Volunteer stint led to long-term Cambodia links
VSA extends its condolences to Jennifer McLeod and family on the loss of husband and father, Andrew, who passed away on 2 June 2018 after a long illness.
Andrew was a volunteer and Jennifer his accompanying partner in Cambodia 2004-2006. A high school maths teacher in New Zealand, Andrew learnt the Khmer language while in Cambodia, a country that he and Jennifer developed a great fondness for (Andrew is pictured above, enjoying Khmer food prepared by cook, Sokun, left).
They returned numerous times after their assignment, helping a family to build a house and send their children to school.
At Andrew’s funeral in Whangamata, the family asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to VSA. We appreciate that gesture and offer our sympathy to Jennifer, their three children and eight grandchildren. R.I.P
Service acknowledged in Honours list
 It was nice to see former volunteer Eth Llloyd acknowledged in the Queens Birthday Weekend honours' list for "services to professional administrative development".
Eth and her partner Charles passed on some of those skills when volunteering as administration and services advisers in Samoa 2013-2015 - see this Herald profile.
Development blog builds strong following
An online forum on development started by two people in Australia eight years ago now reaches 200,000 users annually.
Recent features in the DevPolicy Blog include ‘Exactly how large is New Zealand’s massive aid increase?’, ‘Why the Pacific matters’, and ‘Why Timorese workers love the seasonal worker programme’.
The blog, which is run out of the Australian National University in Canberra, researches three main areas: Australian aid, PNG and the Pacific, and global development policy. It’s well worth a follow.
Getting the message to schools
Over 50 Westlake Girls High School students enjoyed hearing about engineer Nicky Thompson's (above) volunteering stint in the Cook Islands.
”Nicky’s talk was very motivating,” wrote one student in the school newsletter, “because it got us thinking about all the different ways we could help others - not only when we are older and can do volunteer work overseas but at our current age and what we can do to help out in our community through projects.”
VSAConnect's speaking programme has started the year with a bang, with 41 returned volunteer speakers talking to over 1800 New Zealanders in the first six months of 2018.
As well as schools, speakers have shared their stories in community, service and professional groups. But we're keen to find more speakers for school civics and other classes. Please email speaking coordinator Madeline McNamara if you can assist.
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VSA will be able to have a greater impact across the Pacific as a result of the government's recent announcement that it will boost VSA's core funding for the next five years, says chief executive Steve Goodman (right).
