Poutasi Learning Center

This has been an exciting week in the village of Poutasi. On Monday we had the Grand Opening of the Poutasi Learning Center. Sometimes I get frustrated with the traditional Samoan ceremonies that go on and on and on, but this time I enjoyed every minute of it.

This is a project that the village told me that they wanted when I first got here in August of last year. It took nine months to do what I probably could have done in about one month in the States, but that’s okay. That’s just how it goes in Samoa.

Some of you will remember when I sent an email last fall telling you that we had received a donation of some used computers from the Mormon Church in Samoa. On behalf of the village I requested $2,500US from the New Zealand High Commission to help remodel a small storage room in the church hall into a computer center. We got the grant which was used for lumber, electrical work, a fan, and a printer/copier. People in the village donated labor and materials as well. Friends from the States donated a computer (Thank you Carol!) and a monitor (Thank you Dana!), a laptop (Thank you Kim!), and 20 books (Thank you everyone!). There are shelves for a small library, especially reference books.

We’re in a school break right now, but when school resumes on June 9th we’ll have an after school homework center. We’ll start with two nights a week when kids can come to the church hall and get help with their homework. We are blessed to have several teachers living in the village, and they will rotate as volunteers to help.

The computer center will be for everyone one in the village to use. Those adults or young people who know how to use computers can come and use it, and I’ll teach basic computer lessons to those who want to learn. Computer classes are taught in some of the schools, but no one in the village has a computer in their home. There will be small fees ($.50US/hour for students and $1.00US/hour for adults) for computer lessons and printing/copies ($.25US/page). This money will (hopefully) pay for the electricity, supplies, and a small maintenance fund. It’s not connected to a phone line for internet right now, although we could do that in the future.

At the Grand Opening of course everyone was dressed in their best and there were leis for the dignitaries. There were speeches and a ribbon cutting. Then we had an ava ceremony with the chiefs of the village, and food, which no Samoan celebration would be complete without. After the food, there was a presentation of gifts to the honored guests. Besides reps from the NZ High Commission, the Director of Peace Corps Samoa was there, and reps from the government ministry that works with Peace Corps. The village presented each with fine woven mats and roast suckling pigs in baskets woven from coconut fronds. After that there was music and Samoan dancing. This took about three hours, then three other Peace Corps volunteers joined me and we did face painting and crafts with the children of the village. There are about 60 primary school age children in the village, and I think they were all there! It was a lot of fun.

Then I walked home and took a nap – Samoan style.

Thanks again for all of your support – whether it’s a donation for the village, a care package, an email, or just your positive thoughts beamed in my direction. Poutasi is a lovely village with picture postcard views of the beautiful Pacific, whose kind and gentle people have made me feel welcome, but it’s not easy sometimes. Nobody said it would be easy, but it’s a good feeling to have accomplished this tangible thing that will hopefully continue long after I’m gone from Samoa.