In a word, my trip to Samoa was “wonderful.” I’m so very lucky that I was placed with my particular Samoan family when I was in Peace Corps. I had sent an email with my itinerary and had a couple of brief phone conversations with my Samoan family before I left Hawaii ($45 for two phone calls of about ten minutes each). But other than the fact that I knew that they knew that I was coming for a visit, I had made no other plans. I took a taxi from the airport directly to the bakery/restaurant/store which my family owns. I was welcomed with hugs and kisses, was given a sandwich and cool drink, and then took a taxi to grandmother’s house in Apia. From that time on, I was in the bosom of the family and wanted for nothing the entire time that I was there.
That evening we went to Poutasi. It was difficult to see the village so changed. Our family house was very badly damaged, but part of the rear portion remains, with intact plumbing in the bathroom. So the family has been living in that part of the house. All the windows and some of the walls were blown out in the tsunami, so it’s open on three sides, although they have put up boards to provide some shelter. They are building a new house in the village, on higher ground. It is nearly complete, but still didn’t have plumbing during my visit, so they weren’t living there yet. Saina (the mom in my host family) will have an indoor kitchen sink and a four burner stovetop for the first time ever. But they also plan to rebuild the old house as a place to come by the sea, and for guests and family. There are numerous new houses in the village, mostly on the mountain instead of by the sea where they used to be, and lots of open space where houses once stood.
My visit brought closure for me in more ways than I expected. It helped to be able to see the village, changed as it is, and accept it as it now stands, and to mourn the loss of my friends. But unexpectedly I found some closure to my Peace Corps experience. When I first got to Samoa in 2007, I wrote in my journal that “. . . my only real concern is whether I will be able to accomplish a worthwhile project in my village when I get there.” So to return and sense some measure of accomplishment, and know that I made a small difference, is a good feeling.
When I returned to Poutasi, I learned that the Homework Center continued successfully after I left. On weekends it was a busy place where the children continued to come and do homework and spend time on the computers. Some of the village teachers staffed it. It’s hard for Samoan kids to do homework at home – there are always chores that they are asked to do, little brothers and sisters to baby-sit, etc. At the homework center they could come and work together in a place set aside for that purpose. And the little kids could come too and color, do puzzles, etc., like they did while I was there.
And here’s one of the coolest things. In the new church hall, under construction, there is planned a new homework center. It will be bigger and better and air conditioned. They will continue to welcome kids from Poutasi and the neighboring village to come and do homework and use the computers for free (with charges only for printing and copying). I can hardly express how delighted I am that this little project is continuing.
So I was really excited to give the money that I took with me from your generous gifts ($500 US), to the Poutasi Homework Center. One of the Peace Corps office staff also raised $1,300 US that she wants to be used for the kids in Poutasi. I introduced her to Saina, and the day after I left they met to begin planning a fun day for the kids in September where they will have crafts, games, prizes, food, music, and dancing, I wish that I could be there! A portion of that money will also go to the Poutasi Homework Center. Later, when the construction on the church hall is complete, and the homework center is ready to re-open, I’ll send some books, puzzles, etc. to replace some of what was lost in the tsunami. (A couple of you have said that you would still like to contribute – you could help me buy stuff for a box to send later.)
I am absolutely delighted with how this has turned out! There will be a new community internet center in the village, but the kids can still have the opportunity they had before. They can still have free computer time; they can come to do homework together; they will have a learning space. The Poutasi Homework Center will continue.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Return to Samoa
On Friday, May 28th, I'll return to Samoa for a visit and come back to Hawaii on June 11th.
As I mentioned previously, I’ve been trying to raise some money to help with a new computer center in my village which is going to be in the old headmaster’s house near the high school. I’m blessed with so many great friends; I’ve received $565 in the mail. But that’s not the only amazing thing.
There is a Peace Corps volunteer (Erica) who is still in Samoa who lived in a village several miles down the road from Poutasi. I say lived, because she literally out ran the tsunami when it swept into her village, and the house where she was living was destroyed. Through her help and an organization called Peace Corps Partnership we have raised an additional $2,700! The money is intended to help purchase some equipment for the computer center. It should buy at least two copier/printer machines. I can’t say fa’afetai (thank you) enough to everyone who helped out.
It’s been eight months since the tsunami. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone there, but I’m apprehensive about seeing the village. It will forever be in my memory as it was before the tsunami, especially since that’s the way it was during my Peace Corps experience. But it will never be that way again, and I have to get used to that idea too.
I’ll send an update from Samoa. Maybe this will be the stimulus I need to take my 300+ page journal, written while I was in Peace Corps, and turn it into something that people might want to read, or maybe just a memoir for me and my family.
As always, thanks for your interest and your support.
As I mentioned previously, I’ve been trying to raise some money to help with a new computer center in my village which is going to be in the old headmaster’s house near the high school. I’m blessed with so many great friends; I’ve received $565 in the mail. But that’s not the only amazing thing.
There is a Peace Corps volunteer (Erica) who is still in Samoa who lived in a village several miles down the road from Poutasi. I say lived, because she literally out ran the tsunami when it swept into her village, and the house where she was living was destroyed. Through her help and an organization called Peace Corps Partnership we have raised an additional $2,700! The money is intended to help purchase some equipment for the computer center. It should buy at least two copier/printer machines. I can’t say fa’afetai (thank you) enough to everyone who helped out.
It’s been eight months since the tsunami. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone there, but I’m apprehensive about seeing the village. It will forever be in my memory as it was before the tsunami, especially since that’s the way it was during my Peace Corps experience. But it will never be that way again, and I have to get used to that idea too.
I’ll send an update from Samoa. Maybe this will be the stimulus I need to take my 300+ page journal, written while I was in Peace Corps, and turn it into something that people might want to read, or maybe just a memoir for me and my family.
As always, thanks for your interest and your support.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Village Clean-Up
FROM THE SAMOA OBSERVER
Tsunami clean-up begins
Sunday, 07 March 2010
Hundreds of volunteers, supported by the expatriate Australian community (and the odd Kiwi) turned up at Poutasi yesterday for the start of the tsunami clean-up.
Teams scoured the mangroves, waded through the lagoon and scrambled over the rocks to rescue the reef and retrieve tonnes of debris and other rubbish.
Led by MNRE and with the support of DMO, Fire and Emergency Services, the Red Cross, the crew from MV NAFANUA and the matai of Poutasi, the clean up was declared a big success.
“It was a wonderful day and proved that, occasionally, people power can match the destructive force of nature,” said Australian High Commissioner Matt Anderson.
“It was also a reminder that Australia (and Australians) stand ready to assist Samoa wherever and whenever there’s a need.”
Tsunami clean-up begins
Sunday, 07 March 2010
Hundreds of volunteers, supported by the expatriate Australian community (and the odd Kiwi) turned up at Poutasi yesterday for the start of the tsunami clean-up.
Teams scoured the mangroves, waded through the lagoon and scrambled over the rocks to rescue the reef and retrieve tonnes of debris and other rubbish.
Led by MNRE and with the support of DMO, Fire and Emergency Services, the Red Cross, the crew from MV NAFANUA and the matai of Poutasi, the clean up was declared a big success.
“It was a wonderful day and proved that, occasionally, people power can match the destructive force of nature,” said Australian High Commissioner Matt Anderson.
“It was also a reminder that Australia (and Australians) stand ready to assist Samoa wherever and whenever there’s a need.”
Thursday, January 28, 2010
A New Computer Center For Poutasi
Aloha! After a vagabond year I’m back in Hawaii. It was wonderful to spend a lot of time with family on the mainland. With one son in Atlanta, one in Colorado, and the other in San Diego, I literally went from coast to coast, thoroughly enjoying my time with each of them and their families. I was also able to spend a lot of precious time with my mother in Colorado.
After the tsunami in Samoa I mentioned that I would like to organize an effort to help my village of Poutasi, especially the kids in the village. One of my major projects in the village was the homework/computer center. We turned a storeroom in the rear of the church hall into a small computer center (see photos on the right side of this blog). We had three donated used computers, and one laptop. We got a grant from the New Zealand High Commission of approximately $2,000US, which we used to purchase a printer and pay for some of the renovation cost. The village provided labor and the remainder of the materials.
It was in this small center that I spent two or more afternoons a week and Saturday mornings with the kids teaching them to use the computers, helping them with school work, and providing a learning place for them to hang out. Often there would be 12 or 15 kids waiting for me when I got there. They would double up and sit two in front of each computer. While waiting for their turn, they sat on the floor and colored, did puzzles, read books, or played games. Thanks to generous donations from friends in the States, we were able to provide these educational materials for them.
I taught the kids basic computer skills and installed educational games on the computers. There were mouse practice games, typing games, and math and language games. They loved it and it was such a joy to see them there. Some days I would be tired and think, “I don’t want to go to the computer center this afternoon.” Then I would go and spend two or three hours and be totally energized by being with them.
The church hall was badly damaged in the tsunami. It’s structurally unsound and is being demolished. However, often there is opportunity in crisis. There is a two-story house that at one time was the headmaster’s house for the school when they sent teachers to Samoa from New Zealand. While I was living in the village, Tuatagaloa Joe and his wife, Tui (Joe is my family’s chief and high chief of the village, and Tui was my dear friend and cousin who was killed in the tsunami), talked to me about using that house to create a “real” computer center. If I had been able to stay longer in Samoa I would have worked toward that goal. I had initial conversations with some folks about it, but that was all that I was able to accomplish while I was there.
Now, after the tsunami, a group of young men from New Zealand have come to the village to help, and they are remodeling and restoring the house for a computer center. There will be a small apartment upstairs so that someone can live above the computer center to provide supervision and security. And it is on the main road so there is a phone line nearby making it possible for them to be on the internet (my little computer center wasn’t on the net).
Tuatagaloa Joe will be sending me some photos and more details on the renovation progress soon. I’ll post that information as soon as I get it.
Many people have told me that they would like to make a donation, so I’m working to raise some funds to help make this new computer center a reality. If you would like to help Poutasi in this way, you can contact me at kona_malia@yahoo.com. Fa’afetai tele lava! (Thank you very much!)
After the tsunami in Samoa I mentioned that I would like to organize an effort to help my village of Poutasi, especially the kids in the village. One of my major projects in the village was the homework/computer center. We turned a storeroom in the rear of the church hall into a small computer center (see photos on the right side of this blog). We had three donated used computers, and one laptop. We got a grant from the New Zealand High Commission of approximately $2,000US, which we used to purchase a printer and pay for some of the renovation cost. The village provided labor and the remainder of the materials.
It was in this small center that I spent two or more afternoons a week and Saturday mornings with the kids teaching them to use the computers, helping them with school work, and providing a learning place for them to hang out. Often there would be 12 or 15 kids waiting for me when I got there. They would double up and sit two in front of each computer. While waiting for their turn, they sat on the floor and colored, did puzzles, read books, or played games. Thanks to generous donations from friends in the States, we were able to provide these educational materials for them.
I taught the kids basic computer skills and installed educational games on the computers. There were mouse practice games, typing games, and math and language games. They loved it and it was such a joy to see them there. Some days I would be tired and think, “I don’t want to go to the computer center this afternoon.” Then I would go and spend two or three hours and be totally energized by being with them.
The church hall was badly damaged in the tsunami. It’s structurally unsound and is being demolished. However, often there is opportunity in crisis. There is a two-story house that at one time was the headmaster’s house for the school when they sent teachers to Samoa from New Zealand. While I was living in the village, Tuatagaloa Joe and his wife, Tui (Joe is my family’s chief and high chief of the village, and Tui was my dear friend and cousin who was killed in the tsunami), talked to me about using that house to create a “real” computer center. If I had been able to stay longer in Samoa I would have worked toward that goal. I had initial conversations with some folks about it, but that was all that I was able to accomplish while I was there.
Now, after the tsunami, a group of young men from New Zealand have come to the village to help, and they are remodeling and restoring the house for a computer center. There will be a small apartment upstairs so that someone can live above the computer center to provide supervision and security. And it is on the main road so there is a phone line nearby making it possible for them to be on the internet (my little computer center wasn’t on the net).
Tuatagaloa Joe will be sending me some photos and more details on the renovation progress soon. I’ll post that information as soon as I get it.
Many people have told me that they would like to make a donation, so I’m working to raise some funds to help make this new computer center a reality. If you would like to help Poutasi in this way, you can contact me at kona_malia@yahoo.com. Fa’afetai tele lava! (Thank you very much!)
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