ANZ Vanuatu Duck Race breaks record in Port Vila fundraiser raising 5 million vatu

Media release Friday 23rd October, 2009: The Great ANZ Vanuatu Duck race against cervical cancer raised over 5M vatu !!!  A record Port Vila fundraising event!! What do they say about working with animals and children? The Great ANZ Vanuatu Duck race had both! Hundreds of the local community turned out to be part of the event which had jumping castles, water walking balls, peddle boats courtesy of Brian Stephens, Tom and Christina Robb and Olie. Free ANZ gift bag giveaways were available for the kids and were a big hit. Great music was supplied by Crowning Moments and catering by Le Meridien and At Your Service Catering. After enjoying a delightful pacific cruise courtesy of Carnival cruises from Brisbane, the ducks landed in Port Vila well rested and race ready. The first event of the day was the celebrity duck race with local luminaries and great sports such as the Oz and NZ hicoms going beak to beak alongside the new DG of Health Mr Bebe and Director of Public Health Len Tarivonda.

Digicel and Hawkes Law had a few ruffled feathers as they ducked and weaved their way along. There was many a man overboard much to the delight of the crowd. Fortunately they all resurfaced safely -its hard to keep a good duck down! However ANZ’s Superduckster Johnny Wilson was too fast for them in the first heat.  Fringe Duckette, Nicole was very close, nipping at his tailfeathers all the way to the end.

NZ Hicom, Jeff Langley streaked ahead and Jeffs head down tail up approach nearly won him the event but he was pipped at the post by the PVIS Duckmeister, Steve Ling. Each winner received a duck trophy for their magnificent efforts and are expected to come back and defend their title next year. (Just staying on the duck was a feat in itself as many aquatically challenged entrants found out!!).

At 2pm the helicopter came with its impressive motherduck lode of 5000 duckies. At first the duckies were shy of leaving the nest but the intrepid Politis boys on their jetskis and John in his ski boat managed to coax them out. As they headed on their journey to the finish line some of them tried to fly the coup and make a break for the shore but the children got in the act and had great delight in gathering up the would be escapees and sending back to the front line. The duckies were corralled at the finish line as planned and 200 of the ducks were collected for prizes. 

Theres no telling who will win a duck race- its all a game of chance and lots of factors affect the outcome, tide, winds, kids!, good luck and bad luck (one poor duckie went up the bottom of the jetski and another taken to heaven on the helicopter so a few late scratchings) but the odds were one in 25 to win a prize so that’s better winning odds than you get anywhere else in any other competition!

The prizes and auctions included Holidays in Gold Coast, Noosa, Maleny in Australia, New Zealand beach holidays, Canada Ski Lodge, Vanuatu resorts, exquisite jewellery, Airline Tickets to Australia and New Zealand, Restaurant meals, Medical and dental checkups, watersports, DVD players, computer monitors, Bon Marche food vouchers , Fringe massages, Computer world memory Sticks, Lotus Day Spa vouchers, and many many more– over 5M vatu in value.  ANZ donated a generous $10,000 cheque at the event.

ANZ are special supporters of the Cervical cancer project, having donated the same last year to train a Nivanuatu cytologist, Bernadette Aruhuri.  Dr McAdams extended family and friends also donated 2M vatu in prizes, auction items and ducks. Money raised is in Kiwanis account and plans for its careful management will be made by a newly formed and respected local committee created specifically for the purpose with advice from local / international gynae-oncologists.

Dr McAdam, a Brisbane womens health doctor and director of Australians Helping Abroad - the initial driving force behind the Cervical Cancer Project in Vanuatu, said “Complete transparency and full financial disclosure with audited financial reports and published annual returns needs to occur to ensure people can have confidence that 100% of money raised goes to help the women of Vanuatu.

This is certainly the intention of all involved “  she said.  “Our main concern now is to have money available to treat the cervical cancers we find in the newly expanded cervical cancer screening program run by Ministry of Health and funded by AusAid until 2012. The introduction of a cervical screening program and soon hopefully a HPV vaccination program will save hundreds of womens lives and this event  should mark a watershed of change in the history of Vanuatu women and a celebration of the lives saved in future generations as a result of this program.”

Next years fundraiser will be expanded with additions of new and exciting events including local food and international food stalls, champagne bar sporting events and competitions to name a few.  A different way of releasing ducks will be used each year and next year duck paraphernalia will be available for sale as well eg hats, plastic ducks, badges, necklaces etc. Already pledges are coming in for prizes eg an invitation to London fashion week, invitation to Paris Pret a Porter fashion show, and an Italian fashion week parade, being an extra in a TV advertisement, private tour of the champagne cellars in France, having a galaxy star named after you , Dinner with Australian of the Year Prof Ian Frazer, fabulous holidays and lots of others.

Please get your pledges in early!  All donors will be advertised on the Australians Helping Abroad Website (www.australianshelpingabroad.org.au) as soon as they pledge and people will be directed to their website during the next 12 months, so earlier the pledges in, the better advertising value as the race is advertised in Oz as well!

Ducks race tickets will be available for sale on this website starting 3 months before the race next year to ensure everyone has an opportunity to get tickets early as race tickets sold out before the race this year. If Australians want to make a tax deductible donation to help fight cervical cancer in Vanuatu they can do so through Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation and mark funds (for Vanuatu) www.accf.org.au. All (100%) funds go to the cervical cancer project in Vanuatu.

Dr McAdam particularly wanted to thank Helen Politis, Janne Malcolm, Tracey Martin, Carolyn Ernst, Paul Phelan, Brian Fisher, Scott Wilson and the ANZ team and all the helpers on the day. “They did a fantastic job and none of this great benefit for the women of Vanuatu could have been achieved without them”. “And the real winners on the day were the women of Vanuatu.

They were the real reason we were all there and bought race tickets -to support and protect their futures.” Thank you Port Vila – you are magnificent in your support of the women of Vanuatu!!