Uplifting Women & Girls
At Mitingar, we help to raise women up throughout the course of their lives.
The Mitingar Women and Girls Association brings women and girls of the same age group together. In doing so, these groups benefit from each others’ strengths to meet the challenges they are facing. Social leadership skills are fostered as each group provides ‘femtoring’ to the next youngest age group below them.
Our groups also offer the opportunity to gain grassroots level insights about the needs of women and girls in Vanuatu. This allows us to target specific local, regional and international resources that can help meet these needs as quickly as possible.
Together, we are making a difference.
Mitingar Girls
Mitingar for Girls is where women of all ages can invest their experience, knowledge and practice to raise up strong, educated and determined young women who are ready, willing and able to champion a positive future for all.
Mitingar Women 16-24
Mitingar is an exciting place for all young women to come together, share ideas and develop their community leadership skills. A place where they have the opportunity to be heard, collaborate on projects and inspire the next generation of leaders to follow in their footsteps.
Mitingar Women 25-44
Mitingar is the co-supportive place for all women navigating the challenges of this major phase of life. It’s a place to connect, reach out and help one another, increase the quality of community life and develop the social, economic and governance infrastructure that supports them.
Mitingar Women 45+
Mitingar is the place where Elders contribute the depth of their lived experience into lift the aspirations of younger women, build resilience and make a difference in their communities.
The Raw Realities for Vanuatu's Grassroots Women
Vanuatu: The Frontline of Climate Justice
Vanuatu is in the international spotlight having successfully driven the landmark International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on climate change delivered 23 July 2025.
This major legal victory may set the stage for states to recognise their stringent duty to regulate emissions but for the women of Vanuatu, the crisis is already a daily reality.
As the primary caregivers and subsistence farmers, they bear the overwhelming burden of climate destruction. This urgency means that the leadership required to build true community resilience must come from the women who are facing the crisis head-on.
Our Impact Alignment
Food Security
Vanuatu is prone to natural disasters like cyclones and volcanic eruptions. These events can impact and destroy food gardens upon which ni-Van women rely on to feed our families. Food security is a critical issue with many micro-business opportunities for women in this sector to diversify edible and medicinal cropping.
Women’s Health
Vanuatu is made up of over 120 island communities with mostly transient, and sometimes non-existent, health services. With 50% of the population under the age of 15 years of age, we witness women dying from preventable reproductive health issues such as postpartum haemorrhage. We are working to change that.
Education & Training
Access to education and training for women and girls in Vanuatu is limited. Helping develop key skills through international collaborations directly improves both the status of women and uplifts the quality of life in the community. We are making these collaborations happen.
SOCIAL LEADERSHIP
Our core directive for ensuring the participation of ni-Van women at every level of community life is by developing the social leadership capacity of women and girls in Vanuatu. We collaborate internationally to give ni-Van women access to best practice principles and support they need to build healthy, innovative and sustainable communities, thereby closing the gap between what ni-Van women would like to change and the resources needed to make this happen.
Water & Sanitation
Access to safe and accessible drinking water is a critical issue affecting the welfare of most ni-Vanuatu communities. The cost of importing fabricated water capture infrastructure is out of reach for most of these communities. We are currently investigating low tech solutions to provide a sustainable clean water source.
Energy
Access to affordable and clean energy positively impacts every aspect of daily life: from simple lights for children to do homework at night; to charging a mobile phone; to reducing the health impacts on women dependent on cooking using unhealthy fuels. We are currently in discussions with an international provider making low cost solar available to grass-roots communities using a PAYG system.
Low Tech Construction
Vanuatu has limited manufacturing infrastructure, but exciting breakthroughs in the development of low-tech building materials are opening up opportunities. We are accessing the expertise of innovators from around the world so the women of Vanuatu have the opportunity to pilot and scale production of manufacturing materials for the benefit of the communities. This development could lead to new, sustainable income streams and expertise.
Our Global Frameworks
Vanuatu is recognised as one of the most disaster-prone nations on earth. The escalating impacts of climate-change are hitting the women hard.
Mitingar serves as living example of a community-led, locally-based response to the climate crisis. This local action for achieving the Global Goals combines the 2030 SDG with the Inner Development Goals (IDG) into the fabric of the communities.
We are using these internationally recognised frameworks for building and guiding our effective action, social leadership capacity and resilience.
