P&O Cruises Australia has responded to a call for assistance from a group of young Australian Rotary volunteers stranded in Vanuatu after the collapse of Air Vanuatu. The students, many of whom are teenagers from Albury in NSW, were volunteering for a youth project run by the Hive Rotary Club Australia when the airline suddenly canceled all flights. This left them with no means to leave their remote island and return home.
P&O Cruises has stepped in to help by offering to bring them home on the Pacific Adventure, which they will board in Port Vila on Friday, May 17, at no cost. The 16 students, along with their group chaperones, will enjoy a relaxing sea holiday, including a visit to the beautiful Mystery Island. This is a well-deserved reward following their work in Vanuatu, where they ran health clinics and provided medical assistance and training.
“P&O Cruises Australia is delighted to help this inspiring group of students get home. We are proud of our Australian heritage that extends back more than 90 years, and answering a call to help young Australians stranded a long way from home, is the right thing to do,” said P&O Cruises Australia Senior Vice President Peter Little.
They have been in Vanuatu since May 5, participating in a program called “Paying It Forward,” organized by the Rotary Club, and they expressed their gratitude to P&O. “We were jumping for joy when P&O made their offer, after such a frustrating and stressful few days wondering how we were going to get home. This will be an exciting and wonderful way to finish our volunteering trip,” said Hive Rotary President Kellie Kadaoui.
“Vanuatu is a favourite destination for our cruise guests, and we were inspired by the students who volunteered their time to help local communities,” said Mr Little.
