The Art of Giving
Vega
Hugh and Annie
Sun 16 Sep 2018 21:36
The following morning we were visited by a mother and her two young children in a canoe who asked if we had any rope (to tie up their cow) or a football we could give them. Annie gave them some sweets but declined anything further. As it happened we had a small football on board as a potential gift, knowing how prized they are with island children. All our spare rope has been given away - throughout the South Pacific everyone has a cow that needs a rope. Thinking it was the last village we would be stopping at in Vanuatu and looking at the impoverished appearance of the children I called them back and gave them the ball - for which they seemed very happy. On reflection I regretted my action, wishing we had given it to the children at Akhamb island where we had received so much kindness and hospitality. A group of kids there was keen to help us launch our dinghy and get it back to our boat one afternoon, when the wind had come up and was too strong for us to paddle. We declined, soliciting the aid of a local man who was able to tow us and for which we gave him some fishing line (always much in demand).
This episode has rekindled our thoughts about aid generally. We have seen many examples of inappropriate aid such as the methane producing units in Tonga donated by China and where the pigs supplying the excrement to create the methane for fuel were eaten and the units abandoned within a few months. There was the coconut oil producing plant, also in Tonga, that required maintenance and regular working hours - again soon abandoned. On Uliveo Island in the Maskelynes here in Vanuatu is a beautiful donated block building containing a fibreglass canoe making facility. It soon became clear that none of the locals could afford to buy a fibreglass canoe or even the raw materials to build one and the building is unused. The islanders do, however, give yachties the hard sell for performing traditional dances, trips to their giant clam sanctuary, kava from a purpose built bar, crayfish - cooked and absolutely delicious. The prices were pretty steep and a group of us negotiated a more “reasonable” rate for a session of traditional dancing. There may be a fine line between wanting to pay for a service to ensure some income for the locals and feeling overly pressured to pay an exorbitant price but that is just the nature of business from which a happy compromise can usually be achieved.
At Malua Bay we did in fact go ashore and there to meet us was Vivian’s husband Peter and son who, unsolicited, guided us up to the Blue Pool on the nearby river where there are waterfalls and the opportunity for a refreshing freshwater swim. On the way Peter pointed out the water pipe leading from a purpose build water tank, fed from a spring and providing a more clean, stable water supply for the village than just reliance upon rainwater. The arrangement had been donated by a New Zealander and as far as we could tell was very much appreciated. Back in the village by far the best, albeit yet to be completed building was the church. The church is often the best building in a village and if it also served as a community centre and village hall you might acknowledge its importance but this is not always the case. This church was being built by the locals at their expense and construction proceeds as and when the villagers can save enough money. These are people who live in single room houses with no more furniture than raffia mats spread on the floor. Their water supply was donated and yet every last penny they can save is spent on a church.
You pay for secondary schooling out here but not all families can afford it and many children have no more than a primary school education. We are all for aid to help poor communities to develop but can see that it has to be relevant to directly improving peoples lives and have tangible benefits that mean people want to nurture and sustain what has been provided. Of course you can choose to live and be very happy living a more simple and less material life. I would have thought that we in the west could learn a lot from this but, personally, I value the benefits of a good education and a relatively comfortable life over and above the “solace” of the fire and brimstone that we and other yachties have seen meted out on Sundays to these communities. Church and kava drinking are not going to improve things - quite the opposite.
After Peter had taken us to the Blue Pool, his son asked if we had any colouring pencils and we were pleased to give him these and some colouring books to share with his brother.