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Pacific Pathways

  • 'Families First' gardens are now flourishing and green

      5 October 2020
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    Pacific Pathways – ‘Families First’ initiative

    Helping the families on Aore recover after cyclone Harold with their immediate needs: Food, Water, Shelter

    Aore Island – Food security

    As part of our Families First initiative we distributed local vegetable cuttings, seeds for other varieties of vegetables & garden tools to help the families on Aore re-establish their gardens.

    It is now 6 months since cyclone Harold, and we are noticing a significant transformation to the landscape from ‘flattened & brown’ to ‘flourishing & green.

    Last week I visited the communities on Aore to see how their gardens were ‘growing’. Have a look in the gallery to enjoy the photos of the now flourishing gardens.

    Many of the families live up on the escarpment plateau because it is cooler and more importantly the soil is rich and fertile. In only 6 month’s they have flourishing gardens and the banana trees are fully grown, but we are still waiting for them to bear fruit. It has been a long six months of limited fruit and even now we need more sunny days for the fruits to ripen.

    We are also finding pumpkins & pawpaws everywhere, 'baby’s of cyclone Harold', they werent planted but they are growing wild everywhere.

    We have been lucky as we have had rain througout the 'dry' season, so everything is growing so well, that I am hearing stories of famlies, sharing their extra vegetables.

    In preparation for our next cyclone season we have been talking to the communities about ‘preparedness’. With a cyclone we do get warnings so we are talking about protecting their gardens as best they can & to cut & store cuttings for replanting should their gardens be damaged by the cyclone.

    Thank you all for your support and donations. Together we have been able to help the people on Aore recover after cyclone Harold.

    Pacific Pathways, helping those on the path less travelled.

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  • Families First - contiues to help the communities on Aore Island

      11 July 2020
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    As part of our 'Families First' initiative helping the communities on Aore Island recover after cyclone Harold.

    In June we completed the distribution of garden tools, seeds & island vegetable cuttings to the families living on the western end of Aore Island. We visited Vatubea village a group of 6 families and the families living at the Aore Adventist Academy, 15 families and 5 widows.

    Cyclone Harold caused major damage to the two schools located at the western end of Aore: Adventist Academy Secondary School and Parker Primary School. Both schools are now closed, and the students and teachers have been relocated to Hogg Harbour on the east coast of Santo. But the maintenance & caretaker staff are still working and living in the school area. A temporary classroom has been set up in one of the Academy classrooms that still has the roof. One teacher remains and is taking the classes for the primary school children who remain in the area.

    The community were very appreciative of these donations and asked us to pass on their thanks.

    ' Tankyu tumas evriwan'.

    We are now talking to the communities on Aore with regards to: Shelter & Water supplies.

    Pacific Pathways wish to thank all our donors. It is your donations that have made it possible for us to continue to help the communities to recover after cyclone Harold and bring the 'smile' back to Vanuatu. Thank you

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  • Famillies First initiative 2 months after cyclone Harold

      30 May 2020
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    The ‘Families First’ initiative is going very well.

    We had our first demonstration workshop by the field officer from the MALFFB on 16th May, with a large turn out from the community. We gave out seeds, seedling trays, fresh cuttings of local vegetables: manioc kumala, Fijian taro & island cabbage and garden tools to each of the 75 families living on the eastern end of Aore. We will visit the western end of Aore in June to help the families there.

    Within days of the workshop the seedlings were up in the demonstration garden, which was the garden for the head teacher at the Aore Yumi Primary School. This will be a get asset to the school as the children will be able to watch the garden grow.

    At the workshop I told the community that the field officer would be back to visit their gardens in a months' time. I hear they are all busy in the gardens at the weekends, in preparation for the field officers visit.

    Technical training and support provided by the MALFFB field officer is to improve the communities, knowledge and skills, so they can develop successful and productive gardens to ensure food security and improved livelihoods with the sale of excess produce. We look forward to enjoying the produce.

    With more funding we will move to help other outer islands in the Sanma Province.

    Thank you everyone for your kind donations and support making this possible.

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  • Families are struggling after cyclone Harold, they need your help!

      1 May 2020
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    TC Harold was a Cat 5 cyclone which caused major devastation across Vanuatu ripping off roofs, flattening houses and gardens, leaving many families with nothing !

    Visiting our friends living in the nearby village on Aore, was heart breaking, they were shattered after a stressful 24 hours. One family with 3 young children, has only one of three buildings still standing, and their garden nearby was also flattened. Visiting other villages on Aore during the week, we continued to see total devastation of houses and gardens.

    The founders of Pacific Pathways have been living in Vanuatu since cyclone Pam helping with the recovery &r rebuiding. We live on Aore Island and experienced our first cat 5 Cyclone as the eye of the storm tracked over Aore and Malo island in the Sanma Province.

    We woke to total devastation around us with trees & coconuts down, fallen branches and debri everywhere, access from the house was by clambering over the fallen trees and the road was totally blocked.

    We ask that you take a moment to think about losing your house and everything inside.

    You have no resources to replace your home, you have lost your garden so you cannot put food on the table, the water may run out as the dry season begins & you have no money !

    We have witnessed first-hand the stress for the families in our community, as time passes and they have to readjust to a broken home and no gardens and struggle to put food on the table.

    We ask you to give generously so we can help as many families as possible.

    To learn more about our work helping Vanuatu please visit our website: pacificpathways.org.nz and our facebook page: PacificPathwaysNZ .

    Thankyou

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  • Helping the 'Families First' after cyclone Harold

      1 May 2020
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    Visiting our friends living in the nearby villages, was heart breaking, their houses & gardens flattened, homewares and belongings scattered and their livestock, that survived is roaming free.

    We realise the need for help is at the village level so we have set up an initiative to focus on the ‘Families First’ to help them to rebuild their lives.

    We thank everyone for their generous donations & support. We have now raised over NZ$ 15,000 towards our Families First intiative.

    Pacific Pathways cyclone Harold Recovery Project 2020 - Families First.

    This initiative will help and support the families and will focus on their immediate livelihoods and agricultural humanitarian needs, to restore food security, dignity & quality of life.

    Pacific Pathways will initiate the distribution of seeds/seedlings/cuttings of local food crops & garden tools. Facilitate sharing of existing seedlings between families in addition to supporting the reestablishment of chicken raising and pig enclosures. A water catchment will be set up to ensure water is available for gardens & livestock during the dry season.  Technical support will be provided to improve the communities, knowledge and skills so they can develop successful and productive gardens to ensure food security and improved livelihoods.

    This initiative offers multiple benefits to the communities:

    - Nutritious food for the communities in relatively short time

    - Support local kakae and skills they already have

    - Food surpluses will be sold at local markets

    - Training will not only increase the communities knowledge & skills, but also improve their preparedness & resilience in case of future disasters

    We will intiially focus on the families on Aore Island where there are over 150 families (over 600 people). Funds allowing we will look to help other islands in the Sanma Province.

    This initiative has been endorsed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries, & Biosecurity (MALFFB) of Vanuatu. We will be working closely with the MALFFB and they will run the onsite workshops and demonstrations.

    We thank you for your generous donations & support making this all possible and will enable us to continue our work helping to bring the smile back to Vanuatu.

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