Attachment
One of the greatest secrets, hidden away in the North West corner of the South Pacific, is the mystical 83 tropical island nation of Vanuatu, (New Hebrides). This tropical island paradise is easily accessible, being only a three hour flight out of Sydney, Australia.
On November 19th, 2009, 820 high school Ni-Vanuatu children will be gathered together by YouMe Support Foundation, in a Guinness World Record Challenge. They are preparing to explore and write about the wonders of their country, from the world’s largest banyan tree, a live volcano and giant kauri forests in the south, to giant clams and water music in the far north. The students aim to break the Guinness World Record for the ‘Most People To Write A Story Within 24 Hours’.
A student will be required to write a sentence every 30 seconds, in order to complete the challenge in one school day. Vanuatu boasts around 153 different languages, (second only in the number of languages to New Guinea). This will make the attempt even more difficult, as English will be the student’s third or fourth language. Bislama being the local common language spoken. Also, the traditions and customs of Vanuatu are handed down orally.
To qualify for the Guinness World Record each participant must write on a continuous piece of paper, only one, or at the most, two full sentences, that add comprehensively to the story.
The story will be based around the adventures of two children, who fly the 1000 kilometres between the 83 Vanuatu islands, looking for the clues to the mystery of the hidden treasure of Captain Natou, their great great grandfather. They will meet obstacles at every turn, as they battle to find the hidden bottles that contain a piece of the map and the next clue.
Guy Deroin, a local and talented Ni-Vanuatu cartoonist will visualize the story for the students.
In Vanuatu there is no free education. The challenge is part of the awareness program for raising funds for giving high school education grants to children who will never see the inside of a high school classroom, without outside assistance. YouMe Support Foundation is one of the few charities supporting these children. Only 56% of children go to primary school; of those only 25% go onto high school.
The completed story is to be published as an ebook on the Internet and also as a hard copy. From the sale of the book every cent raised will assist another child through high school and tertiary education.
On 15th July 2007, in Neckenmarkt Austria, Novum Verlag GmbH organized the current Guinness World Record for the’Most People To Write a Story in 24 Hours’ by 797 participants.
Currently the Tendys are raffling their Vanuatu property, Seachange Lodge, on the Internet, to raise funds for YouMe Support Foundation.
Dr Wendy Stenberg-Tendys and her husband are CEO's of YouMe Support Foundation provide high school education grants for children who are without hope. You can help in this really great project by taking a few minutes to check it the Tropical Island Treasure Chest at Win a Resort (http://winaresort.com) It really will change your life.
Feel free to contact Wendy on admin@youmesupport.org
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
