Villa Maria College encourages students and staff to "make a difference" in their community and in their world through community service. It is therefore not surprising to note that a number of women from the College community each year travel overseas to provide support to those in countries less fortunate.

As our website develops we aim to share with you the stories of these amazing Villa women.

If you are, or have been, a member of the Villa community and you have been involved in community service overseas, please let us know!

Live Tall Award

This award was presented in 2003 to Villa Maria College students by the Christchurch mayor, Mr Garry Moore, for their stand for peace.

Profile Stories

Debbie Frank - Arusha, Tanzania 2008

Although there are many forms of community service in New Zealand and I have been involved in some of these, recently I returned from 12 months volunteering in Tanzania.  This was with the Christian Brothers under the Australia and New Zealand Edmund Rice Volunteer Scheme in a village called Sinon, 6 km from Arusha, Northern Tanzania. 

I was working mainly in the new Maktaba (library) at Edmund Rice Sinon Secondary School (a co-ed school of 1,100 students) training four local people to take over the running of the library on my return home to New Zealand.  My role also involved cataloguing, establishing systems and introducing eager students to the world of books - most for the first time. I loved my contact with the students and villagers and felt privileged to live amongst them.

It was going out of my comfort zone, experiencing basic living conditions and trying to learn a new language but it brought me many unforgettable moments and friendships. 

Returning to NZ with our wealth and consumerism was also a challenge and settling back was much harder than I anticipated.  Through this wonderful experience though I have learnt to value the simple things in life and have reclaimed the value of living my life more fully. 

Kwa heri.

Maria Duncan - Nairobi, 2009

"I arrived in Nairobi in July and will be here until January 2009. I am working in two slums Kariobangi and Mathare. Mathare is infamous for its crime, size and density. I teach English and Maths, give AIDS/HIV presentations to schools in the area and at the same time collect data and information from the students about the social issues they face because of where they live and produce reports for the schools to raise awareness of these issues.

I am here through an organisation called AIESEC. Most universities around the world have an AIESEC office who amongst other things, recruit current students or Alumni to partake in exchanges.

On my return to New Zealand I plan to pursue a Masters' Degree in International Relations and I wanted to build on what I learnt in the classroom and experience first hand the issues faced on the ground and make contacts with people who have come face to face with conflict. Mathare was a hot spot for the post-election violence and many of my students and colleagues are still working through serious issues as a result.

My learning has been immense."

Becky Stone - Balanga, the Philippines 2009

"In May 2009, after graduating from University of Canterbury in 2008 (BA Geography and Political Science), I left NZ for seven months to work for the small Manila-based Catholic NGO ‘Association Compassion Asian Youth' (ACAY), an international community and an initiative of the Missionaries of Mary, formerly of the Beatitudes Community.

I was based in the province of Balanga, Bataan at one of ACAY's three programmes, the ‘School of Life' (SOL) for female adolescents who have experienced various difficult circumstances such as becoming orphaned, neglect or abuse (physically or sexually). SOL aims to equip girls with the life-skills necessary to face the challenges of daily living in the Philippines and provides their basic needs in a family-like setting with educational and psychological support.

One of my main jobs was to manage the Handicraft business which provides a real-world job setting to teach the girls skills in planning, budgeting and reaching targets to provide them with savings when they leave SOL. I prepared the materials, design and create new models of jewelry, business cards, photos and catalogues for international use as well as budgets and weekly accounts for the girls' payment. Each month I travelled into Manila to buy large stocks of beads and supplies to enable the girls to make handicrafts to sell at international bazaars in Manila and off-shore to France.

My other roles included working with the ACAY Accounting and Financing Team, carrying out book keeping and maintaining ACAY's daily expenses, health assistant and, being one of only two native English speakers there, proof reading many French documents and translating in daily situations for the mainly French volunteers, Filipino staff and teenagers, who speak Tagalog as their first language. I shared my love of music by teaching piano, singing and guitar to the youth, where I helped organise and play at the weekly vespers, masses and praise held at SOL.I also taught English tutorials at SOL, to the boys of the Marcel Van Second Chance Programme (for youth reinserted into society from prison) and to adolescent boys in a jail north of Manila.

I will not forget my amazing experiences working with such dedicated people. I feel very lucky to have been exposed to all areas of the ACAY mission, working with the native Aeta people in their mountain village, learning Tagalog and more about the Filipino culture, and living with the Missionary of Mary Sisters. My plan is now to use the skills I have learnt by training to become a Secondary Teacher."