Cassie Dixon, Head of Teaching & Learning
If you have been involved with Kuyper in the past, you may be aware of the fact that we take our Year 11 students on the Vanuatu Service Learning Experience each year. As the name suggests, the focus of the trip is service, and students experience a range of situations designed to stretch them.
On Wednesday 1 July, twelve of our Year 11 students will travel to Port Vila, Vanuatu. We will depart from school at approximately 2:30am. This will be a very early start to a very busy eight days!
Throughout our time in Vanuatu, our students will be teaching lessons at Child Care Centre School – a Kindergarten to Year 8 school in Port Vila. Classes have up to 45 students. The lessons will consist of Biblical studies, Australiana, literacy, and an activity such as games. I’m sure this will be an enjoyable time for our students as they share about our country’s geography, language and culture.
There are other opportunities for our students to serve, such as volunteering with physical tasks at Scripture Union Vanuatu, helping our sister church with projects at their site (which was severely impacted by the twin cyclones in 2023), and working with Loaves & Fishes, an organisation which provides water filters to communities so they can have clean and safe drinking water. Loaves & Fishes has also developed a small school of 55 students from Kindergarten to Year 8.
We will be learning about the work of SIL Bible Translators, whose staff are committed to translating the Bible into all the ‘heart languages’ of the different people groups in Vanuatu. There will also be the opportunity to learn about the coral reef regeneration and giant clam breeding programs at Mangaliliu. This will be a great chance for students to learn about the impact that our actions can have in different parts of the world.
Once again, I look forward to our students experiencing the joy of the ni-Vanuatu people, who are generous and joyous despite their circumstances. The Sunday morning service at Pango Point Presbyterian Church has always been a great opportunity for our staff and students to witness the faith of our ni-Vanuatu brothers and sisters, and to experience the joy of focusing on worship and fellowship when the sabbath (day of rest) means there is no need to rush through the service.
As we make the final preparations for this year’s Service Learning Experience, I would like to ask you to partner with us in prayer. Some things we would appreciate prayer for include:
- Health and safety during our travels
- Hearts prepared to learn from and teach our ni-Vanuatu friends
- Confidence for students as they teach lessons to classes
- Strength in relationships between everyone on the trip
We would like to thank you all for your contributions to the various fundraisers our Seniors have held this year. We are pleased to report that we raised nearly $2,000.
If you would like to make a donation towards the Service Learning Experience, please contact the Office.