For the first time, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans Pacific has received government funding to rebuild an Adventist school.
The Kwataparen School project, one of four junior schools in Tanna (Vanuatu) to be rebuilt, was launched yesterday (July 9). The launch was attended by Vanuatu Education Minister Jean Pierre Nirua, government officials, community and church members, and other stakeholders involved in the build.
The upgrades will include a boys’ and girls’ dormitory with a toilet block, an administration building, a dining hall with kitchen and two staff houses, with additional repairs to an existing classroom building and two existing staff houses.
Speaking to those in attendance, the Education Minister thanked the community for their patience, prayers and commitment to the project, asking for support for the smooth running of the rebuilding work.
Vanuatu Mission CFO Apisalome Seru, representing the Adventist Church, delivered a response to the Minister for Education.
“It was a humbling experience,” he said. “Many community members and church members attended the launch and the Minister for Education gave them time to ask questions which were answered by his team.
“A clause in the building contract also states that work will finish at 4pm every Friday, and no work will be carried out on both Sabbath and Sunday. This is clear evidence of how God can use authority to further His kingdom in Vanuatu.”
The total funding for the project is close to $A2m and it is expected to be completed by July 2019.
