For Tracey Farnsworth, founder of a charitable organization she established here in Port Vila and Vanuatu, the children are precious human assets for the country’s tomorrow.
But the vision she had when first visit Vanuatu seven years ago, is for every child in the country to be able to read at very early age as they progress their way to school, continue to build and master their reading ability until they reach and graduate from universities.
It was not just a vision and a dream.
This has already turned a page into reality with so much assistance she has been providing to schools and children up and down the country over the past years.
Before starting to raise awareness back in Australia for the needs of reading books and materials for the children students at kindy, primary and secondary schools in Vanuatu, Farnsworth adopted two ni-Vanuatu children, took care and still take cares for their welfare and education today.
Having done that, she then decided to register the charitable organization she has founded as ‘Progress Pikinini’.
She registered Progress Pikinini charitable association in February 2016 and then organized a 44-foot container from Australia to Port Vila with reading books, education materials where she distributed them at the Fresh Water School in Port Vila, Lelepa schools in North Efate and on Santo and Ambae.
She already organized a shipment of reading books and materials for schools in South Pentecost with the assistance of the Pentecost Member of Parliament (MP) Silas Bule.
MP Bule is supportive of the vision and the mission being carried for the schools and the children of Vanuatu for today and tomorrow, being an educationist himself.
His support came when he realized that Tracey Farnsworth, has already spent Vt5 million in raising assistance in Australia and have the containers full of reading books and materials landed in Port Vila; transport costs and land transport costs. But to get the school materials to the islands, require inter-island shipping costs, and transport costs in the islands to get the reading books and educational materials to the doorsteps of the intended schools recipients.
“I am supportive of the project because generally speaking, to get the children at the younger age and even in primary and secondary schools, has been and is still a problem in Vanuatu today,” says Bule.
Farnsworth has discovered the same reading situation with the children in Vanuatu which the reason why she is committed heavily in reading books and materials for the children in all level of education and schools throughout the country.
“We make sure that before the donations leave Australia for Vanuatu, to be distributed to schools and children here, they are sorted out, washed and cleaned before packed and shipped to Vanuatu.
“We also make sure that they are what the children and people of Vanuatu need, but not just any junks that can’t be used here,” she said.
Today, she has a number of ni-Vanuatu volunteers forming a team in the Progress Pikinini Association who spend their time in organizing the distributions of schools reading books and materials to schools throughout Vanuatu.
The assistance is reaching Torba to the North of Vanuatu; the islands in the Torres group as well as the southern and central Islands of Vanuatu.
On Efate, the Progress Pikinini Association has already distributed educational materials to schools in Blacksands, Teouma, Etas, Club Hippique, Ohlen Freshwind, Ohlen Matasso, Ohlen Nabanga, Hospital children and maternity wards.
“You should see the smile on the faces of the mothers when receiving packs of baby stuff and in Children’s Ward, these little kids hug their teddy bear and the little gifts we gave them as you see the joy on their little faces,” Tracey Farnsworth expressed.
The Progress Pikinini has even expanded its program to donating schools chairs, desks, pre-school equipment and more that a given out free in cartons and cartons to the schools and children.
“We have also donated appropriate equipment to the Pro-Med here in Port Vila, and likewise the safety boots and equipment to the Vanuatu Hospitality Training Centre, police vehicle cages, shoes and socks, equipment to the Fire-Brigade and other services,” said Tracey Farnsworth.
“We are also moving into helping up-coming ni-Vanuatu business men and women; preparing and advising on business plans, and how to make business successful,” said Tracey Farnsworth, who held Business Executive Positions in a major business company in Australia before leaving and ending up here in Vanuatu.
Today, she is putting more effort with finance and funding from her own pocket as at the same appealing in Australia and in Vanuatu for donations to support the educational initiatives she has established to assist the children, students and young people of Vanuatu who are the future leaders of this nation.
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SOURCE: THE VANUATU DAILY POST
