My name is Shanna Ligo Lini. I’m 37 years old, a wife and a mother of two beautiful children; a boy and a girl. I come from Pentecost and Ifira Island, and I live in Port Vila, Vanuatu. I grew up in a big family with three sisters and a brother. Our home was built on Christian values, and from a young age, I learned the importance of discipline, humility and service.

After I finished high school in 2006, I did work experience with the Vanuatu Women’s Centre (VWC). I started as a volunteer, assisting women and girls who had experienced violence, listening to their stories and counselling them through their pain.

I stayed at VWC for nearly ten years, eventually becoming a Counsellor. Those years shaped me. I saw how violence affected families, and how deeply it wounded women and children.

Amy

My name is Amy Gardiner, and I grew up in Broome in Western Australia. I’m 46 yeas old; I have a partner and two children aged six and eight, and together we’ve built a life here in Vanuatu over the past five years. My husband works with the Australian Federal Police, helping to build capacity within the local police force under the Vanuatu Australia Policing and Justice Program.

I’ve been a social worker for nearly 25 years. My career began in Australia, where I worked with the police, the Defence Force and families navigating trauma and major life transitions. About ten years ago, my path led me to Vanuatu through a job with World Vision. My husband had already been stationed here during the Cyclone Pam disaster response, and when I arrived not long after, I felt an immediate connection. I had already worked across the Pacific Islands – in Solomon Islands, PNG, and Timor-Leste, but Vanuatu felt different; it felt like home.

My work here began in education programs, but my heart quickly gravitated towards gender-based violence and family well-being. Around 2015, I joined a World Vision project called Channels of Hope, which focused on gender equality and ending violence. That’s where everything began to shift for me.

Shanna

It was during my time at the Women’s Centre on Santo Island that I first met Amy Gardiner. She was a technical advisor for a gender-based violence project with World Vision and was delivering a workshop with church leaders. I was invited to participate and was awestruck learning about gender-based violence. I was inspired and wanted to be part of that work.

Later in 2019, I joined World Vision under the Ending Violence program, which at that time was small but full of potential. I worked on an initiative called ‘Men Be the Change’ to engage men in ending violence in the community.. I was sceptical at first because after years of working with women survivors, I didn’t believe men could change.

As the months passed, I began to witness men returning home with new attitudes, and women telling us their partners were now sharing chores, listening more and spending more time with their children. Those stories gave me hope and reminded me that, with the right support, change is truly possible.

Amy

One of the most beautiful parts of my journey in Vanuatu has been meeting and working alongside my colleague and dear friend, Shanna. I first met her in 2015 when she was a participant in one of our counselling workshops. I still remember thinking, who is this amazing woman? She was so intelligent, grounded and deeply insightful. I even told my boss at the time, “I would love to work with her someday.” Little did I know how that wish would come true..

Years later, after a short time back in Australia, I returned to Vanuatu to help support the implementation of World Vision’s project ‘Men Be the Change’ and discovered that Shanna was part of the team. Our reunion felt like fate and from that moment, our partnership grew into something extraordinary. Together, we built and created a family support centre called REACH (Relationship Education About Choices and Healing).

REACH Famili Senta began as a simple idea to become a safe space outside the busy World Vision offices, where anyone could come for counselling and support. But it grew into something much bigger – a community of care, a centre for healing and a symbol of hope. We wanted to localise REACH to make it truly owned and led by Ni-Vanuatu professionals. Now, as we prepare to transition into an independent local organisation, my role is to walk alongside Shanna and the team, helping them step fully into leadership and sustainability.

Shanna

Amy and I have worked side by side at World Vision every single day for the last five years. Our desks are next to each other.

If I could describe our journey together, it’s like carving a beautiful sculpture from rough wood. It takes patience, hard work and faith. The REACH Famili Sentais that sculpture and our greatest accomplishment.

I often say Amy and I are like a bridge between two worlds, both relying on each other’s strengths. I bring the local context and cultural understanding, and she brings technical guidance and global experience. But even though Amy is my manager, she always treats me as an equal.

Amy

People often ask what keeps me motivated after all these years. The answer is simple, it’s seeing men demonstrating change at home, women finding their voices again and children feeling safe with their families, reminding me that change IS possible.

Beyond our work together, Shanna has become a sister, friend and inspiration. She balances her roles as a professional, a mother, a wife and a community leader with such grace, and I’ve learned so much from her about strength, humility and the quiet power of faith.

If I could leave one message for her and the amazing team that carries REACH forward, it’s to believe in yourself. You already have everything you need. The future of families in Vanuatu, of their healing and hope, is in your capable hands.

Shanna

Amy is someone who holds the door open for others, letting us walk through and find our own place. That is true empowerment. She uses her privilege to bring others in rather than keep them out, and that’s the kind of leader I want to be.

My message to young people, especially girls, comes from my own lived experience. I didn’t tick all the boxes. I didn’t finish university, and I didn’t follow society’s idea of success. Don’t be discouraged if life doesn’t go the way you expect. Opportunities are everywhere so you must be willing to put in the effort, step out of your comfort zone and trust in God’s timing.

And to Amy, my mentor and sister, I thank you. You have been a gift to this nation, to me and to every person whose life has been touched by REACH. One day you may move on to new adventures, but your legacy will stay here in every story of hope that comes through our doors. Because of you, I am the leader I am today, and for that I will always be grateful.

SOURCE: VANUATU DAILY POST