Early in December 2016, I embarked on a trip to Vanuatu with the sole purpose of helping in a remote village on Paama Island. Lulep was severally damaged by Cyclone Pam back in 2015, which knocked many dwellings flat and left others without roofs.

In term three last year, I received funding from The Peter England and Family Community Relations Award which supported me with my aim to help Paama Island. The Peter England Award provided a fund to help purchase local roofing material, natangora leaves, which were used to reroof local homes. I travelled to Paama Island, using money I had made by fundraising, to help with the physical process of reroofing the homes.

The trip began with me traveling from Auckland to the capital of Vanuatu, Port Villa. From there, I boarded a tiny propeller plane, which made numerous stops at other small outer islands before touching down on the very short, uneven and narrow grass landing strip of Tavie - I had arrived on Paama! From there I stepped aboard a local fishing boat and was taken around the coastline to a village named Liro. The rest of my journey was carried out on foot, as I hiked over the jungle covered “hills”, travelling from west to east Paama.

Upon my arrival, I was warmly greeted by the local community of Lulep, who put on a welcoming ceremony for me, also known as “Salusalu". During my stay in Lulep, I helped the locals put new rooves on their homes, with a total of about 35 dwellings being repaired. This was all as a result of the funds provided by the Peter England and Family Community Relations Award.

The experience of travelling to such a remote part of the world and being able to make a significant difference to the lives of others, has inspired me to focus my future on carrying out further similar projects in my life. Being able to help the community of Lulep and learn about a subsistence way of living is something I will treasure and never forget. It was an eye opening and humbling experience, to witness again such a different way of life to ours here in New Zealand.