Background
The New Zealand Children’s Health & Education Trust was formed in 2000 for the purpose of helping children in communities who suffer from malnutrition and health problems caused by poverty or lack of education.
From a background in local environmental and overseas children’s aid the founding trustees soon identified the urgent health issues suffered by children in Vanuatu an island nation geographically closest to New Zealand and listed high on the most impoverished nation index of the United Nations.
In conjunction with Dr Henk Meuzelaar who had identified similar issues facing his NGO Project MARC (medical assistance to remote communities)The trust provided two 70 tonne trading schooners to supply medical equipment and personnel to the islands.
For three years the aid work was primarily aimed at supplying urgent and immediate healthcare.
This work was completed pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding with MOH Vanuatu. By 2004 our interventions had achieved some stability in the urgent healthcare requirements in the areas in which we worked.
Consequently a new MOU was reached for a further five years enabling the trust to institute sustainable programmes which empowered the people of these areas to undertake much of the day to day health initiatives.
Since 2004 the Trusts work has built on these initiatives and now works towards creating sustainable programmes intended to lift the standards of living, education and much needed transport facilities to the areas.
Today the Trust focuses these programmes in the South East Malakula area which has a population of approximately 12000, spread over several villages and located in a pristine lagoon.