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Vanuatu

World Vision Vanuatu Annual Review 2018

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Dear valued partners,

I am honoured to present World Vision Vanuatu’s 2018 Annual Review. In line with the Government’s Vanuatu 2030: The People’s Plan, World Vision works closely and respectfully with girls, boys, women, and men in communities to assist them to achieve sustained improvements in water, sanitation & hygiene, gender and healthy family relationships, and livelihoods. Reading this report gives a glimpse of some of the great development outcomes that have been achieved.

In May and October more than 3500 people came to events in Port Vila and Tanna as part of the Vanuatu Rispek campaign. It was electrifying to stand alongside popular musicians, athletes, and government leaders standing up and promoting strong messages about respect and consent in relationships. The message of “Rispeketm yu wan, rispektem narafala man” is ringing loud and clear.

In support of the Vanuatu government’s initiative to ban the use of plastic bags, straws, and polystyrene containers, World Vision and Azure Pure Water have launched the innovative Pem Bak Plastik Program. We were honoured to have Prime Minister Salwai give the key speech at the launch in May, and it was a special privilege for him to give me a video interview promoting the Pem Bak Plastik program. Community members are now able to earn income from collection of waste plastics, and so far almost 400,000 vatu has gone into the pockets of men and women in communities, including some of the poorest in Port Vila. What a wonderful result for community members, and also for our beautiful environment.

An independent evaluation of World Vision’s counselling approach for reducing gender based violence found that 74% of participants in our counselling workshops have stopped using violence altogether, a finding that was confirmed by triangulating information from their families and community members. World Vision has also initiated a Men’s Behaviour Change program – the first of its kind in the Pacific. In December I had the privilege to join a debriefing session where the men who had gone through the program talked about the differences that have occurred in their lives – tremendous impact! If someone were to ask me what’s the most powerful work I’ve seen in my career, I have an answer.

To each of you who have supported us as we continue to work alongside the Vanuatu Government in improving the lives of girls, boys, women, and men in villages across Vanuatu, thank you. Tank yu tumas.