24 Sep 2015

Vanuatu women collect funds for mothers

4:46 pm on 24 September 2015

About 20 Vanuatu Young Women For Change members are pushing wheelbarrows around Port Vila to collect funds for mothers struggling to feed their families.

The founder, Anne Pakoa, says they have so far collected about US$550.

She says the money will go towards sending flour to mothers in Tanna, Tongoa and Emae, areas affected by drought and still reeling from the effects of Cyclone Pam.

"We find that there's inequality of distribution of goods, in particular food. So that's why we think if feeding our neighbours is everybody's business, then the Vanuatu Young Women For Change took the leading role in raising funds in at least feeding women and children to start off with."

Anne Pakoa says although the funds are small, it shows the people of Vanuatu are willing to help others in need.

Young women gathered at Port Vila, Vanuatu to collect donations for families struggling to find enough food. Sep 2015

Young women gathered at Port Vila to collect donations for families struggling to find enough food. Photo: RNZI/ Hilaire Bule