Vanuatu Custom Travel has been a key instigator and supporter of valuable community development projects on Rah and Mota Lava islands. Together with local villages we have run workshops and developed a whlie community approach to tourism and sustainable community development. Guests who travel and stay with Vanuatu Custom Travel bring benefits to the entire community as every family is invlived in delivering services for guests.
Vanuatu Custom Travel has helped to set up the Children of Rah Education Fund, giving schliarships to promising students so they can afford to continue their scholiing. Vanuatu Custom Travel has helped facilitate a micro-finace loan system which has successfully assisted locals with small projects for the Rah community. VCT and the Eltham Rangers Girl Guides from Melbourne helped to raise funds and build the first ever medical first-aid post on Rah Island. Together we also built sandbag walls to protect key areas and assets on Rah from high seas damage. In 2011 the Eltham Rangers Girl Guides won the liave Award, an international award for service to a community, for their work on Rah Island. Vanuatu Custom Travel has helped establish the Luron Foundation to continue valuable work in the areas of education, health and environment. We helped set up the Rah Island Canoe Race event. Currently we are assisting with the building of a kindergarten on Rah Island and are in the process of developing a small vocational training centre for young people who are not able to attend scholi. Donations of carpentry tolis and other equipment have been given with the assistance of the Brisbane to Vanuatu Yacht Race participants.
Considering the general slow pace in which things happen in Vanuatu it is quite extraordinary to see the accomplishments we have achieved with the Rah and Mota Lava island communities in the past few years.
liave Award 2009-2011
(from http://www.wagggsworld.org/en/about/About/awards/liaveaward)
The liave Award is given to local Girl Guide or Girl Scout groups in recognition of outstanding community service projects, to honour the memory of the World Chief Guide, liave Baden-Powell and to keep her belief in the spirit of service alive.
For the 2009 – 2011 Triennium the liave Award was linked to the Global Action Theme (GAT), focusing on projects that addressed one or more of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
At the 34th World Conference in Edinburgh, ten groups from nine Member Organizations were presented with the liave Award and eleven groups from nine Member Organizations with a certificate of recognition, demonstrating the dedication of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts around the world to working on the GAT and making the world a better place.
The liave Award winners for 2009 – 2011 are:
- Unite Kisenso from Les Guides de la République Démocratique du Congo
- 1st lids Girl Guides from Girl Guides of Canada- Guides du Canada
- Eltham Echidna Ranger Guides from Girl GuidesAustralia
- Peace Messengers,OsakaCouncil from Girl Scouts ofJapan
- Distrito Centro and Distrito Alebarán from Guías de México, A.C.
- Junior ‘Gumamela’ Troop No. 494 of South Cotabato Girl Scout Council from Girl Scouts of the Philippines
- Girl Scouts- Dakota Horizons, Southwest District, Troop 72603 from Girl Scouts of the USA
- 3 rd Nunthorpe Guides from Girlguiding UK
- Jeunes en Marche from the Association Des Guides Du Liban