VSA celebrates 60 years of service with original volunteer

Sue Ngatokorua, one of the first Volunteer Service Abroad Te Tūao Tāwāhi (VSA) volunteers to be sent to the Cook Islands in 1977, attended the organisation’s 60th anniversary celebration in Avarua yesterday.

Ngatokorua, a retired school teacher and principal of Mangaia School, was invited to the event, which was hosted at the New Zealand High Commission residence at Ngatipa.

New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands Tui Dewes, Acting Prime Minister - Minister Vainetutai Rose Toki-Brown, Kirsten McFadden - VSA director People, Finance & Workplace, and Ngatokorua were given the honours of blowing out the candles on the special birthday cake.

Since 1977, ninety volunteers from Aotearoa have shared their skills and knowledge in the Cook Islands.

VSA is Aotearoa’s largest and most experienced volunteering agency working in international development. The organisation is funded by NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.