.

Russell Priest and Edward Haui in July this year.

Left: Neil Bellingham checks out p

baskets or sale at a roadside mark

Tai village o Huaykla in 1965.

Centre:John McKinnon carries o

medical examination in Nepal.

Right: For John and Di McKinnon

as VSAs rst volunteers in Nepal

to 1969 was a lie-changing experi

http://vsa.org.nz/blog/alumni-stories/http://vsa.org.nz/blog/alumni-stories/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://vsa.org.nz/blog/alumni-stories/http://vsa.org.nz/blog/alumni-stories/


6/9

ter siting through hundreds o tonneso household waste in New Zealand,Ireland and Vanuatu, Mary OReilly

has discovered that rubbish smells the samewherever it comes rom.

Te smell is the same, though there are a ew

more ies in Vanuatu because o the heat, saysMary, who is on assignment as a Waste Manage-

ment Adviser with the Luganville MunicipalCouncil and the Sanma Provincial Council.

In April Mary and her colleagues carried

outa waste audit o 50 Luganville householdsand 12 local businesses to establish how much

and what kind o waste is being generatedin the provincial capital. With the help ostudents rom the University o the South

Pacic they sorted, categorised and weighedmore than our tonnes o rubbish collected

over a seven-day period.It was dirty, smelly work but, according to

Mary, the audit provided the inormation they

needed to develop a drat waste managementplan or Luganville and Sanma province.

Beore you can come up with a wastemanagement plan you need to know howmuch waste you are dealing with, and what

sort o waste it is.Te drat plan is now being circulated or

comment, and is expected to be approved by

the end o the year.

Like many other small Pacic towns theamount o waste produced in Luganville isincreasing, but the town lacks the inrastruc-

ture to deal with it. At present it has only oneunreliable rubbish truck to serve a populationo about 12,000, and ew recycling acilities.

Cardboard boxes and plastic bags litter themain street, and ood waste sits rotting in piles

around the market and outside peoples homes.Te amount o inorganic waste, such as

old electrical goods and computers (known

as waste electrical and electronic equipmentor WEEE), is also increasing. In addition, the

towns landll has now reached the end o itsuseul lie and needs to closed and replaced

with a new landll.

At the moment, waste is not such a hugeproblem in Luganville, but the population o

the town is growing exponentially, says Mary.Tat means its important to develop theinrastructure needed to deal with waste

in the uture.Te Councils are keen to start making

progress with waste management, especially as

Luganville is becoming better known as a tourist

destination. Te authorities want to pa clean, green image to people arrivingvisiting cruise ships.

Te drat plan makes a number o mendations to improve waste managthe town. Tese include introducing

council rubbish bags, increasing the nrubbish trucks, and developing a new

Its hoped that work will start on impthese recommendations next year.

In the meantime, Mary and her col

are already taking steps to deal with thWEEE, and with the large amounts o

waste being let to rot at the local mawill soon start collecting used electricand old computers and storing them i

ping container donated by a local busBasically well be collecting anythin

a cord or a cable, says Mary. At the mlot o it is being buried or burned. We wit in the container until we work out ho

dispose o it possibly by sending it bybe recycled in Australia or New Zealand

Teyre also about to start a trial comsystem at the local market: Well startbut weve designed a modular unit that

can add onto. Once the market mamalearned how to use it, we can add moreTe mamas will be able to take the com

home to use on their gardens.

Talking rubbish in Vanuatu

Carrying out a waste audit is dirty, smelly work, but it had to bedone to improve waste management in the town of Luganville.

Before you can come up with a waste

management plan you need to know

how much waste you are dealing with

Clockwise from left:

Mary OReilly and a colleag

through household rubbish

audit in Luganville; Rubbis

be collected on the street; A

o the waste audit team survhouseholders on waste man

Waste audit stations ready

VSAs 50th anniversary and the arrival o new CEO Gill Greerhave provided plenty o opportunities or returned volunteersand VSA sta and supporters to get together and have some un.

A busy round o social events began in Wellington with theopening night o our 50th anniversary photo exhibition, Windowsto Another World, on 6 June. Tis was ollowed with a celebrationevening attended by our patron, the Governor General, Sir JerryMateparae, on 14 June.

Te exhibition then travelled to Auckland Nelson and Dunedin;returned volunteers and other VSA supporters attended opening-night events in each city.

A lack o public exhibition spaces ollowing last years earthquakemeant it was not possible or the exhibition to go to Christchurch.Instead, almost 50 returned VSA volunteers living in the Christchurcharea attended a reunion dinner held at the Cashmere Club on6 August.

A similar event was held in Palmerston North on 21 September.Guest speaker, Archbishop David Moxon, talked about hisexperience as a school leaver in Fiji in 1970 and the extraordinaryimpact VSA has had on his lie.

Windows to Another Worldmade a brie appearance at

parliament when new CEO Gill Greer was ocially welcomedby John Hayes, the chair o the Foreign Aairs, Deence and radeSelect Committee on 12 September. Mr Hayes kindly arrangedor the exhibition to stay up at parliament or another three days.

Te Learn section o the exhibition also travelled to Samoa inAugust along with Gill Greer and Council chair Farib Sos or an event to celebrate VSAs 50th anniversary. Te New ZealandHigh Commissioner in Samoa, Nick Hurley hosted the event on7 August. It coincided with Friendship Week, held to mark the50th anniversary o the New Zealand-Samoa reaty o Friendship.

Windows to Another Worldwill make one last appearance atCongress in Wellington on 10 November. Tis years Congress hasa 50th anniversary theme, and will eature speakers rom each othe last ve decades.

Congress will be ollowed by a Reunion Dinner being held at theHotel InterContinental. Places or the dinner are limited but thereare still a ew tickets let.

o register or Congress or to book a ticket to the dinner contactVSA04 472 5759 or [email protected]

Te exhibition and associated events were generously sponsoredby the VSA Foundation.

Celebrating 50 years of volunteering

Mulling over the Peoples Choice award.

Volunteers Ken Wong (let), Jackie Fullerand Neil Walkinshaw celebrate in Samoa.

Sophie McCashin (right) and riend atthe gathering in Palmerston North.

Bruce Burnett (let) and Julie and BillHardie enjoying the Christchurch event.

VSA staf member Carolyn Mark cuts theanniversary cake in Nelson.

Students rom Bathgate Park Schoolperorm at the Dunedin opening night. Assembled returned volunteers at the exhibition opening night in Wellington.



7/9

hen Anne Perera, VSAs last volunteer in anzania, let the

country in June this year a taxi arrived at her house to take

her to Kilimanjaro Airport. Inside the taxi was Musa Naroro,VSAs ormer eld ocer in Arusha, who was there to make sure thatAnne made it saely to the airport.

As the many volunteers who worked with Musa know, it was a

typically generous gesture.Musa was a wonderul support to me right until the last minute,

says Anne who spent two years working as a Food and NutritionAdviser based at SIDO (Small Industries Development Organisation),which trains local would-be entrepreneurs to manage small ood

processing businesses. I was so grateul or everything he did.It was also an example o the generosity extended to VSA volunteers

not just in anzania, but in the ve other countries VSA has worked insince it set up its Arica programme in 1986.

I really loved the people, says Camille Kirtlan who spent six years

with VSA in the South Arican city o East London, rst as a volunteerand later as South Arica country programme manager. Teyre just so

accepting o who you are, and so non-judgemental. Its who you are onthe inside that counts, not who you are on the outside.

For Camille, one person in particular helped shape her experience

o South Arica. She rst met Toko Mlonyeni when she arrived inEast London to start her assignment with the Department o Sport,Recreation, Arts and Culture in 2000.

Toko came to meet me at the airport, says Camille. From theword go she pretty much treated me as part o her amily.

In 2004 Camille helped Toko set up Imvomvo, an NGO that oerscommunity-based sports programmes to people in Mdantsane, a large

township just out o East London. Since then Imvomvo has diversiedto include an elderly citizen gardening programme and an earlychildhood centre developed with the help o VSA volunteer Judy Moore.

Toko helped open up lots o doors and opportunities or VSA,particularly in the townships. I think every volunteer who went to EastLondon in the last 10 years got to know Toko; she really was the right

person at the right time.VSA began its Arica programme in Zimbabwe in 1986, ater the

New Zealand government opened a High Commission in Harare New Zealands rst diplomatic post on the continent. Te programmequickly expanded to nearby Botswana and anzania, and in 1993

Out of Africa

VSAs last volunteers in Africa finished

their assignments in June, but the legacy

of our work there continues.

the rst volunteers went on assignment to

South Arica, based mainly in the Eastern

Cape which is one o the poorest regions inthe country. Volunteers have also worked inNamibia and Zambia.

Our rst South Arica volunteers went to

do voter education beore the 1994 election,recalls VSAs Volunteer Recruitment Manager

Carolyn Mark. People were lining up aroundthe block to vote or the rst time it wasa really sobering lesson in how important

democracy is.VSAs work in Arica has ocused largely

on health, education, and agriculture. Te287 volunteers who have worked there

have included sh armers, cheese-makers,

bee-keepers, palliative care specialists,

midwives, teachers and even rugby experts.Te Arica programme has been a greatopportunity or New Zealanders to work ina part o the world that really captures the

imagination, says Carolyn. Weve sent somegreat volunteers there over the years, and

created a real connection with East London inSouth Arica and with Arusha in anzania.

Tat connection, and the tangible legacy it

has created, is illustrated by the achievementso VSAs last volunteers in Arica. Anne Perera

is proud to have helped set up the set upthe anzania Institute o Food and Science

echnology, a proessional body or p

involved in ood processing and distri

Alison Bowis, who with her husbandwere the last volunteers in South Aria literacy booklet or beginner readersnow been distributed to almost 6000

schools in the Eastern Cape.And while VSA has stopped workin

or now, Carolyn says the VSA Counciaware o how great the needs there still

We spent a lot o time building u

goodwill especially in anzania and SArica, and I know the Council is ke

nd ways o maintaining our connecwith Arica.

Top: wo boys share a

happy moment in theEastern Cape countryside.

Centre: VSA volunteer

Judy Moore (let) with

Toko Mlonyeni at

Imvomvo.

Bottom: Camille Kirtlan

and ormer anzania

Field Ocer Musa

Naroro at VSAs oces

in Wellington.

Clockwise from top lef

Volunteer Ross Headie

digging wells with his c

in anzania; Arican wi

captures the imaginatio

shops in South Aricas

Cape; Handpainted air

in Zambia; Anne Perera

demonstrates how to co

blossom in Arusha, an



8/9

Vista issue two

Star fundraiserLentils rule in Live Below the Line

Pamela Holyoake o Nelson was the lucky winner o the rst prize

50th anniversary rafe. Shell be winging her way to Vanuatu to spe

nights with a riend at the Warwick le Lagoon Resort and Spa cou

Orbit ravel and Air Vanuatu.

Te second prize o a FIFA ootball signed by the 2010 All Whites t

to Bruce Austin o Masterton. We sold 1281 rafe tickets, and rais

Raffle winner Vanuatu-bound

John Putt (right) has become VSAs most

successul volunteer undraiser so ar ater raising

an amazing $6500 at a concert held at the old

Putts Pub in the Bay o Islands in June.

Te concert eatured many o the musicians

who perormed at the pub when John ran it

with his siblings in the 1980s and 90s. About

500 people attended the concert, some rom as

ar away as Australia. John is now on assignment

as a Vocational raining Adviser at the orgil

Rural raining Centre in Vanuatu.

Other out-going volunteers are also coming up with inventive u

ideas, including a whiskey tasting in Tames, and the Otaki premie

o Kiwi-made action comedyHot Rob being held at Otakis Civic T

on 27 October.

Volunteers have now raised more than $50,000 since September la

A recipe or red lentil dahl provided by Anne Perera (above centre) was a

liesaver or VSA sta members who took part in Live Below the Line rom

24 to 28 September.

Anne joined VSA sta members Karla Paotonu (let) and Lesley Smeardon(right) at the Live Below the Line container in Aucklands Aotea Square on

19 September, where she demonstrated how to cook the tasty dahl or just

60 cents a serving. Anne, who returned rom an assignment as a Food and

Nutrition Adviser in anzania in June, made the dahl while she was Living

Below the Line, as did many VSA sta members who took the challenge.

It was absolutely delicious we had it with an Ethiopian potato,

cabbage and carrot curry and it was a really lling meal, says Volunteer

Recruitment Manager Carolyn Mark.

We have now raised more than $23,000 rom Live Below the Line. You can

donate until the end o October;visit www.livebelowtheline.com/NZ-VSA

From: Karla Paotonu, VSA Fundraising Manager

To: All VSA supporters

Subject: Fundraising update

Hi Everyone

As I write this we are busy organising the 50th Anniversary Congress and Reunion Dinner being

held in Wellington on Saturday 10 November.We have a great programme lined up for both events,

including keynote speaker Sister Lorraine Garasu and playwright Roger Hall.

I reallyrecommend going to both its achance to nd outwhat VSAis doing now as well as catch

upwith old friends.

Manyof you will have seen our 50thanniversary travelling photo exhibitionWindows toAn

other World:

Images from 50years of Volunteering Abroad.If not,you can catch it for the last time at Congress.

The exhibition has been so popular we havenow produced sets of cards featuring the topve

photos in the Peoples Choice awards (you can seethe ve photos on the right).

The cards aresuitable for any occasion and provide a real window into the world of volunteering.

To buy a Peoples Choice Packjust go to our online shop: www.vsashop.org.nz Wewill also be

selling the packs at Congress and the Reunion Dinner.

In the meantime, if youd like to support our work, you can use the donationform attached to this page.

Justll it out and post it to us you can use the Freepost option but a stamp saves usthe cost of postage!

Attached is a quick update about our recent fundraising activities.

Thanks for your support.

Karla

Karla Paotonu

VSAFundraising Manager

www.vsa.org.nz

GROWING SU

Project Friendship bracelets were

so popular at Chisnallwood Intermediate

in Christchurch that there were queues to

buy them at morning tea and lunchtime,

and the school had to order more to mee t

the demand.

Even the teachers got behind Project

Friendship. Jude Robinson, the schools head

o social sciences, wore six o them during

Project Friendship week, which ran rom 6 to

12 August, and she bought a ew extras to use

as rewards or students in her year 8 class.

Everyone loved the bracelets, she says.

Te kids liked where the money was going

to support VSAs work in the Pacic and

they liked the act they were afordable so

they could buy them to give to the ir riends.

Having spent time teaching in Vietnam,

I really liked the act that the bracelets aremade in Vietnam and provide employment

or people with disabilities.

She says that this is the rst year Chisnall-

wood Intermediate has taken part in Project

Friendship, and theyre looking orward to

doing it again next year.

Everything about it just gelled or us.

It was a really rewarding thing to do, and

it didnt take a lot o efort.

Chisnallwood Intermediate sold 627 brace-

lets, making it the most successul school to

take part in Project Friendship 2012.

Im so impressed by their efort, especially

as theyd never been involved in Project

Friendship beore, says VSAs Project Friend-

ship coordinator, Helen Carter. Its also

good to hear that they ound it really easy

to organise, as we work hard to give schools

as much support as possible.

Altogether 128 schools, 97 Four Squares

in the lower North Island, 27 Body Shops

and 42 Girl Guide Districts took part in

Project Friendship 2012, and so ar morethan 16,000 bracelets have been sold.

Once again we ofered schools the oppor-

tunity to have a returned volunteer come

and talk about their experiences. Tey got

an enthusiatic reception. Kerry Lee,

who accompanied his wie Lyn on assign-

ment to imor-Leste in 2005, ended up

spending 90 minutes answering questions

rom groups o senior students at one

Wellington primary school.

All our speakers say they got asked lots

o questions which is great, as it shows that

the students are really interested in what

we do, says VSAs Fundraising Manager

Karla Paotonu.

Our our Project Friendship bloggers were

popular too, with viewers coming rom as

ar aeld as the United States and Australia.

Te most popular post was Hannah Quigans

Strutting your stuf in the Solomons, about

a ashion show with a diference held during

the Festival o Pacic Arts.

Aaron Horrells blogs attracted the attentiono a journalist at Radio Australia, and he

was interviewed about the work his partner

organisation is doing to eradicate cocoa

borer in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea.

Project Friendship bracelets a hitVSAs

PROJECT FRIENDSHIP 2012

Tese Rangers fromJohnsonvillewere among42Girl

Guidedistricts involvedin VSAProjectFriendship2012. Students from Chisnallwood

Intermediate model their bracelets.

FranktonSchool students inHamilton getintotheProjectFriendshipspirit. Photo:Hamilton Press

Vista issue two
http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/http://www.vsa.org.nz/


9/9

VSA: CHANGING LIVES FOR 50 YEARS

JUSTDIVEINAND GET INVOLVED WITH VSA

CONTACT US ON 0800 872 8646OR VISIT WWW.VSA.ORG.NZ

BECOME A SUPPORTER

Make a donation. We send people not money, but we n

money to send people. Help VSA send more volunteers

work with people in the wider Pacic to help them buildbetter future for themselves and their children.

BECOME A VOLUNTEER

Share your skills in the wider Pacic and get the experie

of a lifetime back. Check our website www.vsa.org.nz

for current vacancies.

BECOME A VSA UNIVOL VOLUNTEER

If youre a university student studying at least 300-level

papers in development studies you could become a VSUniVol and spend 10 months working in the wider Paci

Te Tuao Tawahi Volunteer Service Abroad Inc is a registered charity (CC36739) under the Charities Act 2005Vista issue two 201214

vista october 2012.pdf

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