Vista October08 Web

the volunteer view on international development

Making

Connections

- TE TUAO TAWA HI VOLUNTEER SERVICE ABROAD

MAY 2008

Te- na- koutou o Te Tu- ao Ta- wa- hi Volunteer Service Abroad promotes international volunteering for development, linking New Zealanders with people working to create positive change in their communities and countries. VSA believes that New Zealanders can make a positive difference in the world when volunteers, partner organisations and communities work together, sharing skills and knowledge. This approach, based on appropriate, sustainable development, leads to improved quality of life, and helps build selfdetermining communities and stable nations. At any one time, VSA has around 100 volunteers in 13 countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. The scope of assignments, which are usually for two years, are many and varied.

Become a VSA volunteer Look on www.vsa.org.nz/volunteervacancies to find out about application criteria, to register your skills, or to see what assignments are currently being advertised. Since 1963, VSA has sent over 2500 Kiwis overseas on assignment.

Become a member or donor VSA welcomes new members and donors. Visit the VSA website to find out about VSA membership, and how

kia ora

The news of Sir Edmund Hillary’s death in January was particularly poignant to everyone involved with VSA. As our Founding President, this great man lent his enormous wisdom and mana to the birth of our organisation. The tributes that flowed, including moving ones from the Sherpa people in Nepal, touched very strong chords – making people see again that one person with vision and principles, and a listening ear, can make a huge difference to the lives of many. So much of what Sir Ed embodied remains at the core of VSA today. He helped create an organisation based on strong values. Through his tireless work with the Sherpa people he led the way for New Zealanders to be recognised as practical hands-on volunteers who work side-by-side with people towards commonly-held goals. Last year the VSA Foundation provided us with a grant to establish an archive to document Sir Ed’s involvement with VSA. In this issue of VISTA we are sharing part of that archive as our tribute to Sir Ed. I think Sir Ed would want us to continue sharing stories and articles about our volunteers’ work with our partners as his living legacy. This issue of VISTA, headlined ‘Making Connections’, profiles how VSA is working to make relevant contributions to development programmes in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. It shares the reflections of our staff, volunteers and other colleagues working in development – recognising that good

development will happen only in an enquiring context and when understanding about global issues is also shared here in Aotearoa New Zealand – a role our returned volunteers and branch members are so uniquely placed to play. Shona Jennings’ article ‘Y The Future Looks Bright’ (pages 10-13) highlights the ongoing discussion about the role that youth can play in development. Students Partnership Worldwide (SPW) is at the forefront of challenging development agencies in this area – and VSA has recently signed a partnership agreement (page 4) with SPW so that we can create more opportunities to engage young kiwis in volunteering. This is an exciting new initiative – and one which I feel will open avenues to reach and include young New Zealanders who want to make those connections and make a difference. As this issue of VISTA goes to press, Shona, VSA’s External Relations Manager, is busy preparing to move to South Africa to take up a VSA assignment with the Eastern Cape NGO Coalition as a Communications and Advocacy Adviser. VISTA is Shona’s creation – she wanted VSA’s myriad of work to be profiled in a way that is visually appealing, gives voice to our partners and volunteers, explores concepts of development and the challenges we face, and makes people want to join VSA as volunteers. I’d like to thank Shona for making her vision our reality.

Deborah Snelson, CEO

your donations will be used to support assignments of greatest need.

Join a local Branch VSA Branches are a great way of meeting with like-minded people, and learning about and contributing to VSA and development. Phone 0800 VSA TO GO for details of the VSA Branch nearest you.

The next issue of VSA’s bi-annual VISTA will be published in October 2008.

VSA acknowledges the significant support of Nga Hoe Tuputupu-mai-tawhiti: NZAID – New Zealand’s international aid and development agency.

Te Tu-ao Ta-wa-hi Volunteer Service Abroad

Patron: His Excellency The Honourable Anand Satyanand, PCNZM, Governor-General of New Zealand President: Gavin Kerr, QSO | Kauma-tua: Awi Riddell (Nga-ti Porou), QSM Council Chair: Farib Sos | Chief Executive Officer: Deborah Snelson National office address: Te Tu-ao Ta-wa-hi Volunteer Service Abroad, 32 Waring Taylor St, PO Box 12-246, Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Tel: 64 4 472 5759. Fax: 64 4 472 5052. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.vsa.org.nz. VISTA is the official magazine of Te Tu-ao Ta-wa-hi Volunteer Service Abroad Incorporated. It is published twice a year in May and October. Please note that views expressed in VISTA are not necessarily the views of VSA. Editorial and photographic submissions to the magazine are welcome. Please address all queries and submissions to the Editor, VISTA, at the address above. Please ensure all material is clearly marked with your name and address. The deadline for the next issue (October 2008) is June 30, 2008.

VSA is a non-governmental organisation. We have no religious or political ties.

2 VSA Magazine May 2008

© VSA. All rights reserved. Reproduction of content is allowed for usage in primary and secondary schools, and for tertiary studies. Magazine designed by Vertigo, Dixon Street, Wellington | ISSN 1176-9904

contents



20 Tanzania

May 2008

4 ConVSAtion

News, views and happenings

8 Sneak Peek

Addventurers in Cambodia

10 Feature

Generation ‘Y’: could they be the activists that

save the world?

10

14 Development Talk 16 VSA Way

On the cover: VSA volunteer midwife adviser Louise Adamson with Mama Sara, a traditional midwife from Ngaramtonyi Village, near Arusha in Tanzania. Photo: Reece Adamson

A journey from volunteer to development worker

18 Te Manu Rere

Our Heritage and the Waitangi Treaty

19 Books and Bytes

16 VSA Way

20 Photo Essay 22 Travel

Giving the disabled a voice in Cambodia

Volunteering under the spotlight

People and Place: Tanzania

Finding the connection in Papua New Guinea

26 Connections Sir Ed and the beekeeper, and South Africa to New Zealand

28 Sistas Tok Tok

A weekly page of women’s issues makes

waves in Vanuatu

30 From the Field

Connecting across borders, across culture,

and growth versus development

8 Sneak Peek

34 Nga Tamariki

Guides put their hands up for Friendship,

and VSA ‘does’ WOMAD with young and old.

22

34 3 VSA Magazine May 2008

CONVSATION

Open Door to Youth It was a big day on the 22nd February this year when the Governor-General, His Excellency the Honourable Anand Satyanand, officially opened VSA’s new offices in Waring Taylor Street, we welcomed a new member onto VSA’s council, John Overton (see below), and VSA signed-up for a relationship with an international youth development agency, Students Partnership Worldwide (SPW). The SPW Chief Executive, Eric Levine, whose charisma and enthusiasm had charmed the development community of Wellington over a whirlwind 48-hour tour, admitted a severe case of nerves in the presence of the Governor General and a myriad of MPs who joined staff, Council and Branch members, selectors, ex-volunteers and others for the big event. After the building was opened; life membership bestowed on former President Jim Rowe’s widow, PARTNERSHIPS

“SPW is all about you th empowerment. As a volunteer you not only build the capacity and empow er rural young people, but bui ld your own skills and in tur n empower yourself.” FELICITY GIBSON, VSA VOLUNTEER WITH SPW

Margaret; John Overton welcomed; and the SPW/VSA agreement signed, it was Eric’s turn to address the crowd. He welcomed the relationship, saying it opened up the opportunity for young Kiwis to train and become peer educators in southern Africa. He spoke about his passionate belief that young people have a place in development and he complimented VSA for having the vision to support and encourage that. “SPW is an approach we feel good about and have come to know well having had Felicity Gibson, one of our UniVols, working there over the past year,” says VSA CEO Deborah Snelson. “We have continued to support SPW in South Africa again this year with UniVol Rachel Hogg, and we hope to have recruited a small number of young New Zealanders to work on SPW projects in 2009.”

Left: Eric Levine in conversation. Above: (left) Felicity Gibson with SPW soccer team member.

...it opened up the opportunity for young Kiwis to train and become peer educators in southern Africa

Meet Professor John Overton, VSA’s newest Council member. John is the Director of Development Studies at Victoria University. John’s a geographer by training and his journey into development includes doctoral research on the early European colonisation of Kenya and further research in Fiji, Malaysia and the Maldives. Land tenure in the Pacific Islands is a research interest of recent times. UNDER SCRUTINY

To me, moving onto VSA’s Council means... Being involved in a real development agency discussing real development work. It makes a change from looking at development by way of theories, books, lectures and theses! VSA’s role as a development agency is challenging because... It has values and principles, such as the importance of relationship building, that are not always easy to maintain in the face of the wider development landscape and the demands of funding, audits and the Paris Declaration. I believe volunteering has a role in development as... It gets at the heart of what I think development should be about, namely a process whereby people learn from each other, form long-standing relationships and, together, in small ways, tackle big issues. If I were to volunteer, I would like to go to... Kenya. A saying or a quote that inspires me is... In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice there is. (It’s not exactly inspiring but good for an academic to keep in mind.) There is nothing as good as... Having students asking great questions I can’t answer.

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Ready to volunteer? Visit our website – www.vsa.org.nz

CONVSATION

TOK PISIN for Health

Dr Barry Suckling believes information and knowledge are important to healthcare and vital keys to development, so he helped set up a system for patients at the Arawa Health Centre in Bougainville. “Though we try to educate patients during consultation, time pressure often doesn’t allow it. After saying the same things to patients hundreds of times, we get tired of hearing our own voice, and education gets less.” This was the problem Barry outlined to PNG health officials when explaining the new system.

HONOURED IN LAO PDR

EDUCATION

This is the ‘Cross of Labour’ awarded by the Lao government to Sirisena Dahanayake nearing the end of his extended six year assignment as an Economic Policy Adviser. The cross was presented to Sirisena by the acting Minister of Commerce

It was about information sheets that patients could take home, not to replace verbal instruction but to support it. “The most common conditions were chosen and then research was done. Some material was already written and some had to be specially written for the purpose,” says Barry. Initially the sheets were in English but the people who needed the sheets most weren’t the educated patients – so more than a hundred topics were translated into Tok Pisin. “While older staff at Arawa were a little skeptical, the younger staff saw this as a great opportunity to help patients and improve services,” says Barry. The sheets have been passed onto the training centre at the University in Madang to help young health professionals looking at patient care. Tok Pisin is the language that pulls together the more than 800 languages and dialects of PNG/Bougainville. Here are some of the descriptions used in referring to parts of the body.

and Industry in a ceremony attended by all the heads of department in the Ministry.

Kru bilong het

Gras bilong ai

Mambu bilong blut

Crew belong head

Grass belong eye

Bamboo belong blood

This is a great honour as the

Brains

Eyelash

Artery

cross is usually awarded to

Windo bilong ai

Kapa bilong pinga

Kilok

Window belong eye

Cover belong finger

Clock

Cornea

Finger nail

Heart

resident representatives of international agencies and overseas missions.

a certain grace:

challenging perceptions of poverty Photographer Anthony Maturin, who accompanied volunteer Sandra Jones in Cambodia and now in South Africa, will have his work recognised when an exhibition of his photos opens at the Petone Settlers Museum in August. The photos on display are from his book, A Certain Grace, which celebrates the strength of the human spirit in extreme poverty. Another feature of the display will celebrate the role of volunteering through VSA, as a way of creating positive global change. It’s hoped the exhibition will travel around the country to other museums after its six months in Wellington.

5 VSA Magazine May 2008

CONVSATION

extending branches COMEDY PAIR GET THE LAUGHS The Christchurch Branch made

more than $1800, and made a lot of people laugh with an ambitious comedy night in

late February that starred Gary McCormick and Ginette McDonald. It was a night that celebrated kiwi idiosyncrasies says Branch chair, Judy McPhillips, with 160 people lapping up all these great comedians had to offer. Events like these are time consuming and nerve-wracking so bouquets all around guys and gals – you pulled it off! In December, the Branch took to the streets in the Santa Parade with Addventurer Paul Hurley at the wheels of his pedicycle.

nelson rallies

Eleven returned volunteers; members

and friends of VSA’s Nelson Branch carried the baton through the night for the Nelson-Tasman Cancer Society’s biennial Relay for Life held at Tahunanui in Nelson in March. The team raised more than $2,500 for the region’s cancer related activities while raising public awareness of VSA and its most basic philosophy of practical community participation. Branch members also put up enticing displays to mark International Volunteer Day in December.

The Auckland and Village Branch made good use of the new VSA tent, globe and hats to keep out of the blistering summer sun at both Pasifika in March and the Auckland International Cultural

AUCKLAND FESTIVALS OUT

VeSdsAyou

ne

more s to take a ve the skill a h u yo o D re of VSA? in the futu le ro e tiv c a President r for VSA’s a ye n tio c be It’s ele u want to cil, so if yo in and Coun e b s must omination involved, n e. end of Jun before the g.nz [email protected] s to electi Any querie

Festival in February. Setting up the site and having people ‘up front’ each day is a big commitment but well worth the exposure, and the community involvement the festivals promote.

MANAWATU SHINES In March, the Manawatu

Branch held a very successful information stall at the

Festival of Cultures – the annual celebration of food, dance, and crafts from the ethnic communities in the region.

wellington colours christmas The Wellington Branch gave VSA volunteers overseas a ‘taste of the Capital’ with a collage of their city plus some helpful items for their homes. We hope they didn’t make the volunteers too homesick!

6 VSA Magazine May 2008

CONVSATION

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING VSA has been privileged to have some special guests over the last few months as relationships continue to be built between our partners, their countries and our organisation. Khamla Soubandith from the Rural Research Development Training Centre in Lao PDR was VSA’s nominee for a Council for International Development (CID) Hui on Power and Development. He also gave a seminar at VSA looking at the RRDTC’s status as one of the few NGOs in Lao PDR and the realities of working in a centrally managed country.

VSA’s first volunteer is due on assignment in Zambia soon, and the High Commissioner, His Excellency Godfrey Simasiku was updated on the progress of the partnerships being developed in his country when he met the Africa Programme Manager, Thomas Banda (below left), early in February. He made a commitment to provide any support possible to facilitate successful ongoing placement of volunteers.

The South African High Commissioner, His Excellency Anthony Mongaloh, here on a courtesy visit from Canberra met CEO Deborah Snelson (pictured below). He was pleased with the strength of the programme on the Eastern Cape and was appreciative of the ongoing commitment by VSA. Meanwhile a delegation from Binh Dinh Province in Viet Nam, including health and government representatives, was here as guests

SCHOLAR AWARDED Lawyer and VSA volunteer in Cambodia, Gerald Leather was quietly browsing his e-mails early one morning in Phnom Penh when he found one announcing he’d won the Prime Minister’s Prize for Public Policy. “I was stunned and elated but I had to wait an hour for my wife, Chris, to wake up so I could tell her,” says Gerald. Having never worked in the public service in New Zealand, he’d struggled to find a topic for his Masters research paper – but Cambodia changed all that. “I became interested in new laws being drafted to replace those abolished by the Khmer Rouge when they came to power in 1975 …. the Code of Criminal Procedure was in the process of being finalised and I made that the subject of my research.” It was a fascinating exercise for Gerald. To understand the Cambodian system, he first had to get to grips with French law. “It’s hard to believe that the French system and ours can be so different.” Gerald has found the experience of living and working in Cambodia fascinating. “Because most of the Cambodian people live very simple lifestyles we tend to assume that their society and belief systems are also simple. They are not. Others have said that Cambodian society is like an onion. We think that we know the society after we have peeled off the first few layers of skin. Only after many more layers have been removed do we realize how complex the society is and how many more layers there are before we truly understand.” Gerald Leather wasn’t in New Zealand to receive his Prime Minister’s prize but he soaked up some of the glory a few weeks later when he was capped at Victoria University in Wellington. EDUCATION

of the New Zealand/Viet Nam Health Trust and took the opportunity to have talks with VSA. (Below L-R): Dr Le Quang Hung of the Binh Dinh Department of Health, Dao Duy Chap, President, Binh Dinh Provincial Red Cross, Mui Ngah Lee, Programme Officer for Vietnam, Madam Nguyen Thi Thanh Binh, Deputy Chairwoman, People's Committee of Binh Dinh Province, Deborah Snelson, CEO VSA.

KUMI NAIDOO – BUILDING BRIDGES The Secretary General of CIVICUS, Kumi Naidoo met with VSA in December to talk about the possibility of having VSA volunteers working with his organisation in South Africa. Kumi met Africa Programme manager, Thomas Banda and CEO Deborah Snelson. More discussions are planned in South Africa about a future relationship. Kumi also gave a thoughtful and provocative address to a parliamentary breakfast at the start of International Volunteer Day about closing the gap between volunteering and social activism. CIVICUS has worked for over a decade to strengthen citizen action and civil society throughout the world, especially in areas where participatory democracy and citizens’ freedom of association are threatened.

To read more go

to:

www.nzfvwo.org.nz/files/parliamentarybreakfast_000.htm 7 VSA Magazine May 2008

SNEAK PEEK BEFORE

beautiful KEEP CAMBODIA

AFTER

It is incredible how much can be achieved in just four-and-a-half days when everyone pulls together. That’s how long the 14-strong Addventure VSA group spent at Sok An Mouy Usphea school in Ang Tasom, Cambodia, working alongside the school’s Eco-Club students to fence a garden, build a compost heap, paint a mural and lead some English and environmental lessons in the classroom. The enthusiastic Eco-Club also staged a two-hour show, performed in front of 3000 pupils, to help spread the anti-litter message. Cambodia is rapidly moving from a subsistence economy to subsistenceplus-cash. Students at the school calculated that, based on their average weekly use of plastic bags, 14 million Cambodians are pumping some two billion bags into the environment each year. The inadequate rubbish service and lack of emphasis on environmental education means the plastic bags – which take 10-40 years (or longer) to decompose – are a scourge of the Cambodian countryside. The Eco-Club wanted their school to become a model for other schools. Teacher Siphen Meas says, “…you have truly changed the course of our school in a positive direction while at the same time influencing our youth toward a brighter future.” Upcoming Addventure VSA trips are planned for Cambodia, Tanzania, Lao PDR and PNG. Addventure VSA combines sightseeing, visiting non-governmental organisations, learning about the work of VSA’s partner organisations and volunteers, and pitching-in on a community project during the course of the two- to three-week long trips. VSA’s partner in Addventure VSA is New Zealand’s Gecko Trails. Visit www.vsa.org.nz for more information.

8 VSA Magazine May 2008

SNEAK PEEK

Far left, top and middle: Before and after shots of a compost pit and garden, fenced by the Addventure VSA team. Inset: The school’s Eco-Club show off their vegetables, which took only a matter of weeks to grow. Bottom and this page, left: The Addventurers adapted a drawing by one of the Eco-Club students to create a mural publicising the anti-litter message. The Eco-Club also painted signs for the school grounds. Below right: Children help pick up litter. Above: It took four-and-a-half days and many hands to build a fence around the sizeable garden, which will be used as a horticultural training plot for students.

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F E AT U R E

Y the looks 10 VSA Magazine May 2008

F E AT U R E

World youth may represent the greatest opportunity for the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals, writes VSA’s Shona Jennings. Generation Y activists bring hope for the future.

T

future bright

en-or-so bright-eyed young people are eating oranges when I walk in on their afternoon meeting. Diagrams and drawings on newsprint taped to a board reveal the content of the day’s discussions. There are symbols, sketching, arrows, underlinings – and words. “What you see is the beginning of a strategic plan,” VSA Community Development Adviser Kate Bradlow waves towards the board. “We’re working out where we’re going to go and how we’re going to get there.” I can make out a drawing of Angkor Wat – not an unexpected sight given that we’re in Cambodia. But these ancient temples aren’t literally where these young people are trying to get to. They are all from minority tribal groups in Cambodia where connection with culture is strong – so, naturally, culture forms an important part of any direction-setting exercise. Kate, working with the Cambodia Legal Education Centre, is helping the group think through the planning process so that they have the skills to develop a strategic plan, if they choose to. Thinking in such a structured way may soon become a necessity for this particular group, the Cambodia Indigenous Youth Association. It will allow them to establish some control over the increasing number of requests being made of them. They are all students at Phnom Penh University and they are seen as an easily accessible and educated ‘voice of young indigenous people’. As such, they are being pursued by a growing number of development agencies all wanting to hear what they have to say. “The problem is they just happen to be the 30 out of the 14,000 young indigenous people who have made it to university,” says Kate. “They feel uncomfortable being ‘the voice’ when they do not have the mandate of their peers.” A recent report commissioned by researcher Sarah Maguire for the UK Government development agency, DFID, explains why their participation is increasingly being sought. There are more young people in the world than ever before. And that means “ … young people may represent the greatest opportunity for the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” the report says.

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F E AT U R E

“Our goal is to develop young people to become leaders and social entrepreneurs. We would like them to be role models for other youth, particularly in the rural communities where there is a great shortage of people with education and skills,” says Eva Mysliwiec, Executive Director of Youth Star Cambodia. What is important about this model is the long-term impact the experience has, both on the volunteer – and those they work with. Empowering people for social change nurtures skills and encourages them stand up for their rights; to seek positive change; to think critically and to lead. Active young people grow into active older people of influence. “Deprivation, ignorance and poverty create a vicious There is also a place for youth from the ‘North’ to get involved in social change. The circle in which youth are kept out of the job market, proviso is that they should be properly trained away from positions of power and become disaffected.” and equipped for the role – and importantly, their involvement should be wanted. “… In most countries in the developing world, the ‘youth bulge’ This is certainly the opinion of Eric Levine, director of Students is either being felt now, or is imminent… Participation of youth Partnership Worldwide. SPW recruits young volunteers from the ‘North’ must be facilitated, not blocked by obstacles – real or perceived. and teams them with young volunteers from the ‘South’. The groups are taught a range of non-formal and interactive teaching methods, then The voices of youth have to be heard.” The report gives a grim description of why urgent emphasis sent to work with schools and communities, raising awareness about should be placed on youth. “Deprivation, ignorance and poverty issues such as health, HIV/AIDS and the environment. “There are many create a vicious circle in which youth are kept out of the job market, issues young people can talk about with their peers that they wouldn’t talk about with teachers or parents,” says Eric. “Young people listen away from positions of power and become disaffected. and respond better to guidance and advice offered by people their own “In turn this can lead to them lapsing into apathy, adopting age.” SPW volunteers spend six to nine months with the programme – unhealthy life-choices or becoming vulnerable to recruitment by growing substantially through the process, while helping empower the war-lords and extremists. Their own lives and their countries’ youth they work alongside. chances of development are then compromised.” The report calls After investigating many different models of youth-to-youth on DFID to urgently develop strategies that focus specifically on development, the SPW approach is one VSA has chosen to support. children and youth. Since March, VSA has been actively promoting SPW to young It's an indisputable fact that young people relate to young people in New Zealand. It is also – for the second year running – people. Kate, 29, says, “When it’s someone roughly their age that supporting SPW’s southern Africa programme with the provision of a is passing on skills – like how to put together a strategic plan – it UniVol volunteer. feels much more achievable and tangible to them than if it were “Like VSA, SPW’s emphasis is about putting the development someone older.” needs of the communities they’re working with first,” says VSA's CEO Using young people as ‘development workers’ is a model that’s Deborah Snelson. And while VSA’s skills-sharing emphasis tends to gaining credibility globally. Both local and international young lend more support to older volunteers who are very experienced in people are playing an increasingly valued role. their professional fields, Deborah also believes younger volunteers can Youth Star Cambodia is one example of a new organisation contribute, especially through organisations like SPW. She is heartened leading this trend. Set up just two years ago, Youth Star trains by VSA’s experience with its UniVol scheme, which last year placed and empowers Cambodian university graduates to become leaders six Otago University students on nine-month-long assignments. within their own communities. Another intake of six has just left on the second year of this three-year

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F E AT U R E

Previous page left: UniVol Em Oyston (left) with colleague David Loy in Tanzania. Right: UniVol Felicity Gibson (second from left) with SPW’s staff soccer team in South Africa. Opposite page: Em Oyston and David Loy in conversation. This page clockwise from top: SPW workers, planning strategies, a student participant, Kate Bradlow and colleague.

pilot. “We look for age-appropriate assignments for the UniVols, and the good thing is that many of our overseas partners are now also actively looking for younger volunteers because of the different attributes they bring,” she says. The UniVol participants seem to epitomise the personality – however stereotypical – of what’s called ‘Generation Y’. According to Gen-Y expert Peter Sheahan, this group of under 30-year-olds are looking for a sense of purpose and meaning in their lives. They also seek professional growth, responsibility and input, variety, social interaction, and recognition – exactly the things development work overseas can offer. Generation Y are also the new activists. American academic, Edward Cheung, has a theory that when a population swells so, too, will there be a swell in activism. Just as the babyboomer period between 1946 and 1964 produced a stroppy, strident generation who hitout against the Viet Nam war, stood up for civil rights, the women’s movement and the environment, and instigated the War on Poverty, so are the babies of the 1978-94 ‘boom’ ready to put up a fight. Most New Zealand Gen-Y-ers have been further groomed into the activist role by our education system. Since the 1990s, the New Zealand curriculum has placed concern for the welfare of others, acceptance of cultural diversity, and respect for the environment as ‘essential learning’ in education. Within Social Sciences, students were “…challenged to think clearly and critically about human behaviour, and to explore different values and viewpoints”. It couldn’t have failed to have influenced Gen Y-ers, who number close to three-quarters of a million New Zealanders, or 21 percent of the population. The style of teaching also influenced Gen-Y-ers: they grew up with participatory learning, where collaborative and consensus style decisionmaking was the norm. Participatory approaches are also the favoured way of working in development, but many older practitioners struggle with this style. Says Kate – a Generation Y-er: “Because I am still in a process of discovery myself, I am perhaps more readily open to new things. I am still building my repertoire. There is certain energy in the fact that you haven’t defined yourself completely, so maybe you’re able to laugh at yourself a bit more.” This could bring a welcome freshness to development, along with new ideas and innovative ways of solving global problems. Even more than this, young people may be able to influence the MDGs not just by what they do in a country, working alongside fellow youth, but by how they can affect global inequities and injustice

within their own ‘home’ communities. Twenty-three-year-old Em Oyston was a VSA UniVol in 2007, working with an environmental organisation in Tanzania. He is about to use his experiences as the basis for his Masters in Planning, looking at rural livelihoods and land use. “My experience as a volunteer has opened my eyes for the rest of my life,” says Em. “The earlier you have an experience like this, the earlier it impacts your decisions and shapes what you do in the future.” The meeting in Cambodia is drawing to a close. The orange peel is binned; newsprint charts are folded away, and the young Cambodian students head off to do whatever young people in Cambodia do. I wonder, as they leave, if the Generation Y stereotypes and activist models proposed by academics in the North also apply to young people in the South. One of the students – a sharp, articulate and vibrant young woman, bids me farewell. “Now we will get more voice into society,” she says as I leave. “We are very little – I think we will try and then we will know.” It is the voice of an activist. n Maguire,S.Youth Mapping Strategy, Department for International Development. Prepared in collaboration with the DFID/CSO Youth Working Group, 2007. Sheahan, P. Generation Y: Thriving and surviving with generation Y at work, Prahran, Vic. : Hardie Grant Books, 2005. ISBN 9781740663175. Baby Boomers, Generation X and Social Cycles, Volume 1: North American Long-waves. Author: Edward Cheung.

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D E V E L O P M E N T TA L K

Organisations in Cambodia are giving disabled people the tools to stand up, literally – and the information and courage to stand up for their rights. BY SHONA JENNINGS

Stand up

SHOUT OUT I

don’t understand a word the speaker is saying. Her talk goes on for so long I give up my position standing as a guest up front, and slump to sit cross-legged on the floor with the villagers. But Ling Em, a community worker with the Cambodia Trust, still holds the attention of the 20-or-so people in front of her. They are fascinated by her explanations of disabilities: how polio affects people; what opportunities there are for those in their community who are missing a limb. Ling Em, who participates in road races and climbs mountains with one full prosthetic leg, is an excellent representative and advocate for the disabled. At the end of her talk, the villagers depart. All except two men: one missing an arm, the other a leg. Ling Em and her colleague, prosthestist Ky Bou, examine the two and arrange appointments for them the following week at the Cambodia Trust in Phnom Penh, where they will be properly assessed and options for prosthetics explained. These men are among the fortunate few. For many of those Above, top: Cambodia Trust community workers Ling Em and Ky Bou explain some of the causes and effects of physical disabilities in Cambodia. Above, bottom: David Efraemson and partner Kathryn Evans in Phnom Penh. Top right: Ky Bou talks to two men in Odong village about their options for prosthetic limbs. Right: Jan Nye finished her VSA assignment with the Cambodia Trust a year ago, but continued to work there for another year, helping the organisation develop relationships with other NGOs and government services working with the physically disabled, and promoting disability rights.

14 VSA Magazine May 2008

the Cambodia Trust assists, being fitted for a prosthetic limb means increased mobility, and being suddenly able to earn an income, feed and care for their family, send their children to school, and participate in their community. Last year, Cambodia Trust fitted 1919 prosthetic limbs and orthoses (braces) to people disabled as a result of landmine accidents, polio, cerebral palsy, club foot and other conditions. That’s a lot, but the reality is, it is a mere drop in the bucket of the number of people who are physically disabled in Cambodia. A major problem is finding the people in need of assistance. In Cambodia, disability is thought to reflect a family’s behaviour – past or present. Having someone with a disability within a family can cause such shame that the family will hide the victim, making it very difficult for assistance groups like the Cambodia Trust to find them. Another organisation working across the spectrum of disabilities is the Cambodian Disabled People’s Organisation. VSA volunteer David Efraemson is a Community Development Facilitator with the CDPO. A core part of this organisation’s work is developing and strengthening networks of people with disabilities to help them participate fully and equally in society. But they are also working to overcome the stigma of disability.

D E V E L O P M E N T TA L K

THERE IS A STRONG RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DISABILITY AND POVERTY n

In the Asia Pacific Region, it is estimated that over 40% of people with disabilities are living in poverty.

n

20% of the world’s poorest people have a disability.

n

50% of the causes of disability are believed to be preventable.

n

Only 2% of people with a disability are estimated to have access to basic services (health and education).

n

80% of people with disabilities are unemployed.

n

Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. It is estimated that up to 10 million landmines are still to be found and cleared. Currently there are around 40,000 landmine amputees and an estimated 50,000 people are disabled by polio and other crippling diseases.



Australian Council for International Development

“People’s perception of why people become disabled permeates all levels of society, from family members to neighbours, religious leaders to politicians,” says David. “As a result, disabled people are often ignored and their rights to education, healthcare and many other services are neglected.” One clever tactic to help overturn this perception is for CDPO to site their offices within a Buddhist pagoda to show that monks, regardless of their belief in ‘karma’, are supportive of people with disabilities. CDPO also runs radio programmes and regular articles in newspapers and on television. The organisation’s 8,000 members – of which two-thirds are men and boys – form strong networks within communities to support one another. This is far short of the number of disabled estimated for Cambodia, which is over 600,000, and the highest per head of population of anywhere in the world. However, real figures

are impossible to gauge because so many are tucked away. Supported by other disability organisations like the Cambodia Trust, a key part of the CDPO’s work is to ‘sensitise’ other organisations and government to disability issues, using mechanisms such as the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The frustrations of this role are clear: David likens it to beating against marshmallow at times. “An important role we can play is to educate people about disabilities and human rights,” David explains. CDPO’s focus is not on providing services or material benefits to disabled people, but on representing them and advocating for their interests, as well as empowering them by building their awareness and capacity. “Otherwise the main issues facing disabled people in Cambodia – like the poverty it often leads to and discrimination – will never go away.” n

WHAT IS ADVOCACY? Advocacy is speaking up for, or acting on behalf of, oneself or another person, often seeking to benefit people in difficulty. Advocacy helps give people a voice to express their wishes and views – to take more control over the decisions affecting their lives. Advocacy assists people to understand and stand up for their rights. Advocacy is strategic: it has a lot to do with identifying priorities, developing a plan, taking action and achieving results. Advocacy is about managing information and knowledge to change and/or influence political decisions, legislation and policy.

15 VSA Magazine May 2008

T H E V S A WAY

Growing through VOLUNTEERING

Diane and Eric Thorne-George returned home to Tairua this year from two-and-ahalf years in Bougainville – she as VSA programme officer and he as maintenance officer. This was the third time the couple had lived overseas with VSA, an eightyear journey which Diane explains has changed many ways they view life.

T

he boat rounds into Vureas Bay on the western side of Vanua Lava and we are almost at our destination. Jungle tumbles to the water-line and the sea is a Pacific clichéd turquoise against an azure sky. It has taken two flights to get to the island itself and, after a hesitant start due to limited petrol supplies, we have motored in a small open boat for a couple of hours to get this far. Once ashore, it’s a short walk up the hill to where we’ll be running a workshop for the next three weeks. We are in Vanuatu, on assignment with the Pri-Skul Blong Vanuatu (PSABV). Our brief is to travel to remote, rural villages that are developing their community pre-schools. During the training, teachers from the area will make equipment using local and recycled materials and then experience using them in a hands-on way with the children during the training. The scenery is pristine and stunning, the locals are a little shy to host foreigners (What will we think of staying in a grass hut? Will we like their food?), but excited that we have come, and proud 16 VSA Magazine May 2008

that their community will have a ‘model’ pre-school when the workshop is over. For us, being ‘on assignment’ has come from the lure of the exotic and the wish to seize the chance of adventure. We’re lucky that it combines nicely with my vocation as a pre-school teacher. Eric has found a role as a ‘volunteer’ working alongside the community, building outdoor play equipment and designing and trying out new ideas for toys and games. All this started eight years ago and what began as a two-year assignment has stretched into involvement with VSA for most of the intervening years. It did not take long for our idealism about a tropical lifestyle to adjust to reality. The short stay in the Vanua Lava village and in many others that we later visited exposed us to some of the many issues that the locals face on a day-to-day basis. Living amongst those struggling to pay school fees or access health care, dealing with falling prices for their cash crop of copra, coping with the loss of their youth to the towns in the hope of work – all brought the issues to life for us.

T H E V S A WAY

Clockwise from left: Eric enjoying a paddle near Arawa, Bougainville; tree planting in Arawa; Timorese style rooflines in Dili; Eric, Diane, Pri-Skul provincial co-ordinators Alice and Leiasi and children learning the ropes at Epau in Vanuatu; Eric with games under production in Dili, Timor-Leste; visiting friends in the mountains at Lela in the Cova Lima District of Timor-Leste. Centre: Eric and his counterpart, Mary, prepare lotto games in Dili.

Increasing exposure to the wider world presents new ideas and values that stand in stark contrast to the highly traditional lifestyle of the village. Despite the isolation, the people are very much caught in the dilemma of an encroaching world that offers much, but delivers little without costly tradeoffs to their culture and long held traditions. The pre-school assignment in Vanuatu became a catalyst for a growing interest in development. Over the two years, as we travelled widely through the country we saw many examples of less successful aid projects. It was apparent that money or resources were not always the best answer to some of the issues. Good ideas and well-meaning action, unless owned and implemented by communities, simply doesn’t last. Suai, Timor-Leste, is the next VSA pre-school assignment destination with the new dimension of being a post-conflict society. Armed peacekeepers, razor-wire, the thud of overhead helicopters and the incessant crowing of roosters, gutted concrete structures with newly erected huts sprouting in their place, and dun coloured hills craving the scarce rain, became the constant background of sights and sounds.

Here, everyone has a tragic story to tell. The metaphor often used for the world’s newest nation is “a phoenix rising from the ashes”. It seems apt, as literally everything has had to be re-started from nothing. We began with one volunteer teacher. No building, no resources and no funding – but also no shortage of determination, or enthusiastic children. Together with teachers and parents we scrounged, collected and solicited help whereever possible and turned the little that was available into something useable. A pre-school was re-established with the community’s input. Eric worked with others to make games, hand-cut and hand-painted to provide educational resource materials. Unexpectedly, this grew into something larger as teachers elsewhere became eager to adopt the ‘learning through play’ methodology the games offered - and UNICEF began to place orders. My assignment concluded and Eric’s began, prompting a re-location to Dili where a workshop was born, employing two or three young Timorese men producing the games that would go into pre-schools nationwide. Taking up the VSA position of Programme Officer in Bougainville marked a departure from pre-school teacher and a move to development worker. The collective experience of the previous years has left me a believer in the possibility of good change facilitated through caring, sensitive relationships with those we rub shoulders with, both at work and socially. It takes time, and sometimes our time is too short to see what we hope to achieve. Others may continue what we have begun. Volunteering is difficult by definition – if things worked well there would be no need for a volunteer in the first place. While motives to volunteer may vary for different people, what does not vary is that there is change through working alongside others within an assignment. Usually we expect change for those we work alongside. What we expect less is how the experience will change us as well. Being back in New Zealand does not mean the end of the journey. For me, it’s a time to continue the learning through completion of the development studies course I began extramurally when overseas…and to wait for the next opportunity to be out there again. n 17 VSA Magazine May 2008

TE MANU RERE

NATURAL IDENTITY When environmental adviser, Craig Salmon was confronted by questions about his identity during his two years in Lao PDR, it set him thinking about where he was from and concluding that the Treaty of Waitangi helped define his heritage. For the people of Lao PDR, it would be easier to believe New Zealand is in Europe, or off the coast of Canada, than part of the Pacific. “If New Zealand is close to Asia, a Pacific nation, why aren’t you browner?” they’d ask quizzically. I come from a land ‘down-under’. I eat Vegemite sandwiches. Yet when I look to New Zealand from the outside, the official ‘symbols’ of my country – the flag, the Governor-General, my mono linguistic-language skills, and geographically misleading country name, the name doesn’t quite match the idea of my country. (Interesting fact: the word ‘Aotearoa’ has its origins in a language family that extended from Asia across the Pacific over a thousand years. Zee-land is a province in Holland.) These symbols say; “Sure you’re from NZ, but don’t forget your grandfather was British”. But my grandfather wasn’t British. The symbols I associate with my identity are the silver fern, native birds and plants (the landscape), Maori language (as well as English) and the Treaty (among other things). These are not well represented. But describing our history to the people of Lao PDR, who have only recently, in their words, “overcome the yoke of colonial imperialists”, has made me realise that we – New Zealanders – have something unique. The Treaty stands out in the mess of colonisation, pretty much by itself. The confusion (and present day anxiety) comes from the fact that we didn’t live up to – what was at the time – a very high bar for a colonising nation (Britain). The cultural values of the day said that land covered in forest was land going to waste. It needed to be cut down, burned, and planted with grass - made “useful”. And if there is no-one obviously living there (and the thinking seemed to be: “Who lives in forest anyway except savages?”) – then it must be “empty”. But the Maori population held different views based on their experience of the previous 1000 years. They saw the forest and land as a “useful” source of food and resources (as many people in Lao

Left: Water buffalo. Right: Beetles for sale at market. Far right: VSA volunteer and environmental adviser Natasha Lewis at a staff picnic.

18 VSA Magazine May 2008

PDR do today), even if it looked “empty” and unused. In fact Maori themselves had spent a significant deal of time fighting over what colonialists would have called “empty land”. The resulting clash of values meant that Maori ultimately did go down fighting and the Treaty was tucked into a desk drawer. But you can’t beat getting it right first time. And if the British ever did the right thing, it was writing the Treaty. Not an easy thing to do. But as our values become more ‘natural’, our identity is becoming increasingly clear, and in the process, less colonial, more Kiwi. More Aotearoan. Despite this shift, the Union Jack still currently contributes one quarter of our flag waving identity... and isn’t that the flag of a small island off the coast of Europe? There is a growing need for our “official” symbols to more accurately reflect a more natural sense of identity – not only for ourselves but for those looking at NZ from the outside. The Treaty will become a key international asset for New Zealand’s identity – even if we don’t want to print it out as the national flag. By itself it is a symbol – like the ban on nuclear weapons – that we did it differently and did it right. And in the iPost Planet (when being colonial is “so” 20th century), this will become increasingly important. But perhaps more importantly, even in Lao PDR – once I’ve explained why I’m a Pacific whitey – people know what a Kiwi looks like (described to me as a ‘chicken of the forest’ with a long beak, that can’t fly). And a Kiwi, as we all know, is a Maori and English word for someone who comes from the land “down-under”. The one with the long white cloud?

BOOKS & BYTES

Just Volunteering? ‘Good Intentions, the Ethics of Volunteering’ was the title of the February 2008 issue of Just Change published by Dev-Zone. Just Change aims to provide ‘critical thinking on global issues’ and has

is contested. He suggests that time

previously covered issues such as: religion and spirituality, sexual and

needs to be invested in ensuring

reproductive health and rights, tourism, borders and governing the

volunteers understand the cultural

commons. Just Change is a New Zealand publication – a sort of Kiwi

context of the host community and

New Internationalist.

argues that the area of volunteering that

Good Intentions takes a critical look at the changing nature of ‘volunteering’. Following a brief overview, thirty-two articles examine the wide range and diverse nature of volunteer groups and ways of volunteering. Maori and Pacific perspectives, the role of volunteers

really needs to grow is skills transfer and building local partners’ capacity. I am sure that VSA volunteers will recognise these sentiments.

in humanitarian emergencies and international development, gap

‘Good Intentions, the Ethics of

year programmes, cyber-volunteering, virtual-volunteering, Christian

Volunteering’ provides a ‘once over

volunteering, corporate volunteering, and other manifestations of

lightly’ snapshot of volunteering today.

volunteering are all critically examined. One is left with the impression

That is a useful exercise, but I was left feeling that depth was sacrificed for

that volunteering has become popular, fashionable and gone global

breadth, there is much more to be said about just volunteering, and the

in the last decade.

‘critical thinking’ was a little light. PETER SWAIN

A ‘conversation’ with Kumi Naidoo, Secretary-General of CIVICUS, touches on some of the critiques of volunteering (What can outsiders or young people do? Neo-colonialism, power dynamics etc.). Naidoo avoids a simplistic good/bad analysis and reminds us that the term ‘volunteering’

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THIS EDITION

OF JUST CHANGE BY GOING TO:

WWW.DEV-ZONE.ORG/JUSTCHANGE

volunteer’s choice Why these books: When we were in Tanzania we found many books that contributed to our

understanding of the area’s history, idiosyncrasies and local insights. The two books here present starkly different perspectives, giving rise to much thought and questioning. Always a good thing. Your picks: Red Strangers, by Elspeth Huxley (Penguin Books, 2006) and Facing Mount Kenya: The Traditional Life of the Gikuyu, (Random House, 1962) written by Jomo Kenyatta. Tell us about them: These books make fascinating reading because they present an interpretation of Kenyan people from opposite perspectives. Author Elspeth Huxley (Red Strangers) was a British woman

Gayna Vetter has been a VSA volunteer working in IT in Vanuatu and Tanzania with her partner Mark Harris. She is currently doing a Masters in International Development at Victoria University.

whose parents immigrated to Kenya when she was young; Jomo Kenyatta (Facing Mount Kenya) was the first President of Kenya. Both write about the impact of contact with ‘outsiders’ on the indigenous people of Kenya, with the focus on the Kikuyu tribe (in Kenyatta: Gikuyu). Huxley’s book is a fictional story of a Kikuyu family showing their life before the ‘red strangers’ (white men with sunburn) arrived and the following generations’ adaptation to the change triggered by this contact. Kenyatta presents an anthropological look at the Gikuyu, describing their organisational systems: kinship, land tenure, economy, education, initiation of youth, marriage, government and religion. Most thought-provoking pages: In Red Strangers there is a disturbing account of clitoridectomy, written from a perspective most Western readers would relate to. Written over forty years ago and through a different cultural lens, Facing Mount Kenya argues for the cultural importance of this initiation rite for a girl’s entry into womanhood and acceptance by her people. Reading them in succession makes them especially thought-provoking.

buy these books online and support oxfam new zealand: www.goodbooksnz.co.nz. 19 VSA Magazine May 2008

P H O T O E S S AY

PLACE Thirty-five degrees of hard dry heat beating down on what my Tanzanian friends would call my mzungu skin. I hold on in the back of a pickup truck, riding out the ruts on the dry savannah plains five hours drive away from the closest paved road. I was travelling to what’s known to the Wamasaai and Waarusha people as Ol Donyo Lengai – The Mountain of God – an active volcano with unique geological composition, located in the Great Rift Valley. Reaching the top exposed true Africa. My breathlessness, the burning smell of sulphur and the sound of my boots crunching through fresh ash on the slopes. As we neared the crater rim,

1

the sun rose, casting the 2960 metre mountain’s shadow across the grey ash-covered Rift Valley wall. It fell to abrupt halt, dropping into savannah plains stretching as far as the eye could see, only broken by the calm blue waters of Lake Natron. The area represented so much I loved about Tanzania; breathtaking scenery, but most of all the people, friendly Masaai pastoralists, proud

PLACE 1 Em Oyston looks over the Rift Valley, with VSA volunteer, beekeeper Reece Adamson (see page 26), in the background.

of their traditions, strong in spirit, leading a life which has remained unchanged for centuries. Em Oyston

2

2 Ol Donyo Lengai.

PEOPLE

3 Ash from a recent eruption.

1 Bright on his ‘motorbike’ or pikipiki.

Main picture below The mountain casts its shadow on the Rift Valley wall.

2 Two mamas at Baba Matthew Kavishe’s memorial. 3 Sister Olomi surrounded by student nurses at Women’s Day for the Environment.

Photos by Em Oyston

5 Preparing food for the memorial

4 Juvenaris Kavishe 6 Huruma Hospital kitchen – Vicky, Marcella and Agripina taking a break

3

Photos by Glenda Harris

OF PEOPLE AND P

20 VSA Magazine May 2008

P H O T O E S S AY

2 3 6 4

PEOPLE The Chagga people are wonderful to work with—welcoming, warm, caring, and giving. The Sisters are a joy to work alongside – laughter is never too far away. Acceptance is ever-present – Mzungu can do anything … even when that’s not always the way. There’s a lot of love, a lot of sharing and a lot of belly laughing. There’s also a lot of patience. Many things involve waiting – one

1

5

of the first words I learnt was kesho (tomorrow). I’m slowly learning the art of deep breathing, along with another, harder lesson – believing that everything will get done eventually. Glenda Harris

PLACE: TANZANIA

21 VSA Magazine May 2008

TRAVEL

MAKING SENSE

BY COMPARISON

22 VSA Magazine May October 2008 2007

TRAVEL

Leaving the Chatham Islands to work in East New Britain in Papua New Guinea was a long leap across the Pacific, but for communications adviser, and former DOC worker, Alison Turner, the first glimpse through the plane window held a taste of home.

I

t was a few weeks into my assignment, after snorkelling on an astonishingly diverse coral reef 10 metres offshore at Kabaira Bay, that I first had a chance to reflect on my move to PNG. I was so fascinated with the range of life and colours on the coral reef that 45 minutes passed in what seemed like no time at all. It was sunburn that finally forced me to pause and sit in the shade for the rest of the afternoon. I found it hard to reconcile the media image of Papua New Guinea with my experience to date. I watched as fishermen in their dugout canoes paddled by – silently and elegantly – and I wondered about the threats and dangers that I had heard so much about before I came to PNG. Here in steamy volcanic East New Britain, I had been living, working and travelling around with very little sense of danger since the day I arrived. Sure, Tavuvur Volcano continues to spew various-sized clouds of ash and steam, accompanied by small earthquakes from time to time, but there seems to be an unsaid acceptance that the volcano’s grumbling will occasionally disrupt life. Rabaul Harbour, surrounded by volcanos, remains a spectacular landscape and a constant reminder of action beneath the earth’s crust. Kokopo township has grown at the expense of Rabaul – many services relocated there after the 1994 eruption. Kokopo stretches along the waterfront, and beach front resorts intermingle with the commercial and residential areas. The importance of coconut and cocoa to the economy of East New Britain is evident on the drive from the airport to the town – extensive areas of the crops fan out on both sides of the road. In town, the waterfront public transport hub is busy with banana boats (long open dinghies with outboard motors) 23 VSA Magazine May 2008

TRAVEL

servicing coastal areas, and PMVs (public motor vehicles or buses) serving the interior road networks. The Kokopo market is generally the busiest spot in town with a wide range of fruit, vegetables and fresh fish offered every day but Sunday. Greetings and big grins are accompanied by the startling red lips and teeth of most island residents. The red is the result of chewing betel nut or buai, a commodity so important that at least half the market area is devoted to sales of this nut – and its accompaniments – daka and cumbung (mustard stick and mineral lime made from dried coral), along with dried tobacco leaves and locally-manufactured cigars. My home and workplace is the University of Vudal, about 45 minutes drive inland from Kokopo. I am working with a team at the Kairak Vudal Resource Training Centre, which supports farmers with training, access to services, and information and resources that promote sustainable livelihoods. While we’re based within the University, much of our work is with farmers in the wider islands region of PNG, and so we travel to New Ireland, Lihir, West New Britain, Bougainville and rural areas of East New Britain. The University campus and grounds are spacious and pleasant and my early morning ‘walkabouts’ are punctuated with greetings from neighbours, out working their gardens in the cooler morning, or waiting on the roadside for a PMV. While many in this community speak good English, Tok Pisin is the common language and the one they greet me in most often. Now I’m no longer ‘new’ my neighbours test me out with words in their Tok Ples or local dialect, and my response inevitably draws peals of delighted laughter. Understanding any new place takes time and patience, but inevitably we start to make sense of things by comparisons with what we know. Here in East New Britain there is a well-developed transport network, and many main roads are sealed. There 24 VSA Magazine May 2008

TRAVEL

Previous page: Alison Turner checks out her new volcanic environment. Other photos by Dr Duncan Baird, Melanie Bell and Richard Clark.

are plenty of public transport options for travel by land or by sea, and I find myself again making comparisons with the Chatham Islands, where unsealed roads and only one freight ship serves the island. It suggests we could learn some things about island transport and freight from this part of PNG. I’m also comparing PNG with my first assignment in Tanzania and that brings a smile to my face. For instance, my first trip on a PMV was a surprise, as unlike the dalla dallas in Tanzania which cram impossible numbers on board before travelling at often death-defying speeds on poor roads, PMVs here fill the seats only and mainly travel at reasonable speeds. I was, however, delighted to hear on one trip to town, a familiar song in Kiswahili on the bus radio. I love it that African music is second only to local music on the radio stations here. Daytime can be hot and steamy, but coastal areas often attract a sea breeze, and higher inland areas are always cooler. Most roadside stalls sell kulau, green coconut juice, and for about 25 NZ cents you can be well refreshed. Tropical fruit is abundant and luxurious – even the smallest pawpaws on sale are larger than a rugby ball. Mumu cooking is similar to the hangi, and guarantees tender well-cooked combinations of meat, vegetables, and often bananas. Supermarkets stock most of the foods we know in New Zealand, but with a local twist – farmed crocodile meat is on sale next to chicken in the supermarket freezer. Fresh fish is plentiful and often huge fish are sold on the roadside. The locally brewed beer is lovely and affordable – even on a volunteer allowance. PNG holds many unexpected delights and adventures – and I’m hoping to experience plenty more over the next couple of years. 25 VSA Magazine May 2008

CONNECTIONS

REFLECTIONS OF A

BEEKEEPER It was the end of an ordinary work day when I learned that Sir Ed had passed away. It felt a bit personal. I was in Tanzania on assignment with VSA teaching beekeeping – the profession of my family for the last four generations. VSA, of course, is the organisation this New Zealand icon gave his mana to as founding President. Lou, my wife, and I have been living on the flanks of Mt Meru, Tanzania’s second highest mountain after Kilimanjaro. We climbed it several times, introducing some of my colleagues to the wonders of their local mountains for the first time in their lives (see page 20). I had long admired Sir Ed’s work in Nepal, his climbing ability coupled with a modest courage and his passion for the world’s wild places. I identified with his feelings when he talked of the hardships of beekeeping. But I also related to the joy he felt at conquering Mt Ollivier in Mt Cook National Park which was one of his first big climbs. Cajoling frightened students into working with honeybees in Africa, and climbing a few modest peaks does not qualify as following in his footsteps. But I felt the loss of one of my own, which I guess is the way most Kiwis feel about the loss of such a great New Zealander, humanitarian, adventurer … and Beekeeper. REECE ADAMSON

“i had long admired sir ed’s work in nepal, his climbing ability coupled with a modest courage and his passion for the world’s wild places.”

win-win situation VSA is strengthening and expanding its partnership with Buffalo City Municipality (BCM) in East London, South Africa. In early 2007, a team from Buffalo

Peter and Theresa returned to New Zealand early this year and have

City Municipality led by its Executive

just completed a scoping report on opportunities for VSA and other

Mayor visited New Zealand and met

New Zealand agencies.

a number of agencies in Wellington and further afield. Encouraged by the visit, VSA arranged a short-term assignment which started in October 2007

Thomas Banda, VSA’s Africa Programme manager, says the report has identified a number of possibilities that VSA will follow up. “Overall the report provides a partnership framework which

to explore the possibilities of developing a more structured

can build a win-win situation for Buffalo City and VSA,

development partnership.

as well as other agencies interested in getting involved

The assignment was undertaken by Theresa Reid and Peter Rankin, both of whom had previous experience of working and living in East London as VSA volunteers.

26 VSA Magazine May 2008

with Eastern Cape,” he says.

Photo, top: Peter and Theresa with Ondela Mahlangu. Photo, bottom: Theresa with corporate services team.

CONNECTIONS

TRUST WORK TO CONTINUE THROUGH VSA The Nelson Mandela Trust has handed over a cheque for just under $15,000 to VSA – the funds remaining after the trust was wound up. Well-known anti apartheid activist Trevor Richards backgrounds the trust and its relationship with VSA. In May 1994, Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the first President of a free and democratic South Africa. As hard as ending apartheid had been, South Africans involved in the struggle knew that building a new non-racial society was going to be even more difficult. Internationally, it was recognised that economic investment and development assistance were critical if the gap between grassroots expectation and delivery

Helda da Costa briefs New Zealand police at the Police College in Porirua before they leave for a tour of duty in Timor-Leste.

was not to be become a dangerously unbridgeable chasm. A few months later, a number of New Zealanders who had been in South Africa at the time of the elections came together to form the Nelson Mandela Trust. The atmosphere at those early meetings was infectious. There was optimism and belief in bucketfuls. The Trust’s principal objective was to assist the new South Africa with Mandela’s dream of “A Better Life for All”, focusing particularly but not exclusively in the Eastern Cape where New Zealand NGOs were already involved. It lobbied Government and held fundraising functions at venues

MANAGER TO ADVISER IN TIMOR-LESTE

as diverse as Government House and the Auckland Domain. VSA’s programme in the Republic, begun a year earlier in 1993 in the

VSA’s Programme Manager for Asia, Helder da Costa

impoverished Eastern Cape, was a response to the same social and economic

is using his expertise in development and agricultural

imperatives that the Nelson Mandela Trust was seeking to address. In so many

economics to help produce a State of the Nation

ways, VSA’s work in South Africa has been the logical heir to the work of the

report for the government of Timor-Leste.

New Zealand anti-apartheid movement.

Helder has been seconded from VSA for a couple

Organisations such as the Halt All Racist Tours movement (HART) joined

of months to lead the Productive Economy part

hands with a large international movement to support South Africans

of the review. The group is preparing an overview

in their fight for equal rights.

of agriculture, forestry and fishery, livestock, natural

With those rights won, VSA is now working at a grassroots level inside the Republic to help give shape to the aspirations of the new, non-racial South Africa. The money from the Nelson Mandela Trust will be used to support VSA’s work in South Africa.

resources and environment , private sector development – tourism, trade and commerce. The research will be used to brief Ministers, and help Timor-Leste move forward as a young, independent economy.

Gregory Fortuin hands over the remaining funds of the Trust to VSA Chair Farib Sos, while Africa Programme Manager Thomas Banda (left) and Trust member Giff Davidson (right) look on.

Helder says it’s an honour to be asked by the Timor-Leste government to contribute. “This is a particularly challenging time for Timor-Leste,” he says. “I am pleased to be able to combine my knowledge of the country and my research skills in a small way to help my fellow Timorese in their journey towards nation building.”

27 VSA Magazine May 2008

THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH

Sistas Toktok

By Women for Women A weekly page spread in a Vanuatu newspaper has, sometimes controversially, opened up discussions about women’s roles in the archipelago. VSA Volunteer, Elizabeth Mortland, who worked as an adviser to the Department of Women’s Affairs based in Port Vila, was there at the inception and discusses its impact. Women’s strength, courage and sheer hard work; women’s wonderful achievements in many fields; women’s pain and constant struggle for basic human rights for themselves, their families and their communities. Ni-Vanuatu women have celebrated and confronted all these issues in the pages of Sistas Toktok. Sistas Toktok is a group of predominantly Ni-Vanuatu women who meet weekly to put together a broadsheet crammed full of women’s news and views. The page is published by the main newspaper, the Vanuatu Daily Post, with a readership that crosses many 28 VSA Magazine May 2008

boundaries. Sistas Toktok – the voice of Vanuatu women, focuses on women’s rights – by women, for women, about women. A public meeting was held four years ago to assess the interest in publishing a regular ‘Women’s Page’ and discuss possible content. That meeting decided to publish a half page fortnightly – taking care not to clash with news of the Vanuatu National Council of Women. Competitions were held to find the name of the Women’s Page – Sistas Toktok was born, and a year later, it went to a full-page weekly.

The real strength of Sistas Toktok is the participation of the women who contribute. Women from around the islands – Maewo, Tongoa, Vao, Santo, Ambae, Ambrym, Aneityum, Nguna and others – have submitted news and photos of their work, their church and cultural activities, and their women leaders. This is published as ‘Nius Blong Ol Aelan Woman’. The ‘Little Women’ column gives young women a voice. Content and style of Sistas Toktok challenges conventions in developed countries. Health and beauty tips sit happily

THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH alongside discussions around the myths of rape or the results of research such as ‘the feasibility of providing on-line tertiary education for women’. There are recipes for healthy foods up against updates on reporting to the United Nations on the country’s progress with implementing CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women. This way the pages provide an overview of the position of women in Vanuatu today which is often inspiring – and often, very sad. Many articles and poems have been contributed on the common problem of violence against women. Young women have used storytelling to express their concerns about wife-beating and teenage rape. Sistas Toktok has taken a bold stand on domestic violence. In 2005 it challenged its readers, asking: “What are you going to do about this?” It urged women to call on their Members of Parliament to pass the delayed Family Protection Bill, which will make domestic violence illegal. During the 25th anniversary of national Independence in 2005, Sistas Toktok reprinted a poem by the late Grace Mera Molisa about ‘man’s colonial domination of women’ and domestic violence in Vanuatu. When this provoked comment that this was old and out of date, Sistas Toktok argued that, sadly, the strong words of the 1987 poem were not yet out of date in the real-life experiences of many women – almost 20 years after its writing. Other difficult areas for women have been highlighted on the pages over the last four years – bride price, teenage pregnancy, women’s struggle to feed and care for their children, illiteracy, sexually transmitted diseases, and the loss of tradition such as watching today’s daughters grow up in town without traditional island and/or kastom skills. One of the saddest items was about three young women who had killed their newborn babies. Small surveys tackle controversial issues such as prostitution and arranged marriages. Such issues must be placed in context. In Vanuatu it is totally accepted that power (in institutions/organisations and/or individuals) is not distributed equally. Chiefs hold ultimate power, not only over families and villages, but also over Parliamentarians, many of whom are Chiefs themselves. The lack of power for women is recognised and accepted, by most, as valid. Gender roles in Vanuatu are very clearly differentiated and it is generally believed and accepted that men should dominate.

There is also a general lack of tolerance in Vanuatu of ‘deviant’ ideas and behaviours (many of which, such as women choosing not to marry, homosexuality, secularism, the concept of equality between men and women, are commonplace in the Western world). This, along with the rules enforced by Chiefs and the widespread belief in absolute truths as set by Chiefs and/or the Church, indicate strong ‘uncertainty avoidance’ – making it difficult to speak against the status quo.

Stories and photos show women around the

In her 1980 Organisational Dynamics article, ‘Motivation, Leadership and Organisation – Do American Theories Apply Abroad?’, Geert Hofstede says Ni-Vanuatu live in “a tight social framework in which people distinguish between in-groups and out-groups – they expect their in-group (relatives, clan, organizations) to look after them, and in exchange for that they feel they owe absolute loyalty to it”. Therefore speaking against cultural mores is incredibly difficult, because of the feeling of speaking against one’s ‘family’, because of the potential consequences, and also because of the lack of concept of doing so. Publishing ‘the voice of Vanuatu women, focusing on women’s rights’ in such a strongly patriarchal collectivist society is a radical statement in itself. It takes enormous courage for a woman to write anything that challenges the status quo.

servants, candidates in municipal elections,

Because women may well feel that their security could be compromised and they could be at risk if they exposed their views/ideas publicly in the newspaper, many contributors are not publicly acknowledged in Sistas Toktok. Personal recognition is not important – in fact, recognition from others is often almost avoided. (“Don’t put my photo in the paper, I don’t want people to see me.” This from a woman with considerable potential to become a future leader.) Praise, in the form of “Well done”, is acceptable, but nothing greater.

any material sense. However it is clear that the

However there is the other side to this coin.

country moving forward in so many ways. They are setting up businesses to earn money for their families, adding new skills to traditional ones in areas like weaving, gardening, raising pigs, cooking and sewing. They are learning through workshops and courses such as computers, women’s advocacy, sustainable agriculture and social security. They are becoming Members of Parliament, political advisers and top public leaders of women’s development and kastom (custom) activities in their village, office holders in sports groups, dive masters and netball champions. Sistas Toktok shows women constantly working for women’s support and development through

local,

regional

and

national

organisations. The Vanuatu National Council of Women celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 2005. New organisations and groups have been formed – promoting and protecting the rights of haos gels (house girls), supporting caregivers of people with disabilities, providing counselling for victims of domestic violence, advocating for and promoting people with disabilities. Sistas Toktok volunteers are not rewarded in women who are actively involved do enjoy the sense of belonging to the group, especially as the group is increasingly receiving acceptance and credibility in the wider community. Sistas Toktok is now seen as a valued vehicle to promote the news and views of women in Vanuatu. The Sistas Toktok women can be extremely proud of their commitment, courage and ability to consistently maintain the voice of Vanuatu women – focusing on women’s rights – by women, for women, about women.

Opposite page, left: Elizabeth Mortland. Opposite page, right: 1st birthday celebration, Ruth Jimmy, Linda Robin, Anneth Mial, Elizabeth Mortland, Gina Kalnpel, Marie Kalosike, Seman Dalesa. Front - Norah Toara, Elines Morris Right: Checking the proofs.

29 VSA Magazine May 2008

FROM THE FIELD

Across Borders

Sari Lewis found her role as a Nurse Adviser in Lao PDR involved some cross country communication. She lets us in on ways of training across borders.

M

y assignment has been based at the nursing school in Savannakhet. The nursing school is one of six in the country and prepares about 120 ‘technical nurse’ graduates each year in a 30 month standardised Lao nursing curriculum. In my early months it soon became apparent that all the teaching staff were desperately keen to improve their knowledge of teaching methodology. Many had a background in medicine or nursing, but no knowledge of effective classroom techniques. At the same time the administrative staff were struggling under the requirements of their roles with no background preparation, or experience. The government funding to the nursing school is extremely low and makes no allowance for ongoing education of staff. Together we identified the need for education opportunities and appropriate funding. In the short term we were fortunate to receive an NZAID grant which allowed staff to visit other nurse education institutions, observe their practice, and run a few short courses. Lao PDR is shaped a little like “On reflection, I saw my role in all this as a facilitator an upheld axe with Savannakhet about half-way down the – keeping the wheels turning and the lines handle. Thailand is immediately of communication open and untangled.” adjacent to Savannakhet across the Mekong to the west. To the east, the Vietnamese border and coastline are 120 and 200 km Top: Sari on her motorbike near limestone escarpments in Khamouane province. respectively across the Annamite Below left: With Lao and Vietnamese colleagues at a beach in Quang chain of mountains. Tri Province Viet Nam. Centre: Sari at a nursing conference involving Thai, The director had previously Lao and Vietnamese presenters at Nakhon Panom, Thailand. had contact with a Vietnamese Right: Cycling to work. nursing college in the province adjacent to our border. Our staff also identified a number of nurse education institutions in Thailand which had shown an interest in supporting Lao PDR health inititiatives. With the economic development of both Viet Nam and Thailand advancing more

30 VSA Magazine May 2008

FROM THE FIELD

Patient

Patients "Sissie, in South Africa you must have patience.” One of the many lessons learnt by Jan Barber who worked for two years as a Nurse and Health Trainer at Bethany Children’s Home on the Eastern Cape. rapidly than Lao PDR, both governments have encouraged cross-border initiatives to assist their ‘less progressive’ neighbour. By organising study tours to these institutions, and reciprocal visits by Vietnamese and Thai nurse educators and administrators, we opened the way to a variety of opportunities for our staff – courses in active teaching methods; clinical teaching; computer workshops; development of our strategic plan; administrative guidance etc. Fortuitously it also led to a committed funding source, at least until 2012, as a Netherlands funding body (MCNV) moved on from its work in Viet Nam and identified the nursing school in Savannakhet as an effective way to continue its support to improving health in the Mekong region. On reflection, I saw my role in all this as a facilitator – keeping the wheels turning and the lines of communication open and untangled. Sometimes it was simple things like demonstrating the efficacy of diaries, planners, address books and effective filing systems. My greatest joy, however, was the day that colleagues from Thai and Viet Nam nursing schools joined us for a planning meeting at Savannakhet. It was satisfying to see the shared relationships developing, not only between Lao PDR and its neighbours; but also the beginning of beneficial relationships directly between our Thai and Vietnamese colleagues.

P

art of my job at Bethany was to take the children to the local hospital. Soon after my arrival in Mthatha, I had my first visit to the new teaching hospital with an acutely sick HIVpositive child. To be registered, I joined the long queue at the end of the third metal bench – it was a busy day. We shuffled along on our bottoms until, at last, it was my turn. I got the registration stamp and moved on to POPD (Paediatric Outpatients Department). One-and-a-half hours passed in a new queue to have the temperature and weight of my child taken and then another queue of mothers waiting on the benches outside the doctors’ rooms. We saw the doctor and more time passed – three to four hours, before we moved onto the x-ray department. More queuing – and eventually we got back to POPD for final diagnosis and treatment. But we still had to wait for the urgent blood test results. Five-plus hours after first arriving at the hospital, I went to the nursing sister’s desk to enquire. On my third visit to the desk, in the third hour, I was told: “Sissie, in Africa you must have patience.” So – I waited – and finally, after ten hours, the tests were through. Our little girl had widespread TB and was to be admitted to hospital for treatment. I have made many visits to the hospital for routine clinics, and also for acute treatment for the children and babies. The system has not changed despite this being a new hospital full of new technology. It stands in the same grounds as the old pre-end-ofapartheid hospital, which is still in use. It may have modern facilities, 31 VSA Magazine May 2008

FROM THE FIELD

Right: Jan Barber with one of the babies at Bethany. Above: Colourful murals brighten the grounds.

“I learnt to take time to see those around me. I see people who have slept overnight on the metal benches to be first in the queue at the pharmacy or clinic...” but the systems and the infrastructure are the same. Despite this, the doctors and nurses provide the best medical care possible for a large, mainly rural, population. So, has this nurse learned to be patient? By the end of the assignment, I would go to the hospital prepared, taking a drink, a snack and even a book. I was often greeted by staff members – and I formed a good relationship with many of the doctors and nurses at the clinics. I was, after all, a regular visitor and did stand out among the rest of the public. With time I became more accepting of the system, more relaxed. What changed? I learned to take time to see those around me. I see people who have slept overnight on the metal benches to be first in the queue at the pharmacy or clinic – or those elderly, frail people dressed in traditional costume, that probably started out before dawn to come from distant rural villages and will not get home until late that evening. I admire the strong African women, carrying their children tied in blankets to their backs. These women are the backbone of South Africa’s Eastern Cape. They fetch and carry the water, gather the firewood, tend the gardens, care for the home and the children, and hold the families together despite so many difficulties. I have learned that if you take time to see and listen, you learn so much more about the people and about the vibrant African culture that is around you. 32 VSA Magazine May 2008

So am I more patient? Well maybe – but I still rail about the inefficient systems! And I’ve had plenty of other memorable learning experiences. Sitting chatting to an elderly lady who, when leaving, asked my name and then told me hers. “Teaspoon,” I solemnly responded, shaking hands and speculating on the birth circumstances which lead to her naming. Or the time one of the enterprising ladies came round selling snacks to the ever-waiting public. I was usually offered fruit, lollies, even cake, but this time I was passed by and not even shown the 50 cent contents of the plastic box. When she had gone and my waiting companions started sucking and nibbling on cold greasy chicken heads, I knew why she had ignored the Umlungu. Waiting at the children’s HIV clinic, one young woman asked the usual questions about why I was there. She told me that when her family found out she was HIV-positive she was told not to return – they did not want to know her as she had brought shame to the family. She was trying to cope alone. On a later visit she came and sat next to me again and said her illness was progressing. When she died, would Bethany Home take her child and care for him? Such acceptance and stoicism is an everyday fact of life in this country ravaged by HIV/AIDS.

FROM THE FIELD

The Heat

of progress

Left: Old and new Thimphu. Centre: Carole Harris surveys the growth. Right: Richard Harris braves the shower.

Volunteer Richard Harris finds analogies between the challenges of his shower in Bhutan and the challenges facing this fast-developing country ‘on top of the world’.

W

e have a shower with hot water in our bathroom. This isn’t particularly unusual in apartments here in Bhutan’s capital, Thimphu. But our shower has real character. Now that is pretty unusual. With most Kiwi showers, you just turn on the tap and out comes water. But not ours. Hot water is only available if there is a reasonable pressure of cold. So, firstly we determine if any cold is coming out of the tap. If so, the shower is then turned on. A gasp of air as it winds itself up is a good sign. With some luck, there will be an indeterminate delay, a dribble, then, finally it will spring to life. Best procedure is to nip under smartly, remain soaped for as little time as possible (for it may instantly cease in sudden spite), and enjoy what remains. But we are well content with our lot for there are many people in Thimphu with apartments that lose their water supply for days, or even weeks, on end. This is partly

down to the vagaries of Bhutanese plumbing, but also because the city is growing faster than the provision of its basic services. Thimphu is evolving before our very eyes and the land of the Thunder Dragon is metamorphosing at an escalating pace. In addition to swathes of new roads that seem to appear overnight, areas of the city are reminiscent of huge building sites. Hotels procreate with the fecundity of weeds in a neglected lawn. An extensive multi-purpose sports complex is opening; a brand new hospital is imminent; a vast area has been cleared for a new judiciarybuilding; a replacement multi-million-dollar TV broadcasting station is due in June – and so forth. And in addition to the cosmetic development is political change that bodes huge ramifications for the nation. The country’s first-ever democratic elections, held in March, heralded a new face of Bhutan. Politicians have arrived! But can Bhutan absorb this change and still retain the delicate and unique culture

that it currently enjoys? At present, the signs are good, with new buildings being constructed on mandatory traditional lines; historic buildings restored; a selective process to the bountiful aid it receives; and an almost paranoiac determination to retain its individuality. Great store is placed upon the pristine and varied environment. Included are monasteries, chortens (religious monuments) and dzongs (ancient forts) which are pure cultural wonderment. Unspoilt treks traverse white capped mountains,valleys and placid lakes of mind-blowing beauty. Access to these is controlled by a policy of discerning niche tourism. Admittedly, it’s a sound way to protect the ecosystem – and a lesson learnt from the plunder of Nepal. But, sadly, it does limit opportunities for those on a tight budget. So, as VSA volunteers here, we have a privileged experience. And usually our shower does work – eventually.

33 VSA Magazine May 2008

N G A TA M A R I K I

…OF FEST IVALS AND T HINGS WOMAD – World of Music and Dance, held in New Plymouth in March, attracted young and old to the beautiful setting in the Brooklands Park and the TSB Bowl. VSA was there – with its stall in the Global Village attracting a lot attention, especially around the ‘floating globe’. Our youthful team “did the hours” in the sweltering heat as the six stages kept 10,000 people happy up until well after midnight – three nights in a row. Here’s a glimpse of WOMAD and some comments from people who visited VSA’s stand taking time to look at the world from a different angle… (Photos Josefine Beech)

); the music, the food, “If we just take the good side (… of the world not the culture, the bits that we want – it’s right to ignore the need for us to contribute; to give back.” “T he Global Village was great to give accessible information which means we can keep in touch with the world.” “I was attracted by the faces on the (VSA) globe … I’ve learnt that I could help a community or use skills that I’ve got to work with them.” “I’m drawn to this stuff. I want to make a difference and I feel naturally connected to this kind of thing.” y or things. I like that “It makes sense to give skills and not just mone idea of making those connections with whatever talents you have.”

34 VSA Magazine May 2008

N G A TA M A R I K I

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35 VSA Magazine May 2008

If you can put your life in New Zealand on hold for a year or two, then...

VSA offers the experience of a lifetime Papua New Guinea

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VANUATU

CAMBODIA

At any one time, 100 VSA volunteers are working with local organisations

TANZANIA

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VSA recruits according to the needs of our partner organisations. New

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VSA assignments are generally for two years. VSA covers airfares, insurance, accommodation and living allowances.

vacancies are regularly posted on the VSA website and advertised in major newspapers.

You can register your skills and field of interest on the VSA database at any time – we’ll contact you should a suitable assignment arise.

in Asia, Africa and the Pacific, sharing skills… making a difference. ■

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Volunteers range from 21-75 years of age.

vsa around the world www.vsa.org.nz

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