OFCFNC in Vanuatu

Remove this Banner Ad

L

Local Knowledge

Senior List
May 16, 2010
195
38
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Hey TS. I haven't been on the YVMDFL site for a while, but I did today and read about your club going to Vanuatu. What a great story! Can you give a run down as to how it came about as it must've taken a lot of organising. Perhaps you should let the AFL know that this is how clubs do the end of year thing. Sounds better than a bunch of dickheads sitting around getting smashed and then setting fire to dwarves. On a side note, any news on your new rooms?
 
Yeah we had 40 players & officials go across on AFL GF morning. Went around the local schools & ran clinics, played games of footy & Netty against local teams. Our President Helen Wositzky and her daughter Sam Royce put the trip together. Sam has been a volunteer teacher in Vanuatu a few times so she was able to make the initial connections.

Plenty of personal time as well to relax and enjoy the scenery, nightlife etc. We made contact with the AFL to tell them of our plans and hopefully gain some funding to offset costs. Not sure we got much of a response ! Never been done before and we definately plan to head back in 2014. A superb experience for our young players !

Rooms hopefully demolished within 6-8 wks and now competition standard lights also going in at the same time. Six years of hard work about to be rewarded ! Exciting times up here..
 
TeeS said:
Yeah we had 40 players & officials go across on AFL GF morning. Went around the local schools & ran clinics, played games of footy & Netty against local teams. Our President Helen Wositzky and her daughter Sam Royce put the trip together. Sam has been a volunteer teacher in Vanuatu a few times so she was able to make the initial connections.

Plenty of personal time as well to relax and enjoy the scenery, nightlife etc. We made contact with the AFL to tell them of our plans and hopefully gain some funding to offset costs. Not sure we got much of a response ! Never been done before and we definately plan to head back in 2014. A superb experience for our young players !

Rooms hopefully demolished within 6-8 wks and now competition standard lights also going in at the same time. Six years of hard work about to be rewarded ! Exciting times up here..
Click to expand...


Update..

We are again hitting the shores of Port Vila this year, flying out on Sept 22nd. This years program extends to 13 nights, including a heap of us with different skill sets going into the different areas of industry to run workshops etc. We will continue to do our work in the schools, run our football & netball clinics, as well as spend time being hosted by families on some of the smaller islands. We are also acquiring a 40' shipping container to go across 6-8 weeks in advance, to be filled with a range of supplies including medical, schooling, sports, trades tooling etc. If you wish to assist the filling of this container with donated goods, or have any enquiries of your own, you can go to our website www.ofcfc.vcfl.com.au and check out our contacts link to speak to our President Helen Wositzky.

Cheers

TS
 

Log in to remove this ad.

This Sunday morning, we head to Garden City Plastics to pack our 40ft container in readiness for its trip across to Port Vila. The group flies across on Sept 22nd to again begin a hectic 2 week schedule of clinics, school and hospital visits, as well as some island hopping. I picked up $20,000 worth of cricket gear a few weeks back from the Cricket4Kids organisation to go across to Vanuatu Cricket. This is going to be the trip of a lifetime for members of this club, I cannot wait to get there !
 
TeeS said:
This Sunday morning, we head to Garden City Plastics to pack our 40ft container in readiness for its trip across to Port Vila. The group flies across on Sept 22nd to again begin a hectic 2 week schedule of clinics, school and hospital visits, as well as some island hopping. I picked up $20,000 worth of cricket gear a few weeks back from the Cricket4Kids organisation to go across to Vanuatu Cricket. This is going to be the trip of a lifetime for members of this club, I cannot wait to get there !
Click to expand...
This is such a good news story!
Well done to Olinda and the boys. Setting a very high bar, Tim.
Best wishes to you all and the mission you have taken on.
 
TeeS said:
This Sunday morning, we head to Garden City Plastics to pack our 40ft container in readiness for its trip across to Port Vila. The group flies across on Sept 22nd to again begin a hectic 2 week schedule of clinics, school and hospital visits, as well as some island hopping. I picked up $20,000 worth of cricket gear a few weeks back from the Cricket4Kids organisation to go across to Vanuatu Cricket. This is going to be the trip of a lifetime for members of this club, I cannot wait to get there !
Click to expand...

Has this amazing story made afl news.
Its more worthy than the Essendon BS that is hogging the news reports.

Truly bloody inspirational
 
toxic said:
Has this amazing story made afl news.
Its more worthy than the Essendon BS that is hogging the news reports.

Truly bloody inspirational
Click to expand...

Possibly lacking funds due to the $1,500 they allocate to AFL Vanuatu each year for their entire program (Auskick, coaching, administration, competition etc) :mad:
 
TeeS said:
Without going into too deeply Toxic, the AFL were quite happy to give us a "pat on the shoulder" and wish us well !!!
Click to expand...

Jesus TS that is poor form.

I actually played against you in the early and mid 2000's. Clearly you are even more inspirational now, if thats possible.

Good Luck with it all!

PS - press releases to the HUN and Age mite create some version of pressure on the AFL to open the purse strings
 
TeeS said:
Packed our container yesterday, absolutely chockers. We weighed 11.5 tons of donated goods, at around 600 - 700 thousand dollars. Container hits the water this weekend, bloody amazing effort to this point from everyone !!!
Click to expand...

Hi all,

We arrived back from Port Vila late Sunday, and to say our trip was a success is the biggest understatement of all time. Personally, outside of marriage and kids, this is comfortably the best thing I have ever experienced in my life. So many schools visited, so many lives changed (here and abroad), so many new friends made, so many incredible places visited !!!

Congratulations to all 60 volunteers, who paid there own way on this trip, who donated 100s of hours of personal time to plan and organise it all, who worked through some extreme heat and humidity, and plenty of illness at times, simply to try and make a difference.

We aren't a YV powerhouse club by any stretch, but we are capable of extraordinary things at times. In all the time I've been associated with OFC, I've never been more proud than I am right now. The clubs Facebook page no doubt is beginning to share photos as well as the people who went. If you get a chance, start flicking through and have a look.

Not sure we will return in 2015 as it is a massive task to put it together, but I'm dead certain it will become a bi-annual program and we will return in 2016.

Cheers

TS
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top