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6:23PM Friday 29 August, 2008 Sunshine Coast weather Possible shower min 12° - max 22°

Noosa is helping Vanuatu schools

30 June 2008

| By Nicola Kerkenezov

More than 250 Vanuatu school students are sending Noosa residents a big thankyou.

The kids now have seven new classrooms following donations and volunteering by locals and members of the Noosa Christian Outreach Centre.

Things have come a long way in four years when the Fresh Water 5 suburb of Port Vila had just two tiny dirt-floor classrooms – less than seven-metres square – jam-packed with up to 85 students each.

Noosa businessmen Paul Clout, of Noosa Heads, and Greg Bartlett, of Cooroibah, have recently returned from the latest aid trip.

Together with local tradesmen, church members and others including some from Perth and Brisbane, the team spent two weeks in May building two of the classrooms, valued at about $60,000-$70,000 each.

Paul and Greg said the handiwork is now being used by students in grades from kindy to Year 8.

“The aim is to give kids who don’t have an opportunity to have an education,” they said.

“Life is tough over there. We are trying to give the young people a chance at a better future.

“The locals are now getting to a point where they can help themselves and have a sense of ownership of the school.”

In addition to the school building, the aid effort includes the establishment of a micro-business loan scheme.

Vanuatu residents can apply for up to $500 loans to start a business, and therefore earn enough money to pay back the loan, support their families, and send their children to school.

The relief effort also works in combination with Evidence Vanuatu, a support group for young girls.

The initiative aims to teach the girls good hygiene habits, independence and self esteem, among other things, thereby giving them a deeper understanding of their value and worth in their families, villages and nation.

The volunteering team’s work is still not done. The group is already planning to return in August and September to build a new school in a slum area where parents cannot afford to send their children to school.

The project will include four classrooms, a toilet block, caretaker’s rooms, and will be built in co-operation with local community leaders and the government that has agreed to provide teachers.

Paul and Greg are appealing to people who would like to be a part of the volunteer team, make donations, support a micro-business loan, or sponsor a child.

Phone the church on 5449 9658 or go to: www.evidence.org.au

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