Fall has Sprung

Things are happening here in Korotubu and it has to do with the weather. The end of the cyclone season is in sight and while busses are still getting stuck on the road, there’s a certain air of indifference among those digging tires out of the mud because each day the sun shines, life gets a bit easier. This goes for me too. They should have warned us about the rainy season, or maybe I just took it worse than some because I am and always will be a desert rat. After relative inactivity for four months, the brush cutters and cane knives have been taken out to clean up the village and groups are getting together to talk about projects for this year.

The major development since my last entry is a grant from UNDP Global Environment Fund. I am trying not to get too excited, not until I see the final approval, but it looks more than promising. This will give the women’s group (Soqosoqo ni Marama) about $24,000 to carry out a yearlong project called “Towards an Environmentally Sustainable Community”. If the title didn’t tip you off, this is what I’m all about. With the money we will do several awareness workshops on watershed and waste management, reforestation, and livelihood security. We will build a nursery so the hills behind the village can be reforested, a composting piggery for income generation, three composting toilets, wetlands to filter wash water from each house in the village, and revival of traditional handicrafts to be sold in the markets. This is an amazing opportunity for me because not all PCVs get an opportunity to participate in such a wide range of projects. The project will make my time in Fiji more than worthwhile, the sort of validation I was searching for during those long rainy days of inactivity.

The Earth Day celebration (Veivakamarautaki ni Earth Day) planning is going better than expected. The village youth group has taken my ideas for the day and expanded it. They have broken up themselves into three groups and will have a poster drawing competition as well as a meke (traditional dance, grass skirts and everything) and drama competition. The times we meet to plan the celebration end up being mini environment lessons, I tell them about coral polyps and they tell me about traditional environmental concepts.

I am also planning on an HIV/AIDS and sexual health workshop in May. I’m inviting two other PCVs with a health background to take over this one. Teenage pregnancy is a big problem, but the news that one of my good (17-year-old) friends is four months pregnant woke me up and prompted me to do something. I hope this is taken well by the village elders and we are allowed to speak freely at the workshop.

Good news! My garden (teitei lailai) has sprouted! I’ve never had a successful garden, but over the weekend my okra plants sprouted and today the tomato, lettuce and carrot plants joined the party. I am really excited to have fresh veggies in 90-120 days.

So all is well, I feel more a part of my community than ever. I am able to joke around Kaiviti style and express my emotions better in Fijian, which makes me a happier person. I also feel like people are getting to know the real me better. I used to be the quiet white girl in the corner, but now I am Menani: the one who doesn’t eat fish (among other identifying traits, that being the primary).

Here is a picture of me and some fellow PCVs with Commodore Bainimarama. He's the guy who staged the military coup in January of last year and is now the interim Prime Minister. We stalked him in Savusavu last weekend to get a picture with the man himself...not sure if this is totally PC with the Peace Corps...