Earlier this month, framed around the marking of International Women’s Day, Vanuatu Volleyball Federation (VVF) entered into 
partnership with the Port Vila Council of Women to bring a dedicated Volley4Change program to 5-Wards in the Port Vila area.
As part of this initiative, VVF also signed an MoU with the Vanuatu Family Health Association (VFHA) which would see 
strong support in the collection of key health data from women in the targeted communities as well as participating in the delivery of health checks across the five wards, with additional Awareness sessions on Sexual & Reproductive Health (SRH).
Support for and acknowledgement of this initiative has also come from the Australian High Commission and the Port Vila City Council.
The whole program is being delivered across the five ward councils in the Port Vila area, over a three-month period (March–May).
The first ward to host Volley4Change was the Fresh Wota 6 community, with the program conducted over the past two weeks at both the local community centre and at the VVF compound in Stade.
Over the first week, participants were taken through the key aspects and themes of the program, discussing different topics and taking part in
various group activities to underline those discussions.
The sessions include lead
ership, communication, health, nutrition, inclusion (both Disability and Gender), power and game-based activities.
The second week saw nearly all the sessions conducted at the Stade beach volleyball courts, focussing on volleyball skills, drills and refereeing elements, plus the inclusion of an informative awareness session on Se
xual Reproductive Health (SRH) from the VFHAs nurse-in-charge.
On Friday, there was an official presentation of certificates to participants to wrap up the program, with the President of the PVCW Mrs Jane Iatika and Tasiriki ward President Mrs Melka Numbu present to witness the ceremony.
In addition, VVF donated volleyball equipment to the participants to support ongoing training and encourage them to stay active.
The next ward council to host the V4C program, as part of this Port Vila community focused initiative, will be Southern Ward, Tokyo community (23-27 March).
