Water for a village on Tanna, Vanuatu
On Tanna, Vanuatu, Lomteuheakal Villagers walk 1 km to collect water from a spring. This project will supply water to their village.
Bay of Plenty
The village was devastated by a cyclone in 2015 that destroyed many homes and crops. That year John went to Tanna and helped them pipe ½ litre a day per person of gravity fed water. But this is not nearly enough. Schools still close when the water in their tanks dries up. Women and children spend much of their day carrying water to the village. The springs are below their village and they need solar powered water pumps. John has sourced these and plans to go back in December to install them and pipe the water, and teach locals how to maintain them.
My husband (John Mayrick) and I (Ruth Gerzon) provide free spring water from a tap near the gate to our farm, on the main road between Whakatane and Opotiki, with a box for donations. We have kept these to support niVanuatu kiwifruit workers who have come for 10 years to our town (Whakatane).
Locals have donated $15,000 at our gate but we need twice that to buy the solar pumps/tank/pipe and ship them to Tanna. If we can raise more we will buy a container to leave behind as a cyclone shelter. See details on facebook: @tannawhakatane.
The community clubs and churches have donated clothing, soccer boots, sewing machines, school books etc that will also be packed. The Sunshine Rotary Club is helping co-ordinate the project. The more money we can raise the more effective this project will be as we can take more things and leave a container as a cyclone shelter.
Ruth Gerzon's involvement (page creator)
We feel unbelievably privileged to be able to turn on a tap and have good water piped to our NZ home. The Lomteuheakal villagers stay in Whakatane when they do seasonal work. They come to our home on rainy days when they cannot work the kiwifruit, On Tanna, they have to walk over a kilometer each way from their village to their water source. Their children’s learning is at risk because their schools close when the water in tanks dries up. These people are hard workers. They tell us exactly what is important for their village. This is a good aid project – no administration, no bureaucracy, low tech solutions, and we listen to what they say is needed. All our project management time and work on this is voluntary.
Use of funds
Water pumps, solar power panels, tanks and pipe.
Buying a container and shipping costs
We do all the work on a voluntary basis and pay for our own airfares.
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