ABOUT | vanuatu

Hi, I'm Mia, I am 15 years old, from Australia and I have created this website, as a product for a year long project. My aim is to raise funds for the Village of Tanoliu in order to help the children lead safer and happier lives.

On a trip to Vanuatu I experienced first hand the poverty that the native Vanuatu people endure. I found it so strange that there was one of the poorest villages in Vanuatu around the corner from million dollar houses. This experience opened my eyes to the poverty of Vanuatu and the world. It made me appreciate the opportunities and resources I have.

I think it is very important that everyone around the world is aware of the different ways in which people live. This is why I wanted to create this website, to help educate people of the lives in which the Tanoliu people live, on an everyday basis. Their houses are tin sheds with no running water or electricity. Although they live in day to day conditions that I would find unbearable - the native Vanuatans are beautiful, kind and happy. For this reason they truly captured my heart.

Below are pictures from my trip to Vanuatu in 2013, as you can see, during my trip, I interacted with the locals, and was immersed in the culture.

The villagers are very proud of their heritage and gave us a display of past traditions.

Tony and Elaine (my contacts in Vanuatu) introduced me to the local villagers in Tanoliu. My sister and I brought a suitcase full of books, toys and clothes to donate to this family and others like them.