MoUs signed, partnerships created, marking IWD!
Over the past three months, VVF development staff have delivered the Volley4Change program to seven communities, across five wards around Port Vila.
This ‘Port Vila 5-Wards Initiative’ was the product of a couple of partnerships for VVF with the Port Vila City Council of Women (PVCCW) and the Vanuatu Family Health Association (VFHA) which were signed off through MoU agreements in early March, marking International Women’s Day, to kick off the 3-month activity.
Through March, April and May, the Volley4Change program was delivered to seven communities across the wards of Tasariki, Southern, Anaborou, Central and Northern, with a week on average spent in each.
Starting in Fresh Wota, then progressing to Tokyo, then the Red and Erakor Half Road communities in Anabarou, to the Seaside community, then onto various communities represented in the Northern Ward and finally returning to Anabarou and the Eratap community, the V4C development team delivered the sport for development program to a total of over 100 participants, aged from teens to over 60, mostly female (2 males overall). They presented and discussed the topics of communication, leadership and power, nutrition, gender roles, disability inclusion and many elements extending from those key themes, as well as conducting surveys and questionnaires as part of important data gathering.
As part of the sessions, the V4C touched on the value of identifying gender roles and assessing their equity; the power and necessity of good communication and how to speak to a room in a public format; acknowledging and appreciating the abilities of people with disabilities; the importance and benefit of good nutrition awareness and the potential and opportunities for leadership when recognising individual qualities and capabilities.
VFHA nurse doing a health check
In addition to the prescribed program sessions, V4C was supported at each community visit by nurses from VFHA who spent time doing health checks on all participants, as well as delivering short sessions with their own health messaging including awareness around nutrition, NCDs (non-communicable diseases), breast and cervical cancer, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and what makes healthy relationships.
One of the key visions and missions of Vanuatu Volleyball, especially through its Volley4Change program, is not only to promote the sport of volleyball in Vanuatu communities, but to underline the importance of key social impact messages around gender equality and empowerment, good health and wellbeing through physical activity and nutrition, as well as inclusion, within communities.
Volley4Change development staff
It was a busy 8 to 10 weeks for the Port Vila V4C development staff of Amelia Lawac, Alfonic Tau, Terry Newman, Chantale Willie, with support from Stanley Toa and Sarai Stephens (visiting from Santo V4C), who worked hard with all the communities in delivering the V4C program and underlining its key messaging through information as well as activities.
It also underlined the importance of key strategic partnerships with aligned objectives in getting development outcomes achieved, in this case, as was already mentioned, with the collaboration and cooperation of the PVCCW and the VFHA.
Asst national coach Manu Maki leading a coaching course session
And finally, as a follow up to the 3-month community program, VVF coach Manu Maki delivered a special coaching
course at the Stade courts in the first week of June, with participants from the Northern Ward and Eratap communities, supported by high performance and Olympic Solidarity development adviser Rob Francis.
