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Published: June 29th 2009
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The New Deal
Here we are with the completed MOU. Acting Director General Len Tarivonda is a really great guy. Travel Blog 6-24, Luganville.
It’s business…It’s business time…
“That’s why they call them business socks…”
I arrived in Luganville yesterday morning after two weeks in Port Vila, taking care of business. I don’t actually own business socks, but I did bring along a single shirt that would be appropriate to wear in an office. Let me tell you, in the past few weeks that shirt has gotten a work out. For those of you that don’t know me in my natural habitat, Vanuatu, it should be noted that shirts, shoes, and shaving are uncommon things to my person. These past few weeks however have seen me in an ironed, collared, button-down shirt. Since I only have one, it looks like all the photos were taken on the same day.
The primary goal of my time in Port Vila was to negotiate a new agreement between the Vanuatu Ministry of Health and Project MARC. This was achieved on Monday the 22nd when the Acting Director General Len Tarivonda and I signed away multiple copies of our new MOU. This Memorandum of Understanding extends the validity of previous contracts until 2012, and to me was a real relief to
Vila Family
These guys are the best support group that anybody could ask for. finally have accomplished. You see, upon my arrival there was nobody serving in the Ministry’s top spot. The Director General position has been vacant for several months and in the meantime there have been interim directors to fill the role until a permanent director can be found. The week that my plane arrived was a gap week between interim directors and I thought that because of this fact, there was no chance I would be able to accomplish what I needed to get done. Yet after two weeks, several meetings, and a few buckets of sweat on my part, there is a new agreement between Project MARC and the Ministry of Health.
Len is a really great guy that was previously the Director of Public Health. He was genuinely excited about our projects and is looking forward to working with us more in the future.
I also had the pleasure of meeting once again with the country directors of the US Peace Corps. This year we’ll be working to help the USPC’s health division in their Healthy Schools Initiative. The school surveys that we carry out will identify deficiencies in standards of the World Health Organization’s definition for
The Dutch Resistance
Kevin Sikma is acting as MARC Human Resources in Port Vila for incoming volunteers in transit to Santo. ‘healthy schools.’ Hopefully this will be the beginning of a lot more cooperation between the US Peace Corps and Project MARC.
Also on the list of things to accomplish is the assistance with a nationwide measles campaign. It’s been a few years since the last big sweep for measles and now it is time to do it all again. UNICEF, Save the Children, and the Ministry of Health are working to get to every child in Vanuatu. We’re planning to help with this campaign in the remote areas that we’re going to visit.
After my arrival in Luganville, I met with the Ministry of Health Manager for the province. Joseph Mape has worked closely with Project MARC on all of our operations in his jurisdiction. He’s been a real help with accomplishing our goals and I’m glad that we can help his office in any way. It is by his request that Project MARC will assist with the construction of the Wusi Clinic (sometime in the future) and also with the surveying of the central sector of the island.
Amy Legg is the Pharmacist for the Northern District Hospital here in Vanuatu. Her office is providing our
Mapping it out
Joseph Mape is the Samna Province Director for the Ministry of Health. Some of our operations in July are at his request. teams with medications while on expedition as well as with housing and logistical support. Hopefully at the end of the month she will also accompany our team to the central sector of the island to do site visits to the aid posts she supervises. Her help, along with that of Dave Cross (of the Beachfront Resort), and Andrew Toyne (of Wilco Hardware) have made our work here in Santo possible.
Next week will see the arrival of our volunteers and our departure to the Wilderness. Brian Renshaw is a Project MARC alum currently living in Luganville who has offered to house and transport volunteers. Once our team is fully assembled, we’ll pile into Brian’s truck, and head off into the sunset.
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Caroline
non-member comment
coool
nice flight of the conchords reference..hilarious. Looking good there Seamus..getting stuff done! Is that Iza that I met in Arizona...that's coming out (her husband hid upstairs in your friend's house and it was all a little disturbing for a second!). That's so cool if it is her..she's a real love!