VCA Join Vanuatu Paralympic Committee

The Vanuatu Cricket Association (VCA) has been formerly recognized for their recent work in the area of providing sport for people with a disability after being accepted as a member of the Vanuatu Paralympic Committee (VPC) in Port Vila earlier this week.

The recognition comes after the continued success of the "Cricket i Blong Evriwan" Program launched in 2007 that provides social sporting opportunities for people with a disability in Vanuatu.

"We hope that this membership will continue to reinforce the opportunities that are available to people in Vanuatu who may have disabilities," said VCA President Mark Stafford. "We certainly hope that the VPC and our programs help people with disabilities have the confidence to come out and play and enjoy life to the greatest extent possible."

The Vanuatu Cricket Association was the first National Federation of Sport (NF) in Vanuatu to integrate a program for people with a disability into their strategic plan and development programs.

VPC Management Support Officer Andrew Bynon says the approval of the VCA's membership to the Vanuatu Paralympic Committee reflects their commitment to providing sporting opportunities for people with a disability.

"The VCA has provided a sporting program for people with a disability in Vanuatu at a time when the sporting needs of people with a disability tend to be overlooked," said Bynon. "In addition, although "Cricket i Blong Evriwan" was first implemented in the capital of Port Vila, the VCA has recently begun implementing this program in rural areas of Vanuatu where people with a disability have previously not had the opportunity to participate in sport."

Bynon says that Vanuatu Cricket leads the way in the area of disability sports in Vanuatu and he hopes that this membership is just the start of greater sporting opportunities in this area across the country.

"The VCA is currently the only NF to run a development program for people with a disability that is managed by their sports development officers, independently of the VPC," said Bynon. "We hope that other NFs in Vanuatu will follow the example of Vanuatu Cricket through their development programs."

Successfully extending their program outside of Port Vila to North Efate and outlying islands and with plans to take it to Santo in the near future hasn't been easy for the VCA, and Stafford says the financial support of a number of organisations and government agencies has been crucial to the sustainability of the project.

"Thanks to the assistance of Asco Motors Toyota and Ridgway Blake Lawyers as the primary sponsors of "Cricket i Blong Evriwan" the VCA has committed 3-4 million vatu over the past five years in terms of spending on events, equipment and commitment of our human resources to ensure that the program will be an ongoing success," he said.

"This initiative also forms part of the VCA Outreach Program which is funded by the EU and the Australian Government via ASOP (Australian Sports Outreach Program)."

The ICC East-Asia Pacific Regional Development Manager Andrew Faichney offered his congratulations to the VCA after hearing about the partnership.

"On behalf of the ICC East-Asia Pacific office I would like to congratulate the VCA for their ongoing hard work in the important area of providing cricket opportunities to people with a disability," he said.
"The VCA recently won an ICC EAP Regional Development Award for their "Cricket i Blong Evriwan" program and membership to the Vanuatu Paralympic Committee will only see this program get stronger in the future."

Being a relatively young organisation, Bynon hopes that the Vanuatu Paralympic Committee will benefit greatly from sharing knowledge about good governance, strategic planning and development programs with their new member.

"We would expect that the VCA will take a central role in assisting with the strategic development of the VPC in the coming years," he said. "From the perspective of the VPC, the membership of the VCA is a big step forward for the future of disability sports in Vanuatu."