Friday, March 12, 2010

Cyclones, Teeth Brushing, Village Budgets, and Reading Lists

I’ll keep this as short as possible, but this has been a whirlwind couple of months for me and I have lots of updates. In other words: you all know me and you know that this blog is long-winded despite my pre-departure promises that it wouldn’t be… VOSOTA SARA!


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Here we go, 1st current events:

SCARY CYCLONE HEADING OUR WAY

So, apparently there are two cyclones in the area right now. One seems to be brutalizing the island nation of Vanuatu at the moment, and another is projected to become a massive storm that will smother my island of Fiji (Vanua Levu) sometime in the next 24 to 48 hours. All Vanua Levu volunteers were “consolidated” today to the two major towns on the island (Savusavu and Labasa). And starting tomorrow we will all be on “stand fast” which basically means that we have to stock up on supplies like food/water/matches/kerosene for the hurricane lamps and stay put until the office tells us we can head home.




Locate the two vertically stacked islands directly beneath Cyclone Tomas. I am currently "standing fast" on the north island--directly in the path of the storm...

Of the ten volunteers who would normally consolidate to Savusavu (four boys and six girls including me), I am the only girl who is on the island right now (besides one who I am told is “resisting” orders to leave her village). Being that the Peace Corps house in Savusavu is normally occupied by two of these girls who both work in town, “the girls” (meaning me alone), have been assigned to stay at the house while the boys are being put up at a nearby hotel/guesthouse. So, for the time being it’s me all alone with my backpack (with precisely one pair of underware, one clean T-shirt, and all the electronics I was planning to charge in town when I cam in this morning for the day until I received a phone call from the head of Peace Corps Fiji saying not to return to my village), a radio, some leftover curry from last night’s village Soli (fundraising yaqona session), a bottle of wine, and a laptop with an internet connection (!). Oh, I also have goodies from an EXCELENT package from my new favorite Auntie (Aunt Dianne: you are the best! I am so excited to meet you at “the” wedding! Thank you so much for the chocolates and jelli beans. We gorged ourselves on them this afternoon!)..

Tomorrow morning, before the rains hit, I will go to town and stock up on some canned food, veggies that can survive outside the fridge (so, the usual), phone credit, and likely some more beverages to help pass the time. I’m wondering how likely it is that electricity will hold up during the storm. Because, to be quite honest, being holed up with a laptop with internet access all to myself for a few days certainly doesn’t seem too shabby!


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So that’s what’s happening right this second in my life. Here’s what’s been going on in the village with work (Please bear with me; I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve been crazy busy since my last post. There’s a LOT going on in the way of projects right now…)


TUVATUVA NI SAVA WAI
(Water Filtration Project)

We have entered the "seeking funding" phase for the water project (within the first week of our funding proposal being sent out we already have commitments for almost half of the needed funds. Additionally, our Rotary partners are having weekly meetings concerning the rest. The Jeff and Steve actually said they would come to the village Monday of this week (which we'll obviously have to reschedule due to sudden weather conditions) to talk about structural stuff so we in the village can start ripping timber (our "contribution" to the project). Because our expected timeline indicates that funding will be secured by May, and construction will take place in June and July, my village would like to cut all the timber and do any necessary digging prior to the arrival of supplies.



BARASI BATINA N'IRA NA GONE NI KORO
(Teeth Brushing with the Village Kids)


Another project that has finally gotten going is the communal brushing of teeth with the village pre-school-aged kids (twelve 1-4 year-olds) to whom I distributed Sesame Street tooth brushes. (These adorable supplies were donated by Crest company courtesy of one of my dad's patients.) I also had adult-sized tooth brushes donated for the parents by the Colgate/Palmolive company in Fiji. The way I dispersed supplies, was that I gave all twelve children and one adult each (either parent, grandparent, or grown sibling) one toothbrush and crest toothpaste to take home for nighttime brushing, and I keep one brush for each (labled with nailpolish and stored between two egg cartons to keep animals and flies out; see pictures for reference) at my house. Every morning at 9am, all the kids, their parents, myself, and one of the Taba Ni Bula (Village Health Committee) members meet (/I walk the village road with my Committee partner for 30 minutes gathering up all the children) at a central tap down by the ocean to brush our teeth together.


The pre-schoolers and their parents learning to brush their teeth together.

This project has only been going on for two weeks so far, but the kids have already started asking me about when they can brush their teeth again when we meet in the days and evenings. Also, many appear to actually understand how to properly brush (after I spent the first couple days giving examples by brushing their teeth for them, and continue to do so for the young ones). Furthermore, the parents have told me that their children now even ask if they can brush their teeth at night before they go to bed. (I have no real verification of this statement, though. Whenever I ask one of my kids, “O i’o sa barasi e na ya’avi nanoa?” (“Did you brush your teeth last night”), they usually answer, no!)



After cleaning their brushes and putting them away properly, the kids get a checkup by the Village Health Worker (once a week).


The biggest challenge of this project so far has been getting the parents to appreciate the importance of attending the sessions together with their children. You see, it’s part of the village culture to allow very young children to roam rather freely, often without much adult supervision. In fact, it is not uncommon to see a very young (and often naked) child dissolve into tears and loud wailing sobs somewhere in the middle of the village, perhaps… actually rather often… in front of my house, and nobody will come to comfort them or ascertain what the problem is. This independence is also reflected in night-time rituals with the children. No child who is too young to school (from what I can tell) has a bedtime. Instead, when parents leave the house at night to watch movies wherever a generator is running or to drink yaqona somewhere, children are brought along. They tend to pass out anywhere, in almost any situation—flat on their bags, with arms and legs sprawled spred-eagle style, while the adults noisily interact all around them. Therefore, my challenge… I have attempted to require one-adult-per-child not only so that the parents can help with the actual brushing (at first, many of the kids would simply eat the toothpaste off the toothbrush immediately after it was handed to them, or chew on the toothbrush itself until the bristles are practically unusable), but I also think parental attendance will help to foster a healthy relationship between the parents and kids that can hopefully have some sort of sustainable effect after I leave the village next July.



Check out those pearly whites!

TABA NI KORO / NA LEVU N'ILAVO E NA KORO
(Village Development Committee / Village Budget)

As I stated in the previous post, I brought my village Mayor, the Turaganikoro (“T.K.”), to a Peace Corps workshop about Income Generating projects in the community setting that was held in the capital city, Suva. During our week at this conference, TK and I finally had the bonding experience I've been waiting for. As it turns out, he speaks far better English than he originally let on (making me feel insanely embarrassed for all my terrible attempts at trying to talk to him about work in Fijian… No matter how good my language skills are getting in the realm of conversation, I am basically useless when it comes to talking about projects and work). To my immense relief, we seem to be on the same page, opinion-wise, about almost every project for, and expectation we have of, the village.

Since returning from this workshop, the village has FINALLY allowed me to establish a Taba Ni Koro, or “Village Development Committee” (with members consisting of those leaders of the 10 most active village groups: Turaganikoro (Village Mayor), Qase Ni Lotu (Church Manager), Nasi Ni Koro (Village Health Worker), Soqosoqo Ni Ba: Bulumakau (The Cow Fence Committee), Taba Ni Bula (Health Committee), Taba Ni Wai (Water Committee), Soqosoqo Ni Turaga (Men’s Church Group), Soqosoqo Va’a Marama Na Vanua (Women’s Group), Mataveitokani (Youth Group), Committee Ni Koro Vuli (School Committee), and Tabana Ni Vuaka (Piggary Committee).

The Taba Ni Koro (Village Development Committee) is lead by the Men’s group leader. He reports directly to the Village Mayor, who oversees the Committee. The Development Committee has three joint-Treasurers. And I am the group’s advisor.

The first order of business, by popular request, was to develop Na Levu N’iLavo: Koro xxxx (Village Budget). We included:

-Kotikoti (money for fuel to cut every house’s compound, the church compound, the village road, the path to the beach, and the land path to the school).

- School fees (including Kindy, Primary School, “House” dues--imagine Harry Potter-style school houses you pay dues to for life--and a $100 incentive for every Secondary/Tertiary student)

-Nasi Ni Koro supplies (bus fare to bring medicine, money for first aid supplies for when the regional health centers are out, and money for the Village Health Worker to attend yearly trainings).

-All church fees (for the yearly dues of all 3 religions—Methodist, Catholic, and All Nation—in the village).

-A stipend for both the Women’s Group and the Youth to encourage project development.

-Yearly payments to the regional clan and other cultural fees.

-(A very small portion of) printing/copying fees for me.

-Money for replacement pipes/faucets/other emergency water stuff (and fuel for ripping the timber for our upcoming filtration project).

-Aome repair stuff for the village cattle gate.

The grand total came to a little over $11,100 (with church fees accounting for more than half!) for the 2010 period of April-December.

Then, we determined that there were 60 eligible individuals in the village (who are between 18-60 years old and who are relatively permanent residents) to contribute to this fund. So, the Taba Ni Koro held a meeting during which we presented the budget to these 60 people, and then together we split them into ten groups of 6 (each one headed by one of the Taba Ni Koro members).

Each group is asked to make monthly payments of about $120 per group. This equates to approximately $5.15 per person, per week, all inclusive (meaning that the frequent soli’s held for almost every organization and purpose throughout the year will cease as will all other sporadic village-related costs). We organized the village into groups, however, to ease the pressure of being held individually responsible for the consistent payments. As a group, the men can decide to plant Dalo on a monthly basis (the Taro root that can be harvested in 6 months for a profit of approximately $1 per plant), the women can get together and weave Kuta mats (that are made to order for the markets in Labasa for approximately $100 each). People can also arrange trips to go to the sea to collect Beche De Mere and other sea creatures that are brought to Savusavu on the bus and sold to the markets there. They can sell raw vegetables or baked goods such as pie and jam on the road to passing busses, and they can generally help one another when money is inconsistent (income tends to ebb and flow here in Fiji).

So far we're in month one, March, (raising money this month will allow us to pay for next month, so we can get started with paying for things in April). Surprisingly (for me), it's going very well. All the groups have been holding weekly soli's to collect their member's dues, and we are planning to have a big village soli at the end of each month with the entire village (complete with dressing up, cooking roti/curry or rice or vakalolo to be distributed as post-yaqona snacks) to consolidate the money so we can put it in the bank.

So, at the end of this month, the three treasurers and I are also planning to open a bank account in Savusavu Town with their three names on it (requiring at least two signatures to make a withdrawal). I have also been trying to organize some other PCVs from the area to come to the village later this month so we can do one-on-one money management trainings (savings calculators and such) with all the married couples and anyone else who wants to participate. This private training will help the members of my community see how they can keep up with the (seemingly) new expense of a collective village budget.


TEKIVU DUA NA BASINISI LAILAI: WAIWAI NI NIU SE SASALU WAI TUI
(Starting one Small Business: Virgin Coconut Oil or Marine Farming)

Also since returning with the TK we have made a "Small Business Committee" within the Development Committee (i.e. so it is made up of all responsible individuals to whom the community looks at for leadership and who I also trust to get work done).

First, this committee and I presented SWOT (Strength/Weakness/Opportunities/Threats) business analyses for 6 different opportunities at a Bose Va Koro (monthly village meeting). Then, we broke the village into groups (men, women, and youth) to conduct an exercise known to us here in PC/Fiji as “PACA” to see what people were most interested in. Virgin Coconut Oil came out as the clear winner, followed by Sasalu Wai Tui (probably seaweed-farming or pearl farming after talking to Minestry of Fisheries earlier today).


The next step is information gathering. Ideally, we will try to get two business plans together by the end of this year. That way, the village Dalo fund (that will equal about $300 a month starting in August this year) will go towards starting a business in the first months of 2011.


TOMITOMI / WASEA NA BENU
(Village Cleanup / Rubbish Separation)

This is a project I am continuing from last year. Basically, the school children and I walk through the village with two large bags, and we pick up rubbish and separate it for disposal (burn vs. bury) as we go. As an attendance/punctuality incentive, I give out fake coins that can be redeemed at the end of the month for prizes of different values to encourage lessons about the value of saving money.

The primary school kids with their rubbish bags and coins. Their enthusiasm for cleaning the village is a direct result of your generosity in sending me goodies to use as rewards for attendance.


TEVAYA NI BENU ME KAMA
(Central Collection of Burnable Rubbish)

On a related note, when I was down in Suva I was also able to get the Coca Cola Organization to donate two large and sturdy recycling bags to set up in the village for collection of burnable rubbish. This way, harmful plastics can be removed from the village and burned at a central location in order to minimize the hazard to village residents (and especially the young children).




KICKBALL!!

Also, I of course still have my kickball team. Actually, one of the things I'm most excited about for this year, is that a nearby village to mine (about 30 minutes by bus) will be getting a new volunteer. That village has a primary school in it. Therefore, soon my team might have some competition to play against!

And, when my mom comes to visit in May (as in 2 months from now), I asked her to bring Tie Dye materials so that we can make our gameday uniforms with the kids! I'm super excited. Tie Dye is the best, and we're gonna intimidate the sh*t out of those other kids in our super baddass t-shirts!


My assistant coach (the class 7&8 teacher, Master Whippy), and the blackboard drawing I attempted to teach my team about the strategic value of staying in their correction positions during the game.


Don't they just look like professionals?

VALE LAILAI NI MANIWA NI TEI: KORO VULI
(Composting Toilets at the Primary School)

In terms of the compost toilets... well... you really don't even want to know. But I promise you, the lack of progress isn't for lack of effort on my part! I put in about three weeks worth of daily, 6-hour work days, with the newly-elected School Committee at the school in January. During that time, we were renovating the teacher's quarters and classrooms for the new year (I am a painting machine!). Thus, I have developed a TON of rapport with the new School Committee.


The School Manager has promised that, starting next month, he will make the toilets the top priority of school workdays (on the first Tuesday of every month). In April he is supposedly using the school budget to buy a bunch of fuel, and I have asked all the chain-saw owners in my village to bring their saws so we can rip the necessary timber to finish the thing. So, please cross your fingers for me!

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KITTENS!

Unfortunately, their number has gone from four to three. I’ll spare my young readers the gory details here. But, the three remaining kittens are happy and healthy, and right after the photograph below was taken, I gave them to their new homes where they all seem to be eating fish scraps and cassava peelings on a regular basis. Sadly, however, one of them had its whiskers cut off by the new owners because of a Fijian superstition that says if you cut off a cat's whiskers (which it actually NEEDS in order to judge how wide it's head is so it can know how narrow of a spake it's possible to squeeze through) it will stay at home. Ironically, this kitten still hangs around my house with the mom quite a lot. Poor thing.

still sooooo cute!

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A TYPICAL DAY IN MY LIFE
\(things have changed slightly since the last one of these)

6:00am – Wake up. Drink 2 huge cups of coffee.

7-8:00am – Workout inside the house. (jumping jacks, running in place, crunches, weights…)


8:30-9 – Walk the road and gather up all the pre-school-aged children and their parents.


9-9:30 – Teeth brushing!


9:30-10 – Breakfast/reading time.


10-11:30 – Water plants (by filling and carrying a huge bucket in and out of my house to all ove the compound approximately 10 times), hand wash laundry, clean house.


11:30-1 – Cook lunch, eat lunch, cleanup lunch.


1-2 – Drink tea, read, shower (optional).


2-4 – Nap (on the floor where it's cooler, in front of the door where I can catch a slight breeze, on top of a towel for the sweat... what can I say? Not all aspects of summer are glamorous).


4-6:00 – Organization for current projects/socialize with lounging villagers outside the house/watch rugby practice/go for a walk on the beach while collecting shells and hoping for phone calls from home.
6-8:00pm -- Prepare dinner, eat dinner, cleanup dinner, drink tea, read.
8-8:30 -- Shower.
8:30-midnight(ish) - watch movies / drink yaqona / read in bed.
Variations on the schedule
Monday: Evening Mataveitokani (Methodist Church Youth Group) church service followed by tea and yaqona. No need for dinner.
Tuesday: Village work day.
-1st Tuesday of the month = school work day. Walk 30 minutes to school after breakfast, rake up grass that has been cut by the boys and their hand-held brushcutters, walk 30 minutes home around 1pm, quickly cook, eat, shower, and get ready for Bose Va Koro (Village Meeting).
-All other Tuesdays = Soqosoqo Va'a Marama (Women's Group) work days. These are 6-hour work days during which the 24 Women's Group members go on rotation to each member's house, one hour at each, six houses a day, in order to help her with some work. This work includes scraping (approximately 50) coconuts (to make oil from), preparing the voivoi reeds for weaving (cutting the thorns and spines out of the freshly cut reeds, spreading them in the sun for several days to dry, cooking them to be soft, drying them again, cutting them down to desired width for the mat, and actually weaving them), making sasa brooms (from the spines of coconut leaves... each spine is one bristle of the broom. You have to use a knife and shave each one down, and then weave hundreds of them together into a broom).
Wednesday: After lunch, go to school and play kickball with the kids. Walk kids home from school and immediately do village cleanup. Finish with just enough time to spare for them to go home and shower before church at 6pm. (These school-children activities last from approximately 1-5:30pm, at the end of which I usually cannot keep my eyes open or move my body... going to bed around 8:30).
Thursday: Free!
Friday: Take 11:00am bus to Savusavu town in order to arrive just in time to meet with any Minestry officials before their offices close and to receive packages from customs at the post office. (Sometimes) spend the night in town in order to charge electronics.
*Note, this weekly town trip is very new. It is the direct result of the teeth brushing project. Generally, I like to stay in the village for about two weeks at a time between town trips, and I usually try not to spend the night away from my village, too.
Saturday: When waking up in Savusavu: Saturday is spent vegetable shopping at the local market and sitting in an internet cafe frantically trying to get all work done before the last bus for my village leaves at 2pm. Arrive in the village between 4-4:30pm (hang out at the bus stand for a while with any of the boys who are returning from the bush), then make the up-hill, windy dirt road 1/2 mile trek from the road to my house. Unpack goods, cook/eat dinner, hurridly shower and get dressed up for my budget group's soli. Drink lots of yaqona, and then pass out around midnight--unable to get washed up or even changed before bed.
Sunday: Church from 10:30-11:30, sit on the church veranda and chat with the ladies until I/we all get hungry. Go home (approximately 15 steps from the church veranda), cook, eat, read, drink tea. Nap for approximately 4 hours. Go and drink yaqona again.
As you can see from above, reading has become a large part of my daily routine. In fact, this month I finished my 20th book since being here! It feels great to get back to reading again--it's one of my favorite ways to spend my free time! Some of the titles I've read so far include:
- Gulliver's Travels
- The Unbearable Lightness of Being
- Out of Africa
- The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook
- Ender's Game (for the millionth time)
- In Defense of Food
- The Omnivore's Dilemma
- Running with Scissors
- Into the Wild
- Americans Do Their Business Abroad: A Peace Corps Latrine Reader
- Fight Club
- Love in the Time of Cholera
- Catch-22
- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
I thought some of you might find that list interesting....

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Anyway, now that I've practically written a novel, I should probably go and get some actual work done...
Vinaka Sara Vakalevu for all of your love and support. It's wonderful to hear that so many people are following my blog. Please do not hesitate to write me and email with topic suggestions for future entries (what would you like me to write about? Is my writing about work all the time getting boring? Do you want more food/culture/people?)
Until then, moce mada vakalailai.
xx,
Milika



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