A Constructive Holiday

30 July, 2012

A Constructive Holiday

Queen Margaret College Head Prefect, Rima Shenoy, applied with success to join nine other students from around New Zealand to take part in the UN Pacific Project 2012 run by the UN Youth NZ. This saw Rima spending her July holidays doing something constructive as she embarked on a journey to engage in volunteer work in Vanuatu and attend the UN Youth Australia National Conference Melbourne.

During her time in Vanuatu she experienced village life, learnt about the role New Zealand plays in the Pacific development and contributed to the community with voluntary work at Pango and Siviri Villages. In Pango Rima worked at the only primary school which, she quickly discovered, was resourced with the bare minimum in terms of school and medical supplies. This however did not stop the fun enjoyed by the students as they played rugby, ‘What’s the time Mr. Wolf?’ and lots of ‘duck, duck, goose’.

Rima explains, “They had endless energy and were charming. One of the most memorable experiences I had was on the last day in Pango Village. A girl named Nelly gifted us her own bible with her writings in it.”

The group also spent a couple of days at the Siviri Village, where Rima and her group helped with the renovations on their church. “We also painted the village water tank. We painted each side of the four-sided water tank with a different theme including New Zealand, Vanuatu with its slogan "Vanuatu the happiest place on earth", symbols of Vanuatu Church and UN Youth.”

A visit to the Wan Smolbag Theatre taught Rima of the locals’ efforts to educate the next generation of Ni Vanuatu to be strong just like their predecessors. Rima also met the Deputy High Commissioner to discuss New Zealand’s role in the development of Vanuatu.

“On this trip I have learnt that the Pacific region could benefit not just from aid like medical and school supplies but also from educating them to help build up skills to improve their life. I would love to go back in the future to contribute towards their development.”

From here Rima then attended the week long UN Youth Australia National Conference in Melbourne, this is the largest UN Youth event held in Australia for high school students. It involves senior students selected from each of the Australian states' Model United Nations events as well as delegations from New Zealand, Asia and the Pacific.

During the conference, the students represent a UN member state, and discussed global issues with the goal of coming to an agreement about the way forward. The theme for the 2012 conference was 'Striving for Justice' and gave the students insight into the manner in which justice underpins our everyday lives.

“When I started my journey on the UN Pacific Project I set out on my travel with a group of people that I did not know and at the end of this rewarding project ended up having like-minded new friends with a common goal.”

Background Information
Queen Margaret College is a leading independent Presbyterian Girls College. It offers holistic education from Pre-School through to Year 13 and the choice of the qualification pathways of IB (International Baccalaureate) Diploma and NCEA. QMC is a College with an international perspective that delivers a high-quality, globally-relevant curriculum within a family atmosphere. www.qmc.school.nz

ENDS

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