Position           16:30.90 S 167:47.12 E

Date                Thursday 23 July 2015

Distance run    From Awei 4.4nm over the ground, 4.1nm through the water

                        1.3nm as the crow flies

This is turning into a very busy week.  First thing it was a motor in company with Trillium around the reefs to anchor off the village of Avokh to take advantage of the high water for Trillium to off load some of their cargo and for Elizabeth to get stuck into patients

George Joses receiving a booster injection brought from Port Vila

George had been discharged from Port Vila hospital with only a months supply of the drugs required to keep his heart failure under control.  There is a system for resupply but as with so many things here it had not worked and the drugs had got lost somewhere in a long supply chain, if they had been sent in the first place.  Elizabeth having seen him on her previous visit was able to bring a six months supply from the Central Pharmacy which should allow time for the usual resupply to work.

Debridement of a particularly infected and swollen stingray injury

Not exactly a sterile surgery but a happier patient post debridement, a butt shot of penicillin and a high tech dressing.  Treatment seems always to involve an audience

Dennis and Sherry with Chief Kaisa organised the equal sharing of aid goods and food.  The carpet is an old mainsail and there is a pile for each household

Elizabeth delivered one of our Kindy Bags to the village kindergarten

Canoe building using very simple tools is a major activity on Avokh

Canoes are of major importance on Avokh as the island is small with very limited flat areas.  The village gardens are on the mainland and everything must come and go by canoe.  The island has no powered boats, if these are required they are hired from nearby Uliveo.  Even the school has had to be sited on the next island so that the school run has to be by canoe unless it is low water when the children can walk over the reef.  Canoe building, carving out the hulls from a single trunk and then shaping pieces of wood to build up the gunwales is all done using the ubiquitous bush knife.  A traditional brace and bit is used for pilot holes for fixings.