Simple vision, but challenging

Nineteen-year old Courtney Tilby, who is leading four volunteer trips to Vanuatu in January 2016 to help out the community of Ohlen Mataso, with local kids Jineth and Qwin.

Nineteen-year-old trainee teacher Courtney Tilby has a vision. 'I want to ensure ever child in Ohlen will be in school.” It sounds like a simple vision, but the challenges are staggering.

Ohlen is Ohlen Mataso, just outside of Port Vila in Vanuatu – one of the many communities struggling to survive after being hit by Cyclone Pam in March, which has made life for residents that much harder.

Courtney was volunteering in the community when the cyclone hit, and knows first-hand what it's about.

'It's very basic education the community needs,” says Courtney. At the moment about half the children are in school. 'Some can't afford it, some don't have a school uniform, and some can't fill out the forms.”

From January 2-10 Courtney is leading a group of volunteers on the first of four planned trips in 2016. The focus of this trip will be on education.

'We're going through the whole community and doing a stock-take about what the barriers are for each individual family. We need to tackle the education thing from two ends.”

Officially education is free in Vanuatu, so there are no school fees.

'But the Government isn't giving any money to the schools to provide free education, so the schools need the parents to contribute otherwise we they no materials or resources to do anything with.”

The trouble is, the parents often don't have any money. 'Unemployment is high, and those who do have jobs don't get paid a lot.”

According to a Massey University report this year, the average monthly household wage in Vanuatu is $200.

That money doesn't go far. A litre of petrol is $1.70, a litre of milk $2.87, a loaf of bread $3.55, and a kilogram of bananas is $10.52.

Items like chicken are a luxury, at $21.03 per kilogram, as are tomatoes at $15.78 per kilogram, and cheese at $24.98 per kilogram.

'The average cost of a one-bedroom apartment outside the city is $460 a month, which is why the community of Ohlen Mataso live in homes made from salvaged materials with dirt floors.”

Courtney is taking a two-pronged approach to achieving her goal. 'One is about supporting the family to do whatever they need to do to get the kids to school.

'The other is about working with the local school about supporting them so they're not having to charge families a fee to attend either. We focus on things they can do without the need for expensive resources.”

The community is launching its first micro-enterprise in January, a co-op of women making souvenirs out of recycled rubbish. 'We will be teaching business planning and new skills around the arts and crafts side of it.

'When those women get savvy about how to run a small business it will help them to mentor the next lot of women to run their businesses.”

Three more trips in 2016 are planned for April 23-May 1, July 9-17, and October 1-9.

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