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We walked up into the village, surrounded by a swarm of
small children. Most of the other adults in the village were sitting at
tables in a roofed common area. Dorothy explained that a political candidate
was speaking to them. He was the third of perhaps five candidates to come
through the village, campaigning for elections in July. Dorothy said she
thought they were all frauds, promising the world and delivering nothing.
Dorothy introduced us to Michael, the kindergarten teacher. Michael was dressed as though for a mid-winter snowstorm, wearing a sweater with a scarf wrapped around his neck. He explained that he was sick with asthma, so there was no school that day. Nevertheless, he wanted to show us the school. We walked up the hill, with colorful flowers and vegetable beds on both sides of the road, and clouds of black and white butterflies. Michael and Dorothy told us about the educational system. The government provides no money toward school. The teacher is paid by the parents. Until last year there was a primary school in the village, but now the children have to go live in another village to receive any education beyond kindergarten. The parents are responsible for school fees, food for their children, and finding them a place to live during the week. This is impossible for most. |
| The kindergarten has bamboo walls, a tin roof and a coral gravel floor. The only furniture is a table, one bench, one bookcase ("our library") and a blackboard. The children sit on mats on the floor, and work on slates. There is no paper except what cruisers donate. (We donated a big portion of the school supplies we had stocked on Sequoia for this purpose.) As we talked, the children chose books from the shelves and sat on the mats looking at pictures. Most of the books seemed to be Australian, and Dorothy confirmed that they get a lot of help from Australian cruisers. An Australian "millionaire" also helped them build their church – the largest, most substantial building in the village. |  |
| We walked through the village and said hello to adults, older children, and animals. I asked about some burnt posts stuck in the ground. Dorothy explained that last year several young men got drunk and set fire to several houses in the village, including hers. The young men are now in jail, but Dorothy’s family has had a hard time recovering from the financial blow. Dorothy took us to her new house and introduced us to Simba, her pet bird. Her husband is working in Port Vila while Dorothy tends their garden, and cares for the children. They do not have money for school fees, so the children don’t go to school. They do have a gorgeous waterfront spot, with a plantation of tapioca plants, and one prickly pear. We haven’t seen prickly pear before in Vanuatu, and it wasn’t clear why they had planted it. They didn’t know that it flowers and produces fruit, so they may have a surprise in store. |  |
| We dinghied back to Sequoia, ever so pleased to have met Dorothy
and Michael, who seem intelligent, vital and hopeful, despite the
adversities they obviously face. Later in the afternoon, Dorothy and several
friends rowed out to Sequoia with a present of several papayas, a red pepper
and some green onions – all from her garden. We offered juice and cookies
and gave them the grand tour. They seemed impressed by the level of detail
in our home, and were fascinated by the navigation gear and computer.
Although they live very simply, they have been exposed to most modern gear
–Dorothy, for instance, had used a computer when she worked at the Sharper
Image store in Vila. The weather has been misting, raining or threatening for most of our time in Vanuatu. We think that the South Pacific convergence zone is parked here, and not showing on the weather maps we’re downloading. We’re hoping that as we head south to New Caledonia, we’ll escape into some sunnier places. |
| Best wishes to all our friends and family. Craig & Barbara Johnston S/V Sequoia
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Below and below left: Some of the older children of
Utanlangi
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