Ministry of Health Nutrition Month

Last month was the Ministry of Health’s First Annual Nutrition Month.
It was a great adventure.  My favorite part about helping prepare this event was that no one started planning anything until mid-July.  I kept my mouth shut throughout April, May, June and the first half of July wondering if this large scale event was even going to happen (it was highly possible that it just wouldn’t).  It did though, in full force, and I was proud to be a part of something big that doesn't take as much effort and stress that most Americans put into work.

Fijians have a beautiful way of getting everything together at the last minute and everything comes out just fine. I've realized that Westerners stress about plans, reservations, preparations, people involved, what to wear, money and time. Fijians figure, why start planning before you need to? Why stress? They know that plans are going to change anyway, so why try to make it, or better yet, believe anything is permanent?

I can honestly say that I have not been to one single event, meeting, workshop or dinner here where something unexpected and last minute did not happen.  Every time, I mean every single time, something changes. Whether it be the time, place, date, entire focus, people involved, food served, etc.

I love it.  I love that people don’t make plans because they know everyone lives day to day, minute by minute. I love that the rare instances where people do make plans, or plans must be made, the people know that it’ll all change.  I want to keep writing the phrase, “something went wrong”, but that is so Western. Nothing actually goes wrong, the course just changes paths.  I don't want to make a broad statement, but I think most American's are not very adaptable people.  We zone in on plans and stress ourselves out.

Fijians and Indians, know very well that anything unexpected can happen, and something usually does.  They are so closely knit with their families and nature that even the slightest change can alter everything.  I've been told, 'How could I plan for a vacation two months in advance, my mother might be sick, the sugar cane money might not come, maybe there will be a hurricane.' And they're right.  But Westerners live so far removed from nature and much more individualistic lives that most of these things don't effect us at all.  Living here has been an eye opening experience and I hope to incorporate both styles in my life, because in truth neither extreme is perfect and a mix is best.

So.... On July 12 I was asked  if we could find 100 fruit trees to plant during our Nutrition Month.  The dieticians wanted to plant fruit trees in Hospitals, Health Centers, Nursing Stations, schools and villages and  figured I would be best to ask since I work with organic gardens.  I had no idea where to find these 100 trees. I asked why they didn't plan for this earlier, and if they knew, why they didn't ask me earlier so I could make sure that many were germinated.  They just smiled and said, because we just started planning yesterday.  I smiled back thinking, oh right, I'm on Fiji time.

I knew that if we found the trees, life would be beautiful, and if we didn't find the trees, life would still be beautiful, just without part of the program. I wish I was a better writer and could make this very dramatic, but it turns out we were able to get 60 fruit trees of all different variety.  Everything worked out just fine.  It always does.  It always does everywhere, its just our perceptions that make us think differently.

After we got set up with programs for the month I was asked to travel around to all the locations and help plant trees/take pictures for the events.  (Sometimes it pays to be the only one with a camera :) ) It was a fun month with a lot of travel. I ate the most delicious foods (crab, octopus, wild fern in coconut milk, curry’s and homemade jams) and got the opportunity to see many new parts of this island.

Below are photos from the month’s events…There were Walks, Food Displays, Organic Gardening Talks (by yours truly) and Fruit Tree Planting.

August 1st, Opening Ceremonies in Nabouwalu (4 hours away form Labasa).  Brooke (another Peace Corps Volunteer who i'm pretty sure you can point out) came to walk with us!

during the walk a gospel choir sang. everyone in fiji has a good voice

the kids look really happy to be participating

where the opening ceremonies take place. all the important people sit in the chairs in front

garlanding (spelling?) the two chief guests. this makes everything official

After everyone spoke about Anemia and Nutrition we planted Fruit Trees (guava, papaya, saursop, mango, avocado)

Principal Agricultural Officer

Nabouwalu Doctor

Divisional Medical Officer

Divisional Dietician (my community counterpart)

Later in the week the Dieticians put on a Fruit and Vegetable Food Display.  They do this to help educate people on proper portion sizes and all the different types of fruits and vegetables Fiji has to offer.

At the Labasa Health Center  These are some of my co-workers!

the thing i love most about food displays is eating all the food afterwards!

Display at Sasa Village during a Village Health Worker Training. Vilisi on the far right (big smile) is the Dietician at the Labasa Health Center where i work, she is the friendliest person I have ever known.  I am so lucky to work around her.

With some of the Village Health Workers.

I'm really awkward here.  I'm supposed to help finish the entire that really big bowl of vakalolo ( a syrup coated root crop dumpling) but I was already so full. they kept telling me "Mo-ni-ka, kana vakalevu, kana vakalevu". Translated to Monica, eat more, eat more, eat a lot!

Then we planted more Fruit Trees at Naduri Health Center

Pete and Sherleen planting a passion fruit vine

Pete and Umesh planting a papaya tree

Planting at primary schools

school assembly at one secondary school before we planted.  headmaster asked me to speak about organic gardening without my prior knowledge. oh man, just imagine me standing up there! i've recently become a very soft spoken and shy public speaker so  hopefully i managed to sputter out something thoughtful

Wainikoro Health Center

Planting at Vunivutu Nursing Station. Sometimes i think the Northern Island looks nothing like a person would expect of Fiji

And if your wondering what Health Centers and Nursing Stations are, they look like this..

This is Vunivutu Nursing Station.  There is a room for patients called the clinic room and on the other side of the yard there is a building that looks just like this where the nurse and their family live.  Nursing Stations are  located in the rural communities and serve the basic needs of patients. Anything serious goes to the nearby health center, a similar structure but bigger and from there the hospital.

Here is a rural community that a nursing station would serve.  its about 2 hours away from town

another rural community

Sometimes I like to think about all the fruits people will be eating in a few years when these trees mature. I had a great month meeting new people, eating delicious food, working on Fiji time, traveling this island and helping bring good food into people's lives.

Next month I'll have a lot of photos from the gardens I've helped establish!


I want to hear about your lives too!  Send me an e-mail, mcdrazba@gmail.com, or snail mail at
Monica Drazba, PCV
Northern Health Services
P.O. Box 104
Labasa Fiji

Much Love,
Monica

The Friendly North Festival

 My last blog was about Labasa town, the place where I reside.  I talked about the challenges living in a place without recreation and how not much changes from day to day.

This blog will be about the ONE time per year that Labasa comes to life!  The event is called The Friendly North Festival.  It is a big carnival with games, food stands, vendors, fairy floss (cotton candy), rides, and contestant kings and queens.

This ended last night with the crowning of the king and queen. It happens every year during the second week of school break so all the school kids can run free, stay up late and enjoy the excitement.

Peace Corps was able to have a booth this year to display projects and talk about who we are/what we do.  We went down to the fair grounds every night (the fair lasted a week) so I took the opportunity to take my camera out and get some photos to share.

After living here a year I understand how big of an event this really is.  The population of town doubles, people flow in from villages all over the north and people relish in the change of pace.  Its so fun to see village kids come to town and be amazed by what I think of as the smallest things.  At times kids would come and sit by our stall just to watch what the foreign people were doing.  Bubbles, toy guns, balloons and empty cans were a hit with the hundreds of kids running wild. I loved this past week and I'm really happy that I was able to be a part of this event.

Tim, David and Palden setting up the booth and hanging out

people!

they put lights up in town and it gave labasa a bit of charm. i wish they kept them up all year

behind the stage, all the people are watching the kings and queens

Peace Corps booth

pretty

a king and queen on Pacific Island Night. each night is a different theme where they dress up and have to perform or answer questions. Some of the other themes were global night, bollywood night and fiji night

Indian treats for sale

i had so much fun taking photos during the festival. there were so many new scenes,  fun colors and pretty lights

fiji boys

this girl decided to do things a little differently. instead of cooking behind the booth, she stood up front and put on a cooking performance. super cool

kids are the same everywhere

getting ready to perform a meke (fijian traditional dance)

playing

waiting and watching some performances

love to all
monica

life in labasa

Some of you might be wondering, 'what is labasa like?'

You know what my work is like, you know what my life is like, but what's the town like?  I've waited a year to blog about this because I could never muster up the words to describe this place.  I felt like I'd say all the wrong things. But I'm going to try today. I've gathered some photos for easy visuals and hope that my words can transfer the mood and style of life in little Labasa (Lam-basa).



thanks google earth



I'll begin with why are we here.  About a hundred years ago, while Fiji was still a British Colony, the British decided that Fiji would be a prime location for the growing, harvesting and crushing of sugar cane.  They mapped out areas and decided to purchase land not owned by Fijian tribes and begin farming cane.  At this same time they brought over Indians as indentured servants.  Labasa was choosen to be a prime place for a sugar mil because 1) dry and hot temperatures 2) two main rivers that run out to the sea (for waste). So it began.

The mil is the only reason why Labasa started to be a main hub for the northern island and continues to grow.  When the British gave Fiji their independance the Indians were given the freedom to remain in Fiji as they had completed their servitude.  The majority of Indians did stay and were given (or had to buy I'm still not quite sure) the sugar cane land.  To this day they are the primary farmers and make up more than 70% of the Labasa population.

Here's some photos:

http://www.fiji.pictures-pacific.com/northern-islands/vanua-labasa-mill.html -the mill

http://www.fiji.pictures-pacific.com/northern-islands/vanua-labasa-cane.html -some fields



sugar cane train



while the drivers wait they sleep, picnic, talk and during the night smoke and drink grog

 window  shopping in labasa....

The most challenging, but also the most rewarding aspect of living in this town is the lack of recreation.  We are one of the most populated areas of Fiji, but lack a lot of outside influence like the other cities and towns.  Many of the other places have shopping malls, the cinema, parks and picnic areas, good restraunts, beachfront bars and all that good stuff.  Labasa is pretty bare.

Here's some photos of our town area:

http://www.fiji.pictures-pacific.com/northern-islands/vanua-labasa-2.html - main road

http://www.fiji.pictures-pacific.com/northern-islands/vanua-labasa-bus-stand.html - bus stand

the main road  (the only road with shops)

the harvest

this line can reach up to a mile long. sometimes the drivers have to stay for days

bus stand. there is no set schedule, everything is on fiji time

Since there isn't a lot to do, the people here live more traditional lives.  Most 24 year old girls are married and on their 2nd or third child.  They're generally stay at home mothers and focus on the household roles.  Its been very difficult for myself and I think all volunteers to connect with other people our age because of these factors.  When I'm having a difficult day I miss creativity, independence, art and critical thought among my peers.



fijian women fishing







Indian women cooking and eating



But traditional and conservative are not bad.  I get the opportunity to walk down the streets and see Fijian women in sulu jabas and Indian women in Sari's and Salwaar-kamis. I have learned more than I thought I'd ever know about Hinduism and Islam.  I see the direct effects of culture and the lives of people. In a village I'd be limited to one race and one districts traditions and in a large town I'd be surrounded by a large tourist or Western population. 

ceremony at the famous snake temple in labasa

mosque outside of labasa

local police

after a workshop for village health worker training, fijian women in sulu jabas



And when I get island fever, which happens regularly being a girl that likes to be on the road, I've learned what I need to do to make me feel better (the rewarding part). I garden, paint, cook, exercise, read and write letters.  And when those don't seem to do the trick, I leave for the weekend.  I have two options, go to the yatch harbor, savusavu, 3 hours away or to David's village up in the mountains.

I love going to the village.  It's quiet, peaceful and a great escape from town. It only takes 2 and a half hours by bus, there are about 80 people in the village and its a 3km walk from the nearest canteen, paved road and bus stand.  Sometimes I dream that all my friends and family do our own version of this someday.

Here are some photos:

two of the six kindergarteners

looking out his front door

my favorite

view from a 10 minute hike outside his village

 There have only been a few times I wish my life in Fiji was more like the photos everyone see's of Fiji

 But most of the time I'm really happy to experience a completely different way of life and the challenges that go along with that.  I've learning a lot about myself and how to be happy without all the external influences we American's have all around us.  This doesn't mean that I wouldn't kill for good cheese, beer, live music, a park or a beach, it just means that for the time being I'm okay learning to live well and be happy without it.  

Hope everything is well on that side of the Pacific!

Miss you all!

Love,

Monica