Give Vinna Life Saving Surgery

$6,945 donated

Given by 84 generous donors in around 6 months

7 year old Fena Peter, from Tanna Vanuatu, has not walked in two years and is in urgent need of life saving surgery to her right leg!

Bay of Plenty

+15 images

Vinna (Fena) is a little girl, stranded through circumstances and poverty in a small village on a tiny island in the middle of the huge Pacific Ocean.

Her leg is broken – the bone fractured in two places - with absolutely no chance of healing while she lives thousands of miles from the high tech medical care she needs. Her chance of surviving both the fracture and the infection that has now become chronic in her broken bones, is slim. (see photos in Gallery)

We met Vinna by chance while visiting Vanuatu to build a cyclone shelter in a nearby village. It was hard to believe that this lovely 8 year old girl had survived for nearly two years since the break & subsequent infection took root in her leg.

But Vinna is a fighter – she is still alive after two years with no definitive treatment, unable to walk or attend school. Her parents have done their best – they have used all the traditional medicine that they can, dressing her wounds with banana leaves and clean rags, making cuts in her flesh to let the pus out. She still smiles after we dressed her wounds, lifting her arms to be carried back to the hut she calls home.

The medical system in Vanuatu cannot support a case as severe as this; in order to save her life she must be medically evacuated to NZ for treatment and care.

The good news is that there are organisations willing to help. Marine Reach, Family Care Center and Fruit of the Pacific are working in partnership to get Vinna the care she needs. Now, we just need you to join us!

You've heard the story of the little boy and the starfish. On a beach filled with thousands of starfish stranded by a very low tide, he kept on picking up dying starfish and throwing them back into the water. When an adult laughed at him and said “You can’t possibly save them all!” the little boy just picked up another one and gently tossed it back into the sea. “Saved that one,” he said.

Please be that little boy for Vinna – pausing long enough to “Make a difference” in just one life. We will keep you updated on her progress.

She will be in NZ for awhile having treatment and rehabilitation – who knows – you might get to meet her and experience her beautiful smile for yourself.

Fruit of the Pacific's involvement (page creator)

Fruit of the Pacific have partnered with Marine Reach & their Vanuatu Family Care Center to support Fena's case with NZ fundraising and logistics.

About us

Fruit of the Pacific educates and mentors short term Pacific migrants

Use of funds

The funds raised will be used to support Fena's costs of travel and medical care. Initially, they will go to passport processing, medical visa applications, flights and insurance for Fena and her primary care giver, her mother Karina.

No admin fees will be deducted by Fruit of the Pacific nor any other organisation associated with this cause (except for the 5% admin fee givealittle charge for this service).

Tidings of Great Joy - Celebrating Vinnas Successful Health Journey 28 November 2022

Goodness, I feel like I get to bring you tidings of great joy today - such an awesome privilege as we start this festive season.

You have all played such an important role in Vinna's healing and health journey over many years now. Many of you began your support for Vinna as early as Feb 2017 and now, at the end of 2022, we can officially celebrate the achievement of a full recovery journey for her!

For the last few years Vinna has been waiting on a final surgery in NZ to remove a metal plate which was temporarily in her leg to ensure its stability as it healed. With covid, lockdowns and border closures, the time between when we originally planned for that final surgery and when she actually arrived back here was a number of years!

But in late Oct, ROMAC, with help from the Marine Reaches Family Care Center, organised her final travel arrangements and she and her mother, Korina, landed in NZ for their last hospital visit and operation. Vinna is a trooper and after surgery was up and about very quickly, her recovery so positive that she was able to travel back to Port Vila last week after a very brief round trip. During her stay here she was able to catch up with many of her friends and families who have cared for her over the years and we all enjoyed celebrating how far she has come!

I’d particularly like highlight those who have really made this last leg of the journey possible:

A huge thank you to Glenys Paton from ROMAC who juggled everything while she was in NZ; hosting her, taking her to appointments and ensuring she got to connect with so many who she has shared the journey with. Glenys said yes to helping Vinna at the very start of this journey and has been an unwavering support from start to finish!

A huge thank you also to FCC for making their beautiful centre available for Vinna and Korina to stay at regularly over the last few years for necessary medical check ups and routine care, including the extended Vila lockdown. You guys make in-country care and logistics amazingly straightforward - such a blessing!

And thank you to each of you for your contribution to Vinnas journey - this now not so little girl, is alive and well because of the commitment, care and prayers you have invested in her over the years. I know from the hug I shared with Korina (her mother) on our last evening together that as a family they are sincerely grateful and this gift has touched their hearts in way words can never properly convey.

Merry Christmas and may you all be blessed with a wonderful festive season with family and friends

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