Samoa's only refuge for abuse and violence victims has received an award from the World Health Organisation (WHO) which also comes with a SAT$27,7000 in funding.

The Samoa Victim Support Group (SVSG) was named the winner of the Best Proposals Award for the Healthy Islands Recognition at the 15th Pacific Health Ministers Meeting in Nuku'alofa, Tonga last month with the certificate, plaque and USD$10,000 cheque officially handed over to the non-profit organisation at Tuanaimato in a presentation ceremony on Monday.

The cash will be used to fund the implementation of the project – which will use gardening and cooking as tools to help in the healing of abused and vulnerable children – who are currently residents living at the Campus of Hope. The SVSG was one of two organisations that received the best proposal award

The Director-General of Health, Aiono Dr. Alec Ekeroma received the award on behalf of the SVSG while in Tonga attending the regional health ministers conference last week and was joined by the head of the WHO Office in Apia, Dr. Kim Dickson at the presentation ceremony on Monday.

In an interview with the Samoa Observer on Monday, Dr. Dickson said she was amazed by the performances of the children at the Campus of Hope as their expression of gratitude for receiving the award. She said all island nations in the Pacific participated in the competition with two proposals from Samoa and the Cook Islands coming out winners. 

"The WHO has what we call a Healthy Islands' Recognition Award and the SVSG won the best proposal. Many countries submitted proposals and the SVSG won the best proposal," she said. "Their proposal was around having a garden and cultivating healthy food and vegetables and then giving it to the children and so we were the 15th Pacific Health Ministers' Meeting in Tonga and I was delighted that Samoa and SVSG won the award.

"It's not the first time so every year there is a presentation of awards and one is for best project and SVSG won the best proposal."

The SVSG President Siliniu Lina Chang praised the opportunity to not only receive an award but also be recognised within the WHO which builds links for possible future events, that may benefit the children at the Campus of Hope. 

"We never had any affiliations with the WHO before but this is great because we have been wanting to get associated with the WHO and this is a good chance to do that," she told this newspaper. "Hopefully with this new opening, we can continue to get this assistance because if you look here, it's all about the health of the kids.

"We're going to do a plan that is all about vegetables, and healthy living so that every kid can be involved in this program.

We're going to get WHO involved with us in carrying out this project going forward in the future so that our work can continue to be recognised by the WHO. Not only that, it's now a great opportunity to have Aiono over here for more discussions on the wellbeing of the kids."

As part of the WHO-funded project, the children at the Campus of Hope will learn how to grow and harvest fruit and vegetables in a sustainable way and prepare healthy meals with their produce. In turn, these children will learn about sustainable farming and healthy eating, and develop livelihood skills in gardening and cooking. Some children may even use these skills in the future to work in industries like agriculture, hospitality and tourism. 

In the long term, this project will help the SVSG to reduce its reliance on donors for fruit and vegetables as well as decrease expenditure on produce. The Campus of Hope will enrich its meal plan, thanks to an increased supply of a range of fruits and vegetables.