Newsletter 2011
The Butterfly Trust has had another busy year in the Maskelyne Islands of Vanuatu. Lying off the southeast corner of Malekula, one of the larger islands in the Vanuatu group, the Maskelynes have all the advantages and disadvantages of remoteness. Our aim, at the request of the islanders, is to assist the 5 villages (and […]
2019
Rireana spent another cyclone season in Vanuatu over the 2018/2019 cyclone period. After she finished her work in 2018, she was hauled out on the railway (by a winch mounted on a tractor) at the Port Vila boatyard, stripped of all her deck paraphernalia, and lashed down to large concrete blocks embedded in the ground. […]
Katherine Dobie & friends donate Do Gooder Eco Toothbrushes
Katherine Dobie pictured arriving at Port Vila airport with some of the 252 Do Gooder Eco Brushes she and her colleagues at Sky Sports in New Zealand have donated to the Butterfly Trust dental programme. The toothbrushes were provided at cost by Do Gooder. As well as donating the toothbrushes Katherine also helped transport a […]
Isobel Obediah and Marienna Nambong awarded scholarships to study at university
Marienna Nambong Isobel Obediah and Marienna Nambong, 2 students from the Maskelyne Islands, have each been awarded Vanuatu government scholarships to study at university in Fiji. We congratulate them on the hard work, diligence, and scholastic ability they displayed in achieving this recognition. Isobel and Marienna were pupils at […]
Thank You Auckland City Football Club!
Brian Kaltack (2nd from left), Micah Lea’alafa (2nd from right) and David Firisua Jr (far right) with Dave and Lynn from the Butterfly Trust on a cold and windy October day at Kiwitea St. Auckland City Football Club has again provided valuable support to the Butterfly Trust. On 14 October 2018, we set up […]
2016 – 2018
Rireana at anchor at Lolowai on the island of Ambae in 2017 We have been lax at updating the sailing log. We apologise. We have been more focused on the operations of the Trust than recording the life of Rireana. So set out below is a […]
Peter Kamsel wins scholarship to study medicine in Fiji
Congratulations to Peter Kamsel who has won a Vanuatu government scholarship to study medicine in Fiji. Peter was one of the first students from Sangalai School in the Maskelyne Islands to receive a secondary school fee subsidy from the Butterfly Trust. Since 2012, the Trust paid a third of all Peter’s school fees from Year […]
NZ doctor describes what it’s like volunteering in Vanuatu
One of our regular medical volunteers, physician Dr Michael Kahan, recently wrote an article for NZ Doctor. If you’re a doctor considering volunteering overseas, we warmly recommend reading this article. To view the article click here.
2015
Well what a year that was! Category 5 Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu on Friday, 13 March 2015 causing incredible damage. Rireana was on her mooring in Port Vila Harbour. We were in Auckland trying to get on a plane to Vila having just flown in from a scoping trip to India and Bangladesh. We had […]
2014
We re-joined Rireana in early March 2014 in Port Vila where she had spent the previous 3 months on a cyclone mooring. After working in Port Vila we set sail for Noumea, New Caledonia, in early May. Our purpose in going to Noumea was to haul the boat out of the water for maintenance. We […]
