A standing ovation was received from the audience when Anson Obed and his team from Vanuatu performed at St Mary’s Church due to a late cancellation for the 27th Choral Festival recently.
They had been working on the Sunday morning, the day of the event, as they are seasonal workers.
They are helping the community of farmers with labour and sending much needed funds home to their communities. Employed by Madec they are now also giving back to the local community with their performance.
The team come from the remote island of Lelepa and while it is accessible by boat from Port Vila (Efate’s main city) it’s not as directly connected to major infrastructure and services as larger islands.
The community will be invited to hear more singing from the various groups when the weather warms up and many have returned after holidays at home. Currently in the local community there are workers from Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Republic of Kiribati and PNG working on farms and Aged Care facilities.
The Seasonal Workers are supported by a small group of volunteers made up of representatives of Christian denominations. Through the Community Connections program the aim is to help them with hospitality and linking them into services if needed, to make them feel welcome and appreciated as when we visit their beautiful countries as tourists.
