New Zealand Defence Force personnel are making strong progress on a month-long humanitarian mission to Penrhyn in the northern Cook Islands, tackling everything from water infrastructure and school repairs to healthcare and maritime surveying.
More than 50 personnel are taking part in Exercise Tropic Twilight, an annual humanitarian assistance and disaster relief deployment supported by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
New Zealand Army engineers, working alongside a carpenter from the Vanuatu Mobile Force, have installed six new water tanks and an outdoor classroom at Omoka School, while electrical rewiring has been completed at Te Tautua School.
The island’s hospital has received plumbing and electrical repairs and upgrades, while an NZDF dental team and medical officer have already treated more than 75 patients. An Army mechanic has also been repairing and servicing machinery and vehicles used by the community.
At sea, Royal New Zealand Navy hydrographers discovered existing charts were no longer accurate. The team has since completed 400 survey lines covering 205 nautical miles, building a much more detailed picture of approaches and harbour areas around the island.
The contingent has also carried out a voluntary beach clean-up outside Omoka School, while five engineers from the French Armed Forces in French Polynesia have joined the mission to assess the island’s airfield.
New Zealand troop commander Lieutenant Hannah Brady says personnel have been working through the heat knowing the projects will have a direct impact on the Penrhyn community.
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