Children lend a hand to the finishing touches of the Haulua Youth Centre in Vanuatu, funded by Oxfam Community Aid Abroad. Photo: Li Fung/OxfamAUS

Vanuatu achieved independence in 1980 after over 70 years of joint British and French colonial rule. A series of changes in government has led to a climate of political instability, which has made it more difficult for local communities to address key issues of unemployment and underemployment, rapid social change, economic and social marginalisation, and vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

Each of these developments has a strong impact on the young people of Vanuatu, where 44 per cent of the population is under 15 years of age and 20 per cent of the general population fall within the category of youth (between 15 and 24 years old). The rapidly expanding and increasingly young population places immense pressures on already overstretched social services, such as education and health, as well as lessening employment opportunities.

Added to these issues are those concerns common to young people, such as identity, self esteem, and uncertainty about the future.

Oxfam Community Aid Abroad works with local partner organisations to address the concerns of young people in both rural and urban environments. Our work focuses on reducing the social marginalisation of youth and promoting adolescent reproductive health, with a view to reducing vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

Program activities in Vanuatu

Oxfam Community Aid Abroad supports the Vanuatu Young People's Project, a youth-run and youth-focused project that assists young people to make informed and healthy choices about their lives. The project's team of young trainers and peer educators works with other young people in rural and urban communities, promoting life skills to help them navigate their way through everyday problems, and building awareness of reproductive health and HIV/AIDS.

We also support the Haulua Youth Centre, a much-needed community space on the rural island of Pentecost. The centre was built by local communities with the assistance of Wan Smolbag Theatre, a non-government organisation with 14 years' experience using drama and community theatre to promote greater understanding of development issues in the Pacific. The Haulua Youth Centre serves as a drop-in centre for over 300 people in neighbouring communities, providing a space for them to meet, voice their issues freely, and access information on reproductive health. It also hosts a regular mobile sexual health and counselling clinic, and is the base for a local educational theatre group.

Other activities supported by Oxfam Community Aid Abroad in Vanuatu are an adolescent reproductive health program run by the Foundation for the Peoples of the South Pacific Vanuatu (FSP Vanuatu), and a youth skills development program implemented by Youth Challenge International Vanuatu.