August 24, 2013
I spent the morning walking from the
village of Tuasivi to the main market village of Salelologa on Savaii. That’s a
distance of about 15km. While I have been known to do similar things for fun,
this was also done for a good cause. Actually, I was only participating in the
last stretch of a week-long walk around the entire island that the students, staff,
and volunteers were doing in order to raise money to buy a bus for a local high
school. Without a bus, the students must rely on local transportation which,
while definitely willing to take the students where they need to go, is general
for bringing people to the markets or the wharf. Many high schools have busses
which alleviates the strain on the general busses. But getting a bus
requires…money (of course). So this school planned this fundraiser and earned
the money by walking around the entire island of Savaii and singing through the
villages. They publicized the event and so actually got quite a bit of money.
In true Samoan form, they also got boxes of canned fish and canned corned
beef—delicacies here in Samoa. I walked with my good friend and fellow PCV,
Madi and other people from her village. It was a fun event and a great way to
spend a Saturday.
 |
| A tiny fraction of all the students |
 |
| The support van |
 |
| One village had niu (drinking coconuts) for the volunteers! |
 |
| Gathering at a church near the end of the walk |
 |
| Aisa Karimi! (Ice cream) |
 |
| The sign at the gate to the school |
No comments:
Post a Comment