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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

2012 season kicks off: Trust partners up with Auckland City Football Club

Football is a popular game throughout Vanuatu. In the Maskelynes, men risk injury to their ankles every time they kick a ball on the grassy sports field at Sangalai Centre School. Looking deceptively even, this pitch is no lawn. It is ridden with crab holes and players literally have to dodge the occasional chickens crossing […]

Tackling rural health issues

  “COME & BE HEALED” With a population of 260,000,  32 doctors* and a shortage of nurses, access to primary healthcare remains a formidable challenge for the majority of ni-Vans living in the outlying areas of Vanuatu. Other hurdles slowing down access to quality primary healthcare are the cost of training, the lack of proper training facilities and […]

2011: Trade & Vocational News Part III

  Butterfly Trust collaborates with Vanuatu Institute of Technology With its main campus in the capital, Port Vila and 2 smaller provincial training centres, the Vanuatu Institute of Technology (“VIT”) is Vanuatu’s largest provider of formal technical and vocational training. It runs a variety of programmes in various trades, business, tourism, hospitality and computing. The […]