Blog

As of December 2022; after the recruitment of the Program Manager Mrs. Renata Netaf, she has met with 14 leaders from Churches and relevant agencies.

As at 30th March, 2023 5 Domestic Workshops have been held, once in Port Vila and four in Santo. A total of 91 people have been reached with the training that have been held so far.

From the 21st – 24th February, 2023 HWT Training of Trainers/Initial Equipping sessions on the (5 Core Lessons) + Domestic Violence was held at the Vanuatu Council of Churches Training room in Port Vila, Vanuatu. A total of 22 participants turned up at this training. The training was also to train the Program Manager Mrs. Renata so she could facilitate future trainings. Representatives from churches, Women’s groups, and other agencies were at the training. The workshop had a mix of experienced and seasoned church leaders and prominent lay members from various. The workshop identified five potential partners and co- facilitators that Vanuatu Mission Branch Domestic Abuse project can call upon to facilitate on a volunteer basis and for collaboration purpose. Participants were eager to take the training to their own communities to share the knowledge and healing with their own people. 18 participants were awarded the Apprentice facilitator certificate at the end of the training and advised that they co-facilitate for the next 24 months.

From the 1st – 7th March, 2023, the HWT Training of Trainers on the 5 Core Lessons + Domestic Violence was held at the Church of Christ hall in Santo, Vanuatu. The Facilitator Mr. Jack Reuben and co-facilitator Mrs. Ledua Turaganivalu and Mrs. Renata Netaf facilitated at this training.

Unfortunately, the Master Facilitator Rev. Apenisa could not join the team in Santo as all the local flights were cancelled as the nation was advised to get prepared for the upcoming natural disaster. That week, Vanuatu had two cyclones one after another in Vanuatu. Category 3 Tropical Cyclone Judy first hit Port Vila from early morning on Wednesday (1/3/23) and followed by Category 4 Tropical Cyclone Gavin on Friday afternoon (3/3/23).

Meanwhile in Santo due to the disruptions of the TC Judy warnings and alerts the training was deferred from the 28th of Feb to 1st March. The training was scheduled to be completed on the 3rd of March but due to the cyclone and earthquake the training had to be cancelled and re-scheduled for 7th March. The turnout of participants was affected. From the 25 participants that were invited, only 9 people attended the training. Nevertheless, those who attended were privileged and blessed to be part of the training. There were lively discussions during group discussions and sharing sessions.

Sharing of hurts and griefs greatly helped the participants healed. Six of the nine participants were awarded the Apprentice facilitator certificate at the end of the training. They were advised that they co-facilitate for the next 24 months to gain more knowledge and confidence in facilitating. We thank God that after the newly trained Program Manager received the training she was able to facilitate the three trainings below with the help of others that received the training in Santo.

• 19/03 – Domestic Violence workshop was carried out at the Presbyterian Church in Santo. 25 women were participants at this training.
• 26/03 – Domestic Violence workshop was carried out at the Presbyterian Church in Santo. 12 men were participants at this training
• 27/03 – Domestic Violence workshop was carried out at the Presbyterian Church in Santo. 23 youth were participants at this training.