The old Devonport playground now has a new sea view from its new home on the island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu.
Originally the playground was planned to be reinstated in April/May but due to the lockdown, the arrangements for a number of Devonport
Rotarians and a few local helpers to head up were scuppered. This left the rebuilding of the playground to Rotary Santo. They started the task at the end of June and over a week and a half, they rebuilt the playground and completed the landscaping. Rotary Santo members handed the playground over to the Luganville
municipality on Friday 17 July, in time to provide fun and enjoyment to the local ‘ol pikinini’ on World Children’s Day (24 July) This has been a marvellous project highlighting how through Rotary, local initiatives can impact positively on the lives on those overseas. This playground may well have ended up in the rubbish dump yet will now be enjoyed for many years ahead by the children on Santo. While Rotary was the conduit for the project it could not have been accomplished without the support of Auckland Council, Rymans, Oceanbridge Shipping, MSC Consulting, Rotary District Grants, and the Rotary Devonport. As part of the project, St Leos Catholic Primary School donated several boxes of books to be delivered to the Santo Children and these were sent with the container.
Gavin Busch - Past President, Rotary Devonport
Rotarians and a few local helpers to head up were scuppered. This left the rebuilding of the playground to Rotary Santo. They started the task at the end of June and over a week and a half, they rebuilt the playground and completed the landscaping. Rotary Santo members handed the playground over to the Luganvillemunicipality on Friday 17 July, in time to provide fun and enjoyment to the local ‘ol pikinini’ on World Children’s Day (24 July) This has been a marvellous project highlighting how through Rotary, local initiatives can impact positively on the lives on those overseas. This playground may well have ended up in the rubbish dump yet will now be enjoyed for many years ahead by the children on Santo. While Rotary was the conduit for the project it could not have been accomplished without the support of Auckland Council, Rymans, Oceanbridge Shipping, MSC Consulting, Rotary District Grants, and the Rotary Devonport. As part of the project, St Leos Catholic Primary School donated several boxes of books to be delivered to the Santo Children and these were sent with the container.
Gavin Busch - Past President, Rotary Devonport