The End Once Again

It's the end of March and the Moso turtle project is closing down until next season. The last group of 5 volunteers are leaving the project today and now the community will have 6 months until the project starts up again.

It's been a bit of a mixed bag this year with a huge variation in the volunteers who have passed through the bungalow doors. I think the experience varied from person to person but I am confident that down to the last one they have left their mark on the project and it has left its mark on them (that Moso mud never comes out!).

Three Months On Moso

Hello, my name is Juliette and I volunteered on Moso Island for three months. Most people only do it for a month, or at most (there were two people while I was there) for two months. I did three. Now I see why I was the only one. Three months is a long time and you really get under the surface of things that are happening. When I compared what I knew - in terms of the people, about the village, Vanuatu in general, and the project- from the beginning (after one month) to the end (after three months) my understanding was so much deeper and layered. That for me was a plus, because I came to learn about another culture, help some turtles, and try a different life (living in a completely different environment and coming from a culture which has a lot of material things, to one which doesn't) and definitely to learn some things. Other things are that after three months of eating boiled rice and potatoes you become a little desperate for certain things (french fries, cheese, chicken sandwich, chocolate, ice cream - hell anything COLD - and filled with fat and salt). It's also really easy to get caught up in the island way of things (which means doing a lot of nothing at a slow pace). So be careful of that and stay on task! It's pretty much up to the volunteers to go out and make things happen.

The turtles were amazing though. being so close to them and being able to observe a spectacle very few have the privilege of certainly was worth everything. The island itself is gorgeous. Snorkeling (or, as Michelle might know, looking for sharks, watersnakes, lionfish and other poisonous things I wanted to get close to) was a big pastime (and I saw reef sharks! and sea snakes, but no lionfish. *sigh*). I did have the fortune of seeing (two) turtles while in the water (on two separate occasions). It was surprisingly different from seeing them on land. They are really quite big, but also very graceful - and fast! I also saw hatchlings - coming right up out of the nest - and make their way to the water. I saw a dugong too (sea cow, or manatee) which hung out near the village, and an eagle ray. I did a few hikes into the jungle to some beautiful remote beaches - the villagers act as very useful guides and are happy to take you places and show off their beautiful home.

Those were some of the highlights. So you definitely see some cool things there - and the longer you stay the more you see. Some people just like to breeze through and not get entangled in some of the stickier bits, and its really up to the individual volunteer with what and how deeply they involve themselves. It certainly was a positive experience, as a whole, and I am very glad I went. Don't know how soon I would go back, but it would be interesting to see where all my village friends will be in a few years.

New Health Clinic

With the community wanting to combine the official opening for the new school block and the new health clinic on the same day it has meant that everyone has put their all into getting the clinic ready in time. And while the finishing touches were still being added right up until a few minutes before the official opening, everything was done in time. The new health clinic will make a huge difference to the health of the community and provide on island health care for the GVI volunteers. The clinic was made possible through funding by the Canada Fund and labour provided by the community and the GVI volunteers.

New School Block

It's been about 6 month from grant approval to the official opening, but the Tasiriki Primary School now has a second classroom block. The new school block has been made possible with funding from the Cyclone Ivy Fund (EU) and labour from the community, Youth Challenge International and the GVI volunteers.

Under the Sea

One of the good things about the location of the Moso turtle project is that there is a small dive resort on the far end of the island. So this has meant that over the past two years many of the volunteers have taken advantage of this to get their diving certification or just gone for a couple of dives.

War Paint?

I'm not sure what proportion of paint made it on the new health clinic versus on the volunteers but I think everyone had a good time. And the community and volunteers manged to build a new school block and the health clinic in record time.