March 16, 2015

Back home at the moment. Watching the news about the devastation in Vanuatu. We were there for several weeks in July of 2014.

The World ARC has a special relationship with one village in particular. A small village of maybe a hundred or so in Port Resolution on the island of Tanna. One of the hardest hit islands. Past projects have been to put a new floor and roof on the school. Fundraise for a bunkhouse so the small school can bring in more teachers. And a gift exchange where we brought in needed supplies and they gifted back to us what they have in abundance. Which is fruit, vegetables, and kindness.

I am going to bore you with some stories but more importantly if you can help they will be in desperate need of just about everything. The ARC has set up a fund but there are others as well.

A special account has been set up for the fund:

World Cruising Club Limited - Vanuatu Cyclone Relief Fund

Sort code 15 99 00

Account 76213610

SWIFT     HOABGB2L

IBAN       GB72 HOAB 15990076213610

Alternatively cheques should be made payable to "Vanuatu Cyclone Relief Fund", and sent to World Cruising Club at 120 High Street, Cowes PO31 7AX, UK

https://www.unicefusa.org/donate/cyclone-pam-help-save-lives-children-vanuatu/22791?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Vanuatu%20Cyclone&utm_term=vanuatu%20relief%20fund  

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/vanuatu-cyclone-relief-fund/

Now for some stories and pictures. And believe me my eyes are welling up as I type this.

We visited 14 countries during the first half of the way around the world but the people of Vanuatu hold a special place in all our hearts. We were all deeply moved by our experiences there. Particularly the people of the small southern island of Tanna. They live very simply. Pretty much in abject poverty by developed nations standards. They share 13 baking pans to make bread in a central bakery. 5 or more families will share one cooking pot in a communal kitchen.  They fish, and farm, and forage and get by. Thatch huts. Once in a while one will have a light bulb.  Dug out canoes. But you almost never see anyone who does not have a smile on their face and a pleasant greeting for you.

The kids are awesome. They will about drag you into their class rooms to show you their art projects or get you to read to them. Felt like we were disrupting their day but the teachers seemed to enjoy the break. And rabid World Cup fans one and all. They were all making flags of their favorite teams countries out of whatever they could find.

One time we were talking with some school kids who were around 8 or 10 years old. I had some marbles in my backpack and showed them to them. Not something they had seen before. Told them they could have them if they promised not to eat them. They are not candy. Next day I saw some younger kids playing with the marbles. I ran across one of the older kids and asked him about it. He said they liked them and wanted to play with them so they all gave their new marbles to the younger ones. I asked if they told them not to eat them and they looked at me like I am some kind of dumb ass. “Of course we told them!” “They know not to!”    My bad.

I had about 40 pair of inexpensive reading glasses that I had brought with me. 60 cents a pair. I had about a dozen in my backpack one day while I was up in the village. There were some older gals sitting under a tree chatting it up and I went over to ask if they might be able to make use of a pair or two. None of them spoke English but a fellow who was passing by offered to translate. I had various magnification levels and it took a bit of sorting out but I got a pair to 3 or 4 of them. Then the fellow who was translating asked if he could try a pair. Big hit. Then he starts calling over some others and before I knew it I had given out all of them. One fellow said he had not been able to read for a couple of years because of his failing eyesight but now he would be able to. For 60 cents!!!  Word got out and I was asked if I had any more. And if we had any old sunglasses. If I had known that I would of bought 100 pair in Fiji where you can get them for a buck a pair.

The next day was departure day so we rounded up every pair of reading glasses I could find and every pair of sunglasses we could spare and dropped them off with my translator for distribution. Word had gotten out and three villages were asking. I think I could have given away 300 pair. And if I ever get back there I will.

At the same time we rounded up some gifts for one fellow who had been very kind to us. He spent a lot of time showing us around and describing their lives there. He was not a tour guide. Just a fellow we met on the muddy trail one morning who offered to show us around. He had been to the big city, once, and said he would never go back. They have everything, but they have nothing, he said. We gave him a Vivo Tee shirt, some fishing gear, and a nice knife. When we went to delivery the gifts we couldn’t find him but we did find his brother and his wife. When we gave the stuff to his brother he said, “Now I have a knife”. I looked at him a bit funny I guess because he then explained that his brother already had a knife and he did not. So naturally his brother would give him the knife.

I could tell ten more stories like that and amongst the ARC sailors they could tell hundreds. Please help.