Two New Projects for Annette

After settling back into Port Vila life again, I was wondering what would fill my days now that the high seas adventure was over. It didn't take too long to find out.

Project 1: Assist a team of elders to prepare a tender.

A Tender I thought. No problem, that's what this Tigger does best! Pooh agreed and suggested that they find Piglet and Eeyore and have some hunny.  However, it's not for a construction project, it's to run a medical training course for the Ministry of Health (MOH). That's a bit removed from the tenders I am used to, but how hard can it be? It's surprising how similar the Conditions of Contract are to construction projects.  

I know almost nothing about the contents of the course, which is to train Village Health Care Workers to work in their isolated villages to help promote good health and provide basic first aid. There is a considerable amount of logistics involved though in getting people from all over the country to Port Vila, accommodation, catering etc for 8 weeks, plus a 2 week placement in various rural clinics around Vanuatu, so I have been tackling it much the same as I would a construction tender. 

Fortunately I had a great team to work with (Elder Jara - Korvan Training School Manager, Elder Jonathan - PCV Education, and Elder Richard - PCV Health), and they have run training courses for MOH before, so they know all the stuff I don't, I'm just helping put it all together. It was due to be submitted on 30th Oct - Martyn's birthday - and unfortunately I was working right up to the wire 😵. This was not helped by the print shop closing for lunch when the deadline was 2.00pm!

Here I am working on it with Jonathan, Jara, Donald (a retired nurse) and Tracey (the nurse who is going to be delivering the course should our tender be successful). Jara and I got it submitted in the nick of time 😅.

Project 2: Assist a team to determine what alterations are possible to the exiting PCV Office Building.
In light of there being a lack of motivation (and finances) to commit to the big flash 4 storey design,  we are looking at alternatives. Apparently the existing structure is strong enough to take another storey on top, however to be on the safe side we are proposing the addition of new columns on new footings around the exterior to support the upper floor load. There is also space to extend outwards along one side and one end, so it looks quite promising, and at significantly less cost than the new building. Still lots of questions and things to consider.

Kirsty has Arrived

Kirsty, our eldest daughter arrived very early Friday morning (midnight) for a 2 week visit. We had a lazy day just having a walk around Vila and buying fruit at the market e.g. red mangoes! They are not stringy like the green ones, but more expensive. Mmmm, mangoes 😋

Then on Saturday we took her around the island. It wasn't a very nice day, but we still had a paddle at Eton Beach and checked out the rocks (of course, she's a geologist!) and the coral.

We called in to visit Rongdal School, and Max the headmaster and instigator of the school showed us all around. He has done a lot of work since the last time we visited, even though he just survives on donations and the produce from the family farm which the children's parents help work on in payment of school fees that they have no money for.

On the way back from Havannah Harbour, we noticed a screw in one of the rear tyres, so Martyn took it to get repaired when we got back to Vila. Turns out there was a nail in a front tyre as well doing a very slow leak. So all good now and ready to go.

On Sunday afternoon we went to visit Cindy and the children. Samuel left for a conference in Paris just the morning Kirsty arrived, so she missed seeing him, but we had a nice swim down at Pango with Vita, William and Christopher, and got to see their house,

and the recently-completed cookhouse which was just a frame last time Martyn and I saw it.

They have got it very well set up.

 Vits is now 14, William 11 and Christopher 4. Ariv who is 6 lives with his grandmother down on Tanna. Cindy and Samuel now have their niece Lisa, approx 18 months, living with them as their daughter. This is quite common among Ni-Vanuatu families and throughout the Pacific. Unfortunately she was having a big afternoon nap when we visited so Kirsty didn't get to meet her, but Martyn and I saw her when we went out for dinner with Samuel and Cindy and all the children last week before Sam went away. She is a real cutie, and we realised afterwards that we forgot to take any photos!

On Monday it was Martyn's birthday, so on Sunday evening Kirsty and I cooked him a chocolate cake - not sure what she's looking so worried about, maybe the fact we can't tell what temperature the oven is at, or weigh any ingredients as we don't have any scales  😅 It still turned out okay.

Here is the birthday boy with his tamtam (slit drum carving) which we chose together, some cards and fresh flowers from the market.

Early on Tuesday morning, Kirsty set off for Tanna Island on a domestic flight, to go and see Mt Yasur, the most easily accessible, active volcano in the world. (well it is if you ignore the 90 minute trip from Hamilton to Auckland by road, 90 minute wait after the check in wait time, 3 hour flight to Port Vila, arriving at midnight, then a few days later a 30 minute flight to Tanna from Vila, a 90 minute drive from the accommodation to Mt Yasur, which includes driving across the ash field of Mt Yasur, and then the final easy bit a 10 minute walk up the final part of Mt Yasur from where the truck stops) She is very excited.

In Vila Thursday 26 October 2017

Well it has rained fairly steadily for 2 days.  The water tank outside our flat that we use for drinking water is full.  The great lakes are now full. There is a green tinge in the vegetation.  Whether that is wishful thinking, or just that the dust has been washed off the plants, or the growth is coming through. It probably is a combination of the later two. Tonight our eldest daughter , Kirsty, arrives in Vila for a 12 day visit, something we have been looking forward too for a very long time.  Bon Voyage Kirsty, and lukem yu.

The water tank overflowing , it is 1,100 litres and supplied us for 4 month plus , in addition to the landlord family and the builders on site.  The tank is used for drinking water only. Note the high tech water filter some shade cloth folded over several times and tied over the end of the down pipe.

Outside our gate at 6.00 am, an hour later the water was right across the road. So we had to walk a different route to work. See Tuesdays Blog for a before photo of our road when it was dry. I think that the sheet hanging on the fence on the right of the photo is hanging there to dry.  But it is getting torn to shreds in the wind, and so will soon be rubbish on the ground. !!

We are well into the mango season, they are falling off the trees and laying on the ground rotting.  We picked up some good ones for our breakfast with Kirsty tomorrow morning

The Rain has Arrived

Having just said how dry everything is, the rain has arrived! It has been raining steadily all morning. To anyone who saw our prayer request page and prayed for rain, thank you. Wow God is good and answers prayer! We hadn't been using the Prayer page in ages because we forgot how to get into it, but Martyn rediscovered how a couple of weeks back (clever fellow) so we have begun using it again.

Here is the view out the office door - small rivers all over the driveway. All the staff are very pleased and the temperature is much more comfortable - still warm enough for no sleeves, but literally no sweat! It was so hot on Monday, even for the locals. In devotions at the office in the early morning I thought I was going to melt and run off my seat onto the floor!

We're sure the sun will come out again before Friday morning when Kirsty will be with us and wanting to see Port Vila at its best though 😀

Ambae Island Update

Two days ago (Sunday), the people of Ambae Island, have again displayed their resiliency despite the odds on issues that they will be facing on their return home. Its so humbling to see that NDMO and the whole nation have been , supportive in also praying with them and sharing schools and homes with them. Peace and harmony can change hearts. Gods Ways are his, God will turn a bad situation into blessing for the people of Ambae Island.

More than 2,000 evacuees are now back on Ambae Island exactly one month after the Government of Vanuatu ordered the total evacuation of over 11,000 people on September 23 for fear of the possible volcanic eruption from Manaro volcano.

At the Flat

Mahana turned 3 last week and Tony and Mary bought her a puppy, although Chris is also enjoying it very much. The puppy's name is Storm. This is as well as 4 cats, Barty the old dog, and a pigeon in a cage which is right outside our bedroom window now.

While you are taking pity on the puppy, take note of the big pile of gravel covered with an old carpet in the background. This arrived at about 10 one night - odd. Tony had intended it to be dumped on the roadside, but he was asleep when it arrived so the men dumped it in front of our flat, partially burying the strip of garden and our path. Tony has since spread a lot of it around the parking area but a lot remains, some of which will be used by his builders.

Martyn decided at the weekend, even though it was hot, to rescue the plants in the garden, split some of them up and spread them out all the way along by the path. He also tidied up the edge of the pile so it can't just overflow back into the garden. He also finally got the old stump of a pawpaw tree out that was growing near the tank, and levelled the pavers.

Great work! The egg carton has nothing to do with the garden, Martyn just collected it from Tony while chatting, so we can pass it on to someone at International Church who keeps chickens and sells the eggs.

 It is well and truly dry season now. This is the road to our flat taken this morning. Everything is dusty - we sweep quite a pile of it off our floor every few days and we have given up on mopping. The big holes in the road still have not been filled in, but at least there are some piles of gravel to be put into them. It will all wash out again unless the ground is levelled and it's all packed down properly though.

This is what it looked like back in March. Wet season is due to start again next month.

Mango Season is Upon Us.

We have been keenly watching the progress of the mangoes as they first flowered a couple of  months ago, then the fruit developed and grew on the trees.  We are now into the eating phase.  

To get the mangoes you need a very long pole.  This boy is knocking the mangoes off the tree to take them inside to ripen them

He gave us two to take home.  Not big ones but still our first of the season

Peeled and ready to eat, very yummy

More on the Agriculture Show and our day

Another warm day in Vila, 28 degrees.  The Show is into its third day.

This gentleman purchased the goat at the show. it will be used for breeding.  He paid 8,000 vatu for the goat

This little girl is holding a chicken her mum also purchased at the show.  She paid 1,000 vatu for the chicken.

This chicken is not so lucky.  Like the Baker  and the Butler  in the Bible who had dreams that Joseph interpreted. The chicken in this story is the baker , the goat in this story is the butler, the goat will live and have a good life, the chicken is set to loose its head and head to the pot.

Annette was called in to assist the dental health this afternoon. They have 6 Australian dentists on site carrying out dental work for a week.  Annette was required to help sterilise the equipment which involved rinsing blood off some of the tools! Not her most fun job, but never a dull moment!

Then there is the baby photos, Annette is holding Yvonne Bani (the PCV receptionists) wee son. He is 6 months old.

Vanuatu Agricultural Show. - 16th to 20th October 2017

Monday the Vanuatu Agricultural Show started. The main site is on Independence Park, so for us it is just  across the road from where we work.  So we will be checking it daily.  The show doesn't rival the New Zealand Agricultural Fieldays at Mystery Creek, Hamilton.  It is still impressive with a full range of organisations and products on display. Here are some photos from day one.

This is Gilbert Gibson, an elder from our church the ICC. This is the stand for Gilbert's smokeless stoves.  Gilbert is a beekeeper and also makes and distributes the smokeless stoves. 

Of course there has to be the tractors and the farm equipment stands.  We haven't had a decent amount of rain on Efate Island for several months.  You can see how dry the ground is by the brown grass.  On Tanna Island (to the south of Efate) they haven't had rain since Cyclone Donna passed thorough back in early May.

These onions were large, one was 900 grammes

The market produce area

The local pamplemousse (grapefruit) They are large weigh well over a kilo.

Cabbages and pumpkins

Local taro on the ground

Some of the stands for the local produce and organisations.  Tanna Coffee it's nanbawan in Vanuatu 

The Tanna Farms stand. Some of you in New Zealand may have seen the programme Country Calendar last week and the article on Tanna Farms

Vanuatu takes climate change very seriously. There is a stand on climate change at the show

There are many rows of stalls

A couple of videos of the site today