Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Women…..they got the power!
Well the two week school break finally arrived in mid-May. The other two lady PCVs and I decided it was time do some women empowerment stuff! We set off Monday with our first two day camp GLOW (Girls as Leaders in Our World). At our first location we recruited 27 girls from 7th to 12th grade and 24 at our second. We talked about gender roles, women’s rights, the body, healthy relationships, reproductive health, and AIDS. And to lighten the mood we played games, tie-dyed shirts and bags, made cheers, shared meals, and watched some movies. The three of us made an unstoppable team! We truly had a fabulous time and the girls were so grateful and showered us with gifts on the last day. At both camps the girls told us that no one ever talks about these things in their culture and explained how thankful they were for our presence and willingness to open up to these “tabu” topics.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Easter celebration
Fire Dancing
We decided to celebrate our Easter with a ten mile pilgrimage to a resort here on Tanna. We splurged on some cheese and ham omelets and cold drinks for lunch. We walked back and shared some Easter chocolate sent from home and smol spel and swim before going to pray with a neighboring community. This community has formed its own church because of some unsettled disputes with the other churches around the area. The leaders of this church are all related and include many of the outcast families from around (many single mothers and broken families).
We arrived before the campfire had begun so we busted out some classics on the guitar and entertained the kids for a bit. We ate some delicious roasted corn and yam as the sun set and more people showed up. A woman elder in the church blessed the campfire and welcomed everyone. The community’s chief lit the fire and danced with a fire stick to get the kids excited. The guitars chimed in and we all started dancing, jumping, singing, clapping, and running around the fire. The kids especially loved running around the big bonfire! A few people stood up and sang or shared their testimonies as the kids rested on the mats. And before you had time to really cool down another song was starting and the kids were jumping to their feet. This went on for three hours before we decided it was time to retire and sleep. I don’t ever remember celebrating Jesus in my church back home the way these people did on Easter!
We decided to celebrate our Easter with a ten mile pilgrimage to a resort here on Tanna. We splurged on some cheese and ham omelets and cold drinks for lunch. We walked back and shared some Easter chocolate sent from home and smol spel and swim before going to pray with a neighboring community. This community has formed its own church because of some unsettled disputes with the other churches around the area. The leaders of this church are all related and include many of the outcast families from around (many single mothers and broken families).
We arrived before the campfire had begun so we busted out some classics on the guitar and entertained the kids for a bit. We ate some delicious roasted corn and yam as the sun set and more people showed up. A woman elder in the church blessed the campfire and welcomed everyone. The community’s chief lit the fire and danced with a fire stick to get the kids excited. The guitars chimed in and we all started dancing, jumping, singing, clapping, and running around the fire. The kids especially loved running around the big bonfire! A few people stood up and sang or shared their testimonies as the kids rested on the mats. And before you had time to really cool down another song was starting and the kids were jumping to their feet. This went on for three hours before we decided it was time to retire and sleep. I don’t ever remember celebrating Jesus in my church back home the way these people did on Easter!
Earth Day celebration
Earth Day and Bake-Off
Lamkail Primary School held their first ever Earth Day celebration last week! Each class presented a song about the earth and a short drama or lesson during our assembly. The students really got into their role playing and talked about the importance of picking up rubbish and not burning plastics and things. It was an extremely educational and fun filled morning. And if that wasn’t enough we then all jumped into an afternoon of baking sweets! The menu consisted of sweet rolls, peanut butter cake, popcorn, gateau (which is like a doughnut), wacky cake, brownies, fresh coconut cake, and chocolate cake. I jumped around from class to class helping with the recipes and teaching the kids about how it is necessary to lick the mixing bowl clean before washing it. Around 2PM the students had created a beautiful spread of backed goods and delicious treats. Each student was given a small sample of every single dessert! This was not only the first time the students had made cakes but also the first time most of them had even tasted such delightful treats! And thank the lord I couldn’t eat any of the flour filled goodies or I would have had a stomach ache. I did go home and make some gluten free scones for dinner which made up for it!
Lamkail Primary School held their first ever Earth Day celebration last week! Each class presented a song about the earth and a short drama or lesson during our assembly. The students really got into their role playing and talked about the importance of picking up rubbish and not burning plastics and things. It was an extremely educational and fun filled morning. And if that wasn’t enough we then all jumped into an afternoon of baking sweets! The menu consisted of sweet rolls, peanut butter cake, popcorn, gateau (which is like a doughnut), wacky cake, brownies, fresh coconut cake, and chocolate cake. I jumped around from class to class helping with the recipes and teaching the kids about how it is necessary to lick the mixing bowl clean before washing it. Around 2PM the students had created a beautiful spread of backed goods and delicious treats. Each student was given a small sample of every single dessert! This was not only the first time the students had made cakes but also the first time most of them had even tasted such delightful treats! And thank the lord I couldn’t eat any of the flour filled goodies or I would have had a stomach ache. I did go home and make some gluten free scones for dinner which made up for it!
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