World Vision Partners

With your ongoing support, we are changing lives for the better

Through our partnership with World Vision, we have successfully completed a Health Improvement Project in Weather Coast, Solomon Islands and seen to completion the Rehabilitation of Magugu Water Project in Tanzania.

We are now proud to support the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Project in Tanna, Vanuatu.

Previous Projects

Tanna Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Project

Project duration: 1 February 2013 – 31 January 2016

Background

Tanna Island is one of the most populated islands in Vanuatu. With limited access to clean water and poor hygiene and sanitation practices, the people of Tanna have experienced significant health issues impacting on rates of child malnutrition. Many children struggle with illness, such as diarrhea, contracted from drinking unsafe water. These illnesses are most life-threatening for children under 5.

Project Summary

With funding from the New Zealand Aid Programme, World Vision, along with the communities of Tanna, have designed an Integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project. The project aims to increase access to safe drinking water and to improve the sanitation facilities and hygiene practices of 12 communities within the district.

572 community members have been trained on good hygiene and sanitation practices
7 WASH Management Committees were formed to manage activities locally
88 community members were trained on how to construct Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) toilets
84 VIP toilets were built
Community members are changing behaviours around hygiene – digging rubbish pits for waste and fencing animals or keeping them separate from living areas and kitchens

World Vision Trip – MAKING AN IMPACT ON TANNA ISLAND

In August 2014 my wife and I as business owners of Aqua Synergy Group realised a dream, where as part of a kiwi contingent we visited one of the many projects that World Vision is involved with on the Island of Tanna which is part of Vanuatu. As a couple and family we have been supporters of World Vision for over 20 years initially through child sponsorship and in more recent years as a business we have been partnering and contributing to the World Vision WASH program on Tanna Island which is a 3 year project with local village communities to educate them around hygiene and sanitisation with a final stage being the introduction of a clean and sustainable drinking water source.

The first day of our visit started with meeting the World Vision team at their local office, they are the people that operate on the ground within the communities throughout Tanna, very humble and wonderful people, truly they are the hands and feet of the operation. Their strategy is simple, they build relationships with the local chiefs and people within the village communities and they are fully committed to serving them and in time they gain their respect and trust as a result. Before we head off our team unloads the supplies and gifts all of which have been generously donated by family, close friends and business owners, all wanting to be part of the great work World Vision is doing. The gifts included colouring pens, exercise books, puzzles, educational tools and a wide selection of medical supplies which were divided into piles so that each community would benefit from the generous gifts that were kindly donated.

Now it was time to head off so we set out in the 4×4 utes, in convoy we drove for a couple of hours in what was a very slow and bumpy ride across the Island and through dense bush.

When we finally arrived we were greeted by big beaming white smiles of the young village children and their families, for most of them, it was the first time they had ever seen a white person before. We initially gathered in a common meeting area where we were greeted by the village chief surrounded by his people followed by a very formal ceremony which included giving of gift by both sides a vibrant village dance and close encounter introductions. Following this we were given a guided tour of the village and shown some of the initiatives that have been introduced by World Vision which included the VIP toilets, prior to this defecating anywhere was normal and acceptable, outside the toilet was a standard plastic bottle on a piece of string which had water/soap solution added.

It was hard to believe but water for these villagers was a 3 km walk on a daily basis as the World Vision project in this community was still in its infancy. However a lot of other initiatives had been implemented that included setting up schools with education around hygiene and sanitisation which is a massive issue and not to be underestimated given these habits are intergenerational. Another initiative included the separation of animals that had been used to parading throughout the village at will, also another big contributing factor to the hygiene issues they had been living with. The separation of the animals and the villagers was done very effectively by digging trenches rather than the traditional fence which had proved ineffective. The visit seemed to quickly come to an end and it was time for farewells, and we were off to our next lot of communities. This was difficult as you felt there was a real and genuine connection made, particularly with the children.

With the community visits that followed, it was great to see the development that had been made where the World Vision programme has been in place for almost the full 3 year period. The improvements and the progress were really evident everywhere you went, instead of the plastic bottle system that had been implement initially for hand washing the locals had come up with a bamboo system to replace it which was considerably larger in volume and far more sustainable. In addition to this the villagers had planted flower gardens with the purpose of beautifying the area around where they lived and it was really evident that this was an extension of the pride that had developed within them through all the positive change that they had implemented during the first couple of years of the WASH programme. We were very humbled too by the real generosity displayed by the locals in serving up a meal for our team where we knew that they were giving beyond their means in a very real appreciation of what we had done for them and their communities through our contribution to World Vision.

We know however that this was all made possible by the very generous and ongoing support of our wonderful clients and the fully committed and hardworking staff within our business who all made this possible. On that final note, we would like to thank you all for making an impact in the lives of all the wonderful people we met on the Island of Tanna.

Thank you for your support. Together we are making a positive change.

For more information please visit www.worldvision.org.nz

Rehabilitation of the Magugu Water Development Project

Completed August 2013

Project background:

The Magugu Area Development Programme (ADP) is located in flat, semi-arid lowland and in the zone with the lowest production potential unless irrigated. The region has a bimodal rainfall pattern (short rains from October – December and long rains from March – May) ranging from 500mm to 750mm per annum. To address water shortages, World Vision started the Rehabilitation of Magugu Water Supply Project in November 2010 in the World Vision New Zealand-funded Magugu (ADP), Tanzania. The project is implemented in partnership with the Babati District Council that contributes technical expertise and 15 per cent of the required funding. Community members also contribute their labour and locally sourced building materials for the building of wells. The project is completed in August 2013.

What are the main problems?

The villages within the Magugu area have a poor piped water-supply system, and mostly depend on seasonal traditional wells for domestic and livestock use

Wells are unprotected and the risk of water-borne diseases, such as diarrhea, is significant, especially to children

There is a lack of adequate water supply to public places, such as dispensaries and schools

A 2008 survey by World Vision showed that more than two-thirds of people (mostly women and children) walked up to an hour each way in search of water sources.

The Rehabilitation of Magugu Water Supply project is now completed, improved access to clean and safe water has had a far-reaching impact on the lives of community members.

Solomon Islands’ Weather Coast Health Improvement Programme

Project completed in 2013

“The goal of the Health Improvement Project is for communities to adopt life skills and health practices needed to protect the health of children and families, improve the economy of vulnerable households and have communities prepare and mitigate risks of climate change and natural hazards that impact the lives of communities.”