How would you like to be a part of a team that helps build up the basic reading and maths skills of children in a remote part of a Pacific island? The children come from villages in a little-travelled part of the island of Tanna in Vanuatu and have been disadvantaged by a lack of resources and precious few opportunities. This has recently changed with the opening of the Kapalpal Christadelphian Primary School.
In an effort to give all the children as close to a level a playing field as possible in education, groups of tutoring volunteers will be going over to the school periodically to do some intensive remedial work with those who need it. So God willing, the first Bethezer tutoring team will be going over to the school during September and the first two weeks of October.
This period has been chosen because it covers public school holidays for most Australian states.
There will be a number of students requiring assistance as a large number of the 200+ children at the school have had no previous schooling prior the commencement of the school in 2009. Consequently, there are huge gaps in their learning.
We hope to fill in some of those gaps during this first visit. We are looking for both qualified teachers and volunteers who are happy to be directed by the qualified teachers. We are interested in hearing from those able to come during the period of September and October this year, or with a subsequent group in 2011.In September we also will be taking with us one or two carpenters/handymen who will build furniture – desk tops, bench seats, blackboards, book shelves – for the new building, completed in April this year.
The school is located in a remote area of Tanna – on a mountain top which is isolated from normal tourist areas. (More information about the area can be found on other pages of the web site about the school.)
The facilities at the school can be considered very basic by Australian standards. For those with us who are interested in seeing Mt Yasur, the nearby volcano, 
we will make every effort to make sure there are opportunities to visit this incredible sight so long as it is safe to do so.
The cost of the trip will consist of all travelling expenses (air fares, hotel room while in Port Vila, food and transport in Vanuatu) plus $10/day for quite basic food – we all eat it – while at the school (plus for those visiting Yasur, $25 for entry to the volcano and a smaller amount for a share of the cost of the truck). If interested, contact us by emailing Karen at krnutter31@yahoo.com.au
