Seasonal workers from Motalava Island who are working at Mangaweka Asparagus in New Zealand are happy to see the Western Union service on Motalava, which was officially opened at the end of last year.

The establishment of the Western Union service on Motalava is an added development by the Motalava Area Council to assist seasonal workers travelling to Australia and New Zealand, as well as people living in town, to send money to their families.

Over the past years, families from Motalava accessed this service in Santo, Port Vila, and at the Sola Provincial Headquarters.

One RSE worker, Johnathan Jimmy, who is currently in New Zealand, said the Western Union service on Motalava has made life easier for them.

“In terms of the service at Western Union, we are very happy. At first, we found it very difficult to send money home, and there were many money exchange shops, which was a big challenge. Now we are happy and thank the government that Western Union is at Motalava.”

A woman travelling to New Zealand, Cailie Benemes, said previously they spent a lot of money on transport to access Western Union services at the Sola Provincial Headquarters, but now the service is right at their doorstep.

“If we sent money, we had to spend more money on fuel and boat fees to Sola, and only a small amount was left. When we heard about this new project, we were happy.”

A mother also stated, “My husband is in the RSE scheme, so this new Western Union will make my life easier for him to send us money.”

In an interview, Western Union officer Rino Tagai said the service was very busy during the Christmas and New Year holidays, and people were happy to see easy and quick access to the service.

“In December the service was very busy. Mothers who do not have access to bank accounts now find it easy to receive money from around the world or within the country.”

The service is currently operating as an agency, and one of the main challenges is network communication.

Although the service is not yet fully operational, more than 100 seasonal workers from Motalava are already using it as their main service to transfer money to their families.