Veronique Betsesai was one of several Ni-Vanuatu teachers who lost their jobs in 1993 due to social and political conditions at the time.
Needing to provide for her family, and seeing the children in her community whose parents could not afford to send them to school, she decided to do something about it.
She opened her own school in a small building near her home.
“As a single mother of five children I had to be creative to provide for the daily needs and food for my family," Mrs Betsesai says.
"That is how I got the idea of starting a private school in my neighborhood of Ohlen. There were so many children who do not have the opportunity to go to school just because their parents cannot afford to pay for their school fees. So it was and is still a need in our crowded neighborhood."
For the next 22 years she ran the school on top of her responsibilities in her own family.
By March 2015 she had 30 students.
Then, Cyclone Pam struck, and her school building was destroyed. Her home was also badly damaged.
When missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints found out about Mrs Betsesai's situation, a plan was made to include four classrooms in the community re-build that was already going on.
Among the homes being built by the Church for Ni-Vanuatu families were four new classrooms for the children in Mrs Betsesai's school.
Looking back, giving up was never an option for Mrs Betsesai. She says that with her faith in Jesus Christ, providing education to the children in her crowded neighborhood was a mission she believes God has placed upon her shoulders.
Latter-day Saint humanitarian missionaries serving in Vanuatu, Elder Peter Sackley and Sister Kelly Sackley, are amazed by Mrs Betsesai’s determination and self-reliance abilities.
"She was getting up at 4:30 in the morning from Monday to Saturday to make these donut-like things to sell to support herself and pay the teacher," Elder Sackley said.
"We were nearing the end of a housing project and realized her little school was almost exactly [equivalent to] four houses. She organized the demolition of the old school and we built a little four-room school. We added a water tank, and built her a new stove (wood burning) so she could be more self-reliant."
Elder Sackley added, "We partnered with Read Pacific who supplied her with books and several bins of school supplies."
"The school now has 90 students with four certified teachers and is really a success because of Veronique's determination and self-reliance abilities."
Newsroom contributor: Jean-Baptiste CALO