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Seven Sharp

'My heart was full' - Dan Carter details trip to Vanuatu with UNICEF

September 29, 2022

The All Blacks legend was helping the organisation provide safe water and sanitation to local schools. (Source: Seven Sharp)

All Blacks legend Dan Carter has just returned from Vanuatu, where he was helping UNICEF provide access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene to local schools.

Carter's fund DC10 raised $500,000 earlier this year with his 24-hour Kickathon, with the specific goal of improving the quality of life for children in the Pacific.

Carter made the trek to remote Pentecost Island, where water from the tap is a thing of wonder.

"It was just incredible," Carter told Seven Sharp.

“Something as simple as clean water a great education, the children in these remote islands don’t have that opportunity."

Vanuatu is the most at-risk country in the world when it comes to natural disasters, and getting resources into its remote corners isn't easy.

"We had to travel just over an hour on a small plane to head out there. There was no road access so we were on banana boats from village to village," Carter said.

"The sea got quite rough on occasions...we were holding on for dear life."

But the journey was all worth it, he said.

"To see the smile on these children's faces when they are turning on that tap and washing their hands and knowing the importance of it, it's really rewarding."

While he was there for UNICEF, rugby wasn't entirely forgotten, with Carter taking a rugby ball to each school to throw around with the kids.

“Every village we walked away from my heart was full. Their smiles, their energy, their passion, it’s contagious,” Carter said.

"I feel like we're still just getting started."

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