Independence Day

Sunday 30th was Independence Day, 37 years since Vanuatu became a self-governing country. We spent the morning at Independence Park with Neville.

The grandstand was all decorated up,

 All the armed forces were on parade,

 Our man President Obed Moses was there, and Pastor Allen led a prayer - we couldn't see him but we recognised his voice.

There was a bit of mayhem when lollies were dropped from a helicopter.

A bouncy castle for the children

 and lots of food stalls - this is the back of one with a whole family affair helping, cooking on a BBQ or in this case an open fire.

Lots of fun for all, and the entertainment went on all day and into the evening. 

The brass band playing 'I See Red' with Nasi, the mascot for the Pacific Games to be held to in Port Vila in December, was a highlight for us.

What a Great Place to Work!

Last week the Oral Survey team went to Erakor and Pango for two days each, two villages on the outskirts of Vila.

Erakor School is right on the edge of the lagoon. That's Maddie on the left, one of the volunteer team from Australia, some here for 2 weeks, some for 1 week.

 Here are dentists David Goldsmith and Rudy Jansen, high and dry.

 Once we finished at the school it was up the steps zigzagging all the way up the hill to the village clinic at the top, where we left the equipment for the next day.

 The next day was also picture perfect, what a fantastic spot to work at for the day. It was a shame that we didn't get enough people coming to take part in the survey as expected though.

The next 2 days at Pango were also lovley - for those from Knox, this is Samuel and Cindy's village. Cindy Katipa was our first participant there.

 We worked in the church hall, which was great but we had to be careful not to trip on mats or rocks on the floor.

 While we were there, a young woman from Pango got married at another village. The custom is that the bride's family (most of the village) give food gifts to the groom's family and his family give food gifts back to them. These are the groom's family's gifts being divided up to share around the village. It is mostly yams laid out in rows, but you may be able to see there is also a small dead cow/steer near the doorway of the house.

 During downtime while we waited for participants, Charlotte, David Goldsmith's granddaughter, had fun painting fingernails with some of the little girls.

Children's Day at the Flat

Tony and Mary celebrated the day with a special meal and a family gathering, and we were also invited. I got to watch Mary and her sister-in-law Lothie making sorsor, the traditional laplap dish of Malekula Island.

The yam was already grated when I started watching. It goes like a slightly runny bread dough and gets scooped into a bowl made from banana leaves.

 Then some greens are added,

 and some stones that have been heating in a fire. They are volcanic stones from other islands, there aren't any suitable ones naturally on Efate. Chris made the tongs just by partly splitting a stick - very clever!

 Then coconut cream from freshly grated coconut is squeezed over.

Chicken pieces were piled into the middle, salt and more coconut cream added,

 then all the banana leaves are folded over the top and tied up.

 It is carefully placed on the fire and more hot rocks piled over the top.

 Then more banana leaves and a couple of wet sacks go on top - a lot like a hangi in NZ.

After a couple of hours it is ready to eat - a very tasty dish!

 After the meal there was fun with a few balloons,

 and Martyn joined the men in playing petanque on the coral chip driveway.

Children's Day at the Park

Monday 24th was a public holiday for Children's Day, which in central Port Vila involved a parade through the main street and up to Saralana Park (just up the road from us), and activities and entertainment in the park. There were smaller gatherings all around the country too. 

 There were several tents with good educational messages on various topics. Health and rights of the child to safety are big on the agenda.

 Food was provided, but before any children were served they had to wash their hands at this clever Save the Children hand-wash station.

 There was a big queue for a piece of the enormous cake to celebrate the day.

Super-Exciting News!

I found out yesterday (Annette this is) that I am going on mission with the National Oral Health Survey up to the northern province of Vanuatu, Torba, on the yacht Chimere in September! I'm so excited about this trip!

Today I got to go on board the Chimere in Port Vila harbour before she sails tomorrow on Mission 2. She has already completed Mission 1 down to the southern islands in Tafea Province including Tanna and Erromango. Missions 2 and 3 are around the middle cluster of islands, and the last one goes almost to the top. 

Excuse the terrible photos but I was bobbing around in a dinghy!

This is from L to R: Dr David Goldsmith, retired dentist who I will be working with for the next 2 weeks on the survey; Mark, one of the sailors for Mission 2; Charlotte, Dr David's granddaughter; Deb Allen, volunteer worker with PCV Health; all from Australia.

Details about the Chimere and the medical missions she is used for in Vanuatu can be found at the Medical Sailing Ministries website msm.org.au 

An Asian-Style Feast

Last night we were invited to have dinner at Sarah's place. Sarah Packer is a dental assistant from Melbourne but originally from Malaysia, and she loves to cook with the ingredients that are available here but not in Melbourne. She put on the meal on her last night here in Vila where she has been helping with the National Oral Health Survey. She invited all those who have been helping on our team, and one of them, Marie, was her assistant. I got to learn how to make a couple of the dishes. 

 Here is Sarah preparing choko,

 Marie grating coconut. I had a go but I was really bad at it, there is definitely a technique to be mastered.

 The freshly grated coconut.

 Then Marie showed me how to peel and grate manioc. The skin peels off like bark once you chop the ends off and slit it lengthwise. This was all done with a carving knife and I was wondering if I would have any fingers left afterwards! This morning I discovered a tiny shallow cut on my thumb when I got it wet in the shower and it stung - not bad going. Mainly because Marie did most of the work 😆

 Tools of the trade - the coconut grater - you sit on the big roundy bit, with the smaller roundy bit with a sharp metal edge on it facing out between your legs, the manioc grater, and a bush knife for chopping the coconut shells in half!

Hard boiled eggs, coated in turmeric and oil and which should have been baked but had to be fried because there is no oven there.

 The manioc and coconut cream dessert was delicious, but that also had to be cooked on the cooktop because of a lack of oven. Amazing what can be achieved with a bit of improvisation.

 Here we are enjoying the feast, which included rice, chicken and vegetable curries, island cabbage and pak choy. We are eating in the front porch of Twin Cains which is an apartment complex owned by PCV. 7 units are rented to locals and the front 2 are kept for overseas visitors. In this instance Sarah was staying in one unit and Dr Barry Stewart (on the left) was in the other. There is a mesh screen around the porch which keeps out dogs but not the cats.

A Horrible Job but Someone's Got to Do It

The survey involves recording 2 double-sided sheets of paper for each person who participates. That's a lot of paper for approx 3,000 people. At least some of those pages need to be scanned here in Vila in case they get lost in transit back to Australia, and guess who got the job!

 300 down, lots still to go!

A Quiet Weekend

We said good bye 😥 to Nicola and Jai on Wednesday morning at the airport, this is their plane leaving passing above our flat. We had a great time with them here.

 This is Mahana all ready for church on Saturday (Tony and Mary are SDA). She wouldn't pose for Martyn. But she did give a beautiful smile as soon as I put the phone away.

 The mango trees are in flower - Martyn has been hanging out for mangoes so he is very excited to see all those flowers! (and of course Annette is looking forward to the mango season as well  !!!) The fruit will be ready in about late September, October.

We went for a long walk on Sunday afternoon and found the new playground down at the waterfront is open and was being well used.

 The area is still partially under construction.