Vanuatu 24

A few little victories this week...

The 50,000L Bladder donated to the people of Vanuatu through The Salvation Army by Snowy Hydro was finally installed yesterday and filled with water today. It is situated behind a major marketplace on Tanna assisting people who come to the market and also the students and staff of the Presbyterian School next door.

The materials we need to fix the kindergarten in Erakor have been identified and a builder found.

The first 45 people to receive the brand new houses on Tanna have been identified and the team have been conducted 'build back safer' training with others.

Our warehouse in Vila now has a frame on the slab and should be finished within a week or so.

We have seen the freezers and fishing boats that we have provided in use.

We had a corps in Sydney volunteer to support the construction of a new Salvation Army shelter on Tanna  - soon to be the third Salvation Army congregation in the country. This is not something that IES can normally do, as church structures (unless they are community halls or used as evacuation centres) fall outside the humanitarian role we play, so it's good to have another supporter.

And a few set backs....

In my last post I mentioned our vehicle. Turns out it can't be registered because it's unroadworthy. In the meantime we've rented a car from "Hertz" to get by. (Mind you, I'm enjoying the suspension, air conditioning, working mirrors and windows and padding on the front seat!).

Also, some of the projects that we are proposing for the next team are being held up by technical issues, e.g. how much wattage and how many devices are drawing down on our solar panels at the health centre in Green Hill, and how will this affect size, cost and shipping of the solar system.

And, because there hasn't been clarity around some of our funding, (and because the focus has shifted to other places), we've had to put a hold on new works. This is really frustrating. There's an island called Maewo that is small and remote to the north. It is out of the normal operating area of a lot of the NGOs. They need a range of assistance, but only in small quantities - e.g. four homes need help to repair, 30 families need some seeds to replant, there's one outreach health centre that needs new water tanks and guttering. Because it is a small but diverse project, it's perfectly suited to our team. We can't volunteer for the job, however, because of a lack of clarity around how much money we've got left! Please pray that IHQ and our team can work this out in coming days.

All that said, it's been an interesting week, as usual, and one where I continue to learn and reflect even on my own attitudes to things. Today, for example, I had a few hours spare and I figured it was my last chance to go and find some gifts for the family. When I got downtown, I noticed that the place was overrun with people from the cruise ship in the bay. All at once I felt elated for the local shop keepers that get income, and really annoyed that because the ship was in the prices of everything would double (or triple) for the day (a bit selfish really).

Time is winding down. I'll be back in Perth in just over a week, and while I'm looking forward to a rest, I know that's not going to happen in week two of the Red Shield Appeal. We'll see how we go.