The Catholic Volunteers Overseas programme also includes a variety of time periods for volunteering.

The name change, made by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, follows on from the 2013 integration of Mahitahi into Caritas.

The new phase offers "placements that are either short-term for a few months, or long-term for a year or two in a wider selection of countries," said Bishop Patrick Dunn, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.

For decades, Catholic volunteers have made an important contribution to development projects around the Pacific, and building on the past Bishop Dunn hopes the broadened scope means the New Zealand Church can continue to support meaningful and sustainable development in the Pacific.

The overseas volunteer programme will now be overseen by Caritas' International Programmes team.

The changes come after consultation with the Federation of Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Oceania.

"Caritas has well-developed relationships with existing partners across the region.

"It will work closely with partners and volunteers to ensure the programme continues to focus on building local and organisational capacity," Dunn said.

Current opportunities identified by Caritas' partners include placements in Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea for volunteers skilled in ESOL, trades such as carpentry, IT, administration and finance.

Those interested in becoming a volunteer overseas in the future can contact Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand on volunteers@caritas.org.nz or by calling 0800 22 10 22 during office hours.

Source

• Supplied
• Image: australianvolunteers.com

The diocese covers an area with close to one hundred islands spread over 300km of sea.

Its 70 year old wooden vessel, the St Peter, has outlived its useful life, and its continued use is not economically sustainable.

So the Diocese has purchased a 14 meter steel ex-fishing trawler to replace St Peter.

The vessel has been named Galilee.

The purchase is being funded through donations.

Donations can be made on Give a Little.

A New Zealand Mahitahi Catholic overseas volunteer, Doug Buchan, who carried out an engineering and electrical overhaul of St Peter, is now assisting this project.

Volunteer Gordon Banfield says "This is a major project and should bring long term service to many in the islands of Gizo Diocese."

"Whilst we seek additional funding we also ask for prayerful support for this project."

Galilee was built in 1964 and is fitted with an old English Gardner diesel engine which is in good condition and runs like clockwork.

It is being fitted out at Opua in Northland.

There is still some work to do to get it ready for the trip to Gizo.

The vessel needed to be hauled from the water and cleaned and repainted.

A new alternator, a range of spare parts, essential safety equipment and fuel for the delivery voyage are still needed.

The voyage to Gizo from New Zealand is 2300 nautical miles.

With a service speed of 7 knots, the ship is expected to arrive there sometime in August.

Source

• solomonstarnews.com
• givealittle.co.nz

Matthew O'Sullivan from Glenfield left for the Solomon Islands in mid-June to continue his work building a new church in a remote part of the country.

Matthew took the spirit of his late father, Sean O'Sullivan, who died in March, with him in a special way.

Matthew's father, who was a building surveyor with architectural experience, helped in drawing up the plans for the new church in Makaruka, which is four hours walk from the nearest existing church in Avuavu.

"This project is particularly special for me because, unfortunately, my father passed away just over two months ago now, and he actually designed the church, so it is actually a big driving force behind it," Matthew told NZ Catholic.

"I was always driven to do it, but now it is just extra special. It will be nice to have it as a reality. I've spent a lot of hours on it, so when it comes to reality, it will be great."

Source

• Solomon Times
• Image: Aucklander

Mahitahi will retain its own identity, profile and strategic direction, within and supported by the Caritas structure and administration.

For the last two years, Mahitahi has been governed by a separately constituted Board, made up of members of the Caritas Board. However, the Caritas Board and the Bishops of New Zealand believe it is in the best interests of both organisations to bring Mahitahi directly under the governance of the Caritas Board, and for the Mahitahi Director to be responsible to the Caritas Director for administrative and management purposes.

The integration will also provide extra support and oversight to Mahitahi which, as Mahitahi and its predecessor Catholic Overseas Volunteer Services (COVS), has a 50-year history providing volunteers in response to partner requests. Its present focus is on the Pacific.

Caritas has been the Bishops' Justice Peace and Development Agency since 1968, and its new strategic plan has a stronger emphasis on the Pacific, including Aotearoa.

‘The Caritas mandate has been enlarged to embrace Mahitahi in its role of providing skilled volunteers to meet partner requests in the Pacific,' says Caritas Director Julianne Hickey. ‘It will add another dimension to our work providing a human face to development, greater person-to-person contact, and enhancing our ability as a Pacific nation to be "the hands, ears, eyes and mouth of Christ" in this part of the world.'

‘Mahitahi's model of providing short-term volunteers in the context of a long-term partnership has proven effective and has taken off in 2012,' says Mahitahi Director Christina Reymer. ‘This integration will provide an opportunity to grow its capacity within the wider structures of Caritas.'

Ms Reymer will relocate from Hamilton to work in Auckland alongside other Caritas staff based there.

Source

• Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
• Image: Screen Shot Mahitahi