February 15th, 2025, 2pm
For the first time in their lives, people in four villages on Vanuatu, Tanna Island in the South Pacific, are now able to access clean water.
For many in the South Pacific, access to clean water is a daily challenge that has a major impact on their quality of life, the Church’s Pacific Newsroom explained.
Some of the villagers walked long distances every day to bring home water for cooking, cleaning and bathing.
Latter-day Saints’ Church of Jesus Christ recognized this need and worked with Vanuatu Agricultural Supply to speak with community leaders to identify water needs and available sources.
Work began in November 2024, and by the end of December 2024, clean water began to flow in the Narken, Loop Cus, Rapkit and Room.
The church will support design, materials and training, and the community will install systems, such as building water collection boxes, drilling and plumbing, large water tanks, solar panels, and village taps. provided the effort.
Those who provided labor on the project worked closely with Vanuatu Agricultural Supply and the Church’s humanitarian missionaries to learn how the system works and maintains it when it is finished.
It was one of several recent projects that the church and its members supported throughout the church’s Pacific region. Others include improving schools in Samoa and Papua New Guinea, as well as new seedling nursery in Tonga.
New Schools in Papua New Guinea
Children in Babaka village in the Rigo district of southern Papua New Guinea currently have new classrooms and other improvements in the school.
Lilo Elementary School has an aged, corrupt building that was difficult for students and staff to use.
The humanitarian missionaries at the church noticed the problem and found ways to help, explained a news release from the Pacific Newsroom.
Funding from the church allowed the contractor to build four new modern and comfortable classrooms in Riser to protect against future flooding from rain and storm surges in the area. And new housing was provided to teachers who were normally provided with residential wards at schools in Papua New Guinea.
During the dedication programme on February 7th, President Voytau of Babaka Branch said: “The Church reflects the love of Christ. We show our love for Christ in a way that shows how we love Babaka’s neighbor. We are part of this work. I am extremely proud to be a member of the church.”
Improvements to the Samoa School Council Hall
Villagers in Lauril, a small community about 20 miles east of Apia in Samoa, helped renovate the school council hall with funds from the church.
This hall is used not only by school children for meetings, but also by a variety of churches for communities, events, activities and worship. When the village school board contacted the church for help, it required considerable repairs.
Improvements include renovating the assembly hall floors, installing 21 ceiling fans, changing toilets, creating a new library to free classrooms, installing water tanks and supplying clean water to the dining halls and toilets It will be available.
During the project, village chief executives and others gathered the community to serve the project.
Together, they painted the holes, added new mesh to the windows, installed safe entry doors, and laid floor tiles in the toilet, reported on January 25th by a Pacific Newsroom.
Tonga Nature Nursery
In September 2024, two new seedlings were completed in the “Araki and Fourwi” community in Tongatapu, Tonga.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s Women’s Development Department asked the church to fund the construction of nurseries to encourage independence through home gardening and healthy diets. The department has agreed to provide seedlings and training each year and maintaining the nursery.
About 88% of Tonga’s population lives in rural areas that rely on agriculture and gardens, he explained about a news release from a Pacific newsroom.
During the handover ceremony, Seinieravaipur thanked God for the help of the church. “This may seem small, but that’s not a bit. It’s a grassroots effort to ensure people have access to safe and healthy foods.”
Karati Hafoka with the division also thanked God and the church who “made our dreams come true.”
She said, “There’s a proverb about Tongan – “The reward for a good job is more work.” We look forward to more projects with you. ”
