Where’s
Vanuatu? These picturesque islands are in the
South Pacific, about
1,500 miles from
Australia. This beautiful archipelago is not only
noteworthy because of its stunning landscape, but also because of the
spiritual inroads that have been made to spread the
Good News.
The Kapalpal
Christadelphian School is located on the island of
Tanna
in Vanuatu.
The school opened its doors in 2009 and was begun in support
of a brother who was volunteer teaching. The school, originally built
to accommodate 70 children, was soon overburdened with 200 students!
A
second building was added in 2010 and this year, a
junior secondary
school has been established. The extra classes for
high school have
meant that space has again become a major issue.
Thanks to volunteer
workers and funding supplied by
WCF, this summer a new building was
constructed of earth-bags and timber. The students in the high school
range in age from 12-20. Such an age range is not unusual in Vanuatu,
where non-compulsory education can be interrupted for many reasons. The
school follows the curriculum provided by the Vanuatu education
department. Since Kapalpal is considered by the authorities to be a
'mission' school, the brethren have the freedom to teach the Good New of
the Scriptures.
In the primary school,
Sunday School lessons are also
taught and a Bible camp is held annually.
The new building is made in good part of
earth bags – synthetic bags filled with dirt. The upper half of the
building is made of timber and is covered by an iron roof. Because the
cost of getting materials to the island is high it was decided to employ
local materials—bags of dirt and timber. Not only did this reduce
building costs, but it was also a design that the local community could
afford and replicate. The bags of earth would also in turn provide
better protection from the cold, wind and rain compared to thatch and
bamboo. It is anticipated that if built well, the earth bag homes should
last much longer than those made of traditional materials. This project
was facilitated by a grant of $20,000 from WCF.
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