Paonangisu Village Partnership (PVP) Begins
The Paonangisu Village Partnership builds on the experience of those who attended the “Supporters Tour” in 2013, specifically the amazing “Village Experience” to the Nth Efate village of Paonangisu – Dental Care Worker Morinda’s village and home.
The vision of PVP is to establish a close, ongoing partnership between the people of Paonangisu Village and the people of North Ringwood Uniting Church…
1. Encouraging each other in our respective Christian “faith journeys”.
2. Developing a two-way exchange of friendship, fellowship and cultural awareness,
specifically through:
a. youth musical tours & evangelical outreach
b. educational exchanges & student scholarship
c. leadership & vocational training
3. Economic development, particularly through tourism activities, generating
income to be used for the betterment of the community.
- supporting young Silas,(Download Silas Presentation) and/or
- the public toilet we are planning on building in Paonangisu village (Download the PVP Toilet Plan and Toilet presentation)
Peace, blessings and let’s build a toilet !
Rob Latimer (PVP Coordinator)
Paonangisu Village Update
The farewell from the Paonangisu villagers to the 2013 Supporters tour
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhDjYvzyOTQ
I still find the word hard to spell, and I think I have just got the pronunciation down pat, but who could forget the wonderful experience we all shared at the village of Paonangisu – Morida’s village, on Monday 30th September. Why was it such a special thing? I think it was partly because it went beyond the usual “tourist activity”. Despite our obvious differences, there was a genuine connection with the local people and a sharing of the simple things that go to building community.
The emphasis was on relationships, not material objects. And importantly, it wasn’t all one-sided. As Elder Roger said … “you are the first bus in 17 years ever to have turned off the main road and into our village”. In talking with Roger later and also with others, it was revealed that the village of Paonangisu has experienced much division and conflict over the years, with the arrival of the Supporters Tour on Monday 30 September acting to bring everyone together – the children, young people and grownups – everyone.
As Elder Roger expressed with a very emotional voice … “your group … was a gift from God and we showed that we could work together as a village to organise the day. Last Monday, when your group came to Paonangisu, it was a new beginning for us”.
Of course, a key aspect of organising the Village Experience and the Day-Sail was to raise funds to assist the village of Paonangisu in some way.
In the end, as you know, the Paonangisu church council felt a projector, guitar, teaching bibles and solar power system would benefit the community the most.
The generosity of the Supporters Tour group raised the following funds:
Income Total
| Supporters Tour Fees (Village Experience & Day Sail) | $2,800.00 |
| Special Donations (from meeting) | $1,501.00 |
| Special Donations (Cash – Airport) | $565.00 |
| Special Donations (Promised) | $400.00 |
| Total | $5,266.00 |
Expenditure Total
| Poananguisu Overdue School Fees paid (53,000VT) | $570.00 |
| Poananguisu Scholarship Fund (30,000VT) | $330.00 |
| Solar Panels ($3,500 + 21,100VT) | $3,725.00 |
| Solar System Hardware (4,385VT) | $57.00 |
| Guitar (donated) | $0.00 |
| Bibles and Bible study resources (donated) | $0.00 |
| Projector and Movie Kit | $648.00 |
| Movies x 6 | $90.00 |
| Total | $5,420.00 |
Other tour expenses paid with existing MSM funds Total
| Flyers and Tour Programs (5,500VT) | $59.00 |
| Village Tour Bus | $390.00 |
| Village Tour Food and Fabric | $269.00 |
| Day Sail Expenses (Food / Supplies) | $57.00 |
| Day Sail Bus Hire (Non Sail) | $65.00 |
| Melanesian Room Hire (17,000VT) | $189.00 |
| Total | $1,022.00 |
The installation of the solar panels and lights at the Paonangisu church was an amazing thing and through the contact details found on the Manua School solar panels and a few follow-up phone calls, occurred within days of the Supporters Tour members going home.
Here’s a photo of the 4 panels being assembled on the grass before being bolted to the roof.
The illuminated insides of the church can be seen below …
… and with the backroom now fully lit, it is available for young people to do school homework when the sun goes down…
… plus with solar electricity the church can now raise funds for community works by levying a small fee on the charging of mobile phones and other electronic equipment.
An issue raised during the Supporters Tour was that several children were not in school because their overdue fees had not been paid. It transpired that there were a total of 12 students across grade 7 & 8 with total fees outstanding of 53,000 Vt, or about $600. You’ll see from the expenditure table on the previous page that enough funds were raised to cover this expense, with a further amount paid into the church Scholarship Fund which was established by the Paonangisu church last year.
Mike Clarke and I did this via a direct credit into the respective bank accounts at the National Bank of Vanuatu, whilst we were in Pt Vila.
An amusing story emerged when I was talking with Batik, the man who owns Van Global Industries and the company that installed the solar system. Mike and I went to pay him the day after installation and he explained that he’d gone back to the village the previous night – well after the system had been installed.
“Everyone from the church was there and wanted to see the lights working. So we turned the lights on and they were so happy. So happy they leave them turned on all night so everyone can see … you have made those people very happy”
Read the full November 2013 Supporters Tour News
Photos from Paonangisu
