Third Goal

Happy Children

The children in Vanuatu...carefree, loving and happy. If only we could all take on the world with this hopeful and enthusiastic outlook and just maybe there could be peace on earth.  

A Basket for Change

  What started out as workshops for women to come together, sew and share stories evolved into A Basket for Change.  55 women from Paama along with the help of two returned Peace Corps volunteers Amy Chan & Brianna Russell started “A Basket for Change” (ABC) where they have created a new style of bag or basket as Ni-Vanuatu call them using cotton material printed with Vanuatu’s vibrant colors and island motif.  www.abasketforchange.org

My mamas and laplap

The beloved Paama Mamas in my village are the foundation for life on the islands. They go to the gardens, cook, wash and look after the children and household with little time for themselves. Their support, love, hard work and perseverance are an inspiration to me. 

A day in the garden

Some of the hardest physical days were also some of the best days. Here we are busy planting yam in the family garden.

Save the reefs

Men in our village collecting crown of thorns which are destroying the reefs of Vanuatu

Cooking With Bamboo

On the island of Paama, camping in the yam garden isn't unusual during the planting season.  I spent a few days in my adoptive family's yam garden in 2005 with some brothers and my Papa Edwin, seen here roasting bamboo stuffed with island cabbage and coconut milk for 'wasem maot' for the kava we chewed and drank as the sun went down.

Arong

My brother Bill Tui and his wife Dinah sit on the traditional marriage bed of 'arong', or woven mats, while being honored with baby powder, perfume, and flowers on their wedding day.  Paama marriage ceremonies are known throughout Vanuatu for their arong tradition, which is typically preceded by the men from the woman's family dancing and singing around the bride-to-be while the groom and his brothers attempt to steel her away from the human fortress - a fun and extremely difficult task as he...

On the Dance Floor

Students of Onesua Presbyterian College let loose on the dance floor during one of our Entertainment Friday night events where they had the chance to show off their best custom dance in hopes of winning points for their dorm. 

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

My Onesua Presbyterian College's Girls' Club meets every Wednesday afternoon to discuss quality of good leaders, embracing our inner Goddess and encouraging confidence in each other. The theme for this afternoon was 'let your inner Goddess shine' in front of the camera. It wasn't until the end of the photo shoot that we realized our 'GIRLS CLUB' poster was missing an L...hence the laughter, now we're known as the GIRRRRRS Club! 

Got Laplap?

I fell in love with Taro Laplap after visitng the island of Ambae in Vanuatu. Laplap is a traditional baked dish of Vanuatu made of root crops (taro in this case), beef, cabbage and buckets of coconut milk. mmmmmm!

Relief From the Heat

Spanky the Peace Corps Dog takes a small respite from the heat and humidity in a luxurious muddy puddle after a one mile walk along North Efate's Ring Road. When asked, why? he barked, Don't judge me...a dog's gotta do what a dog's gotta do!"

Some more s'mores?

An American tradition during cool summer nights is getting cozy by the campfire for some songs and s'mores!  Who doesn't enjoy melted chocolate and toasted marshmallows squeezed between two sweet graham crackers?  In Vanuatu cooking over a campfire is far from special.  We cook over it 3 times a day!  I wanted to teach them about our tradition and eat some chocolate!  My mom from home sent along the fixins for s'mores and my host family enjoyed an American treat for the first time.  It was a ...

Bae yu go wea?

I had the amazing and humbling honor to be asked by my high school to speak at their 2011 Commencement. My reflection and experiences are based on my Peace Corps service. Here is the transcript.   Principal Harrington, Teachers, members of the School Board, special guests, parents and especially the 2011 graduates, thank you for this honor to speak to you today. Wow, this is weird I just gave a talk like this to a group of students a few months ago…it was in a tiny village thousands of mile...

A bridal shower, Paama style

The oldest of the Avock family is my sister Lenneth age 24 who lives on another island with her daughter and husband to be. It’s not uncommon for couples to bear children before the official marriage ceremony. There are several parts to custom marriages that lead up to the actual religious union. Similar to our engagement parties and bridal/groom showers, one of them is when Aunties of the bride who had given the bride a name when she was born*, dress the bride. (*Most Ni-Vanuatu have severa...

Pikinini blong Pentecost