Sanma Province
Sanma Province is made up of the islands of Espiritu Santo (known more simply as “Santo”) and Malo (the island in the bottom right-hand corner of the image with the village of Abnetare on it). There are also many smaller islands off the coast of Santo that are included in the province, such as Aore.
The Trust first started working in Sanma Province in a substantive way in 2020 after Cyclone Harold. We assisted in cyclone relief and recovery work, primarily on the west coast of Santo. Since then we have been engaged in HPS (Health Promoting Schools) and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) projects in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education & Training.
(To see historical records of the work of the Trust in this community, click on this link to the Newsletters tab.)
Snapshots
Cyclone Recovery – After Cyclone Harold in 2020 the Trust shipped emergency food and non-food items to the west coast of Santo. It also facilitated training in weaving thatch from coconut palm leaves instead of the traditional natangura leaves as the natangura had been destroyed in the cyclone.
Health Promoting Schools Programme – The Trust has been involved in communicating with key decision-makers in the Ministry of Education & Training, the Ministry of Health, and WHO, to extend this programme to urban and rural schools in Sanma Province. The Trust has taken part in the delivery of knowledge around nutrition and enabling healthy food choices, oral health preventative treatments (focusing on toothbrushing), deworming, personal hygiene, water and sanitation.
WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) – The Trust has facilitated WASH projects as part of a planned long-term initiative in Sanma Province. It has helped provide training and resources for the construction of VIP toilets (ventilated improved pit latrines) in rural areas and also overseen a pilot programme constructing composting toilets at two schools in south and east Santo. The pilot has expanded into environmental care and recycling of waste packaging.
