Fresh water mission for island life
Some of the Tarrawanna group share lunch under the tree with local villagers. (Courtesy of Bill Simpson)
A small rural village in Vanuatu now has its own fresh water supply thanks to a group from Tarrawanna Corps on the NSW south coast.
A 13-member team connected to Tarrawanna Salvation Army Corps spent the spring school holidays building a 9,000-litre concrete water tank in a small rural village in Vanuatu.
Team members also spent time in classrooms with children from a village primary school, reading books and playing games.
Led by Corps Officer Lieutenant Matthew Moore and youth group leaders Paul and Emma Mather, the team included five high school students, a school chaplain, health worker, plumber and two retired people.
Adult team members paid their own airfares, accommodation and living expenses. The students were sponsored by The Salvation Army and individual church members.
The Salvation Army and Corrimal Rotary Club contributed to the cost of building materials.
Tarrawanna Salvation Army arranged the project through the international Christian organisation, Youth with a Mission (YWAM), which has a base near Port Vila, Vanuatu’s capital city.
The tank was built in the village of Emorwerik, which is a community of about 250 people accessed by a rough dirt track almost two kilometres into the bush from a main road. Their houses, built of concrete, tin or bush materials, are mostly one or two rooms and are scattered through the bush.
Lieut Moore says the work was done in hot and hard conditions, but the lasting value of the water tank to the village community is immeasurable.
“For the first time, these people will have a guaranteed storage of fresh water. Until now, they have collected their fresh water whenever it rained in buckets, cans and anything else they could find,” he says.
“Now, they will be able to turn on a tap at the tank and get instant fresh drinking water. Not only will it provide instant drinking water, but it will also enormously assist their health.
“They won’t have to rely on water for drinking from a well, which is of questionable quality.
“I am proud of and mightily impressed with how our team members conducted themselves during this project. It was tough work, especially for those of us who don’t do this type of thing every day.
“Most of the organisational work was done by Paul and Emma Mather. I was really there as a support for them.”
The accommodation arrangements at the YWAM base allowed team members to share meals and free time with YWAM staff, who appreciated the encouragement and support they received from the Tarrawanna group.
Lieut Moore says Tarrawanna Corps is likely to involve itself in other community projects, whether overseas or in Australia.
“We are a strong community-minded corps. Emma and Paul Mather started thinking about a Vanuata project after a holiday there. They spent some time with myself and my wife, (Captain) Emma.
“Between us, we developed ideas and discovered the YWAM projects. I think any corps could get involved. It’s great for team building and building up communities that have need of things (like fresh water) we just take for granted.
“I would encourage corps to discover the opportunities for themselves.”
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