Blogs from Santo, Vanuatu, Oceania

Vanuatu is a collection of 82 little islands located west of Fiji. Sheryn's first son Matt inherited the families coconut plantation on Aore island and lives there with his fun loving wife Illington and six year old son Sean. The tropical island is in poverty, but happy poverty if that makes sense. The people are all so willing to give you what they have, when that really consists of the bare minimum. The stores along the streets are comparable to a dirty half empty dollar store. There was a main market where fruits, vegetables and goods were sold. The only things that were sold were produce grown on the island, even packed in woven palm leave bags! Transportation was so different as well. Trucks and vehicles would roll by with 10 people hanging off the back ... read more

Well everyone…it’s been a month since the last entry and a great deal has taken place. Of greater significance, however, is what has NOT taken place. Please try to remember folks, this is Vanuatu, and we first-worlders need to be able to roll with the punches. If you’re not interested in the dreary prose, here’s the short version: The construction of the Sele Clinic is being put on hold at the request of the Ministry of Health, but against my personal desire. I want to do what’s best for the greater good and most economically efficient for our donors, but I feel terrible about not finishing the clinic this year. However, what you want and how you feel are rarely in agreement. If you’re strange enough to enjoy my ramblings, here’s the long version: I’d like ... read more

The beginning of December turned into a time of contemplative re-evaluation for our Sele Clinic Project, and also a time of frenzied rush to get goods to where they needed to be. On the 15th, I had to leave Espiritu Santo to take care of business in Port Vila for the end of our year in Vanuatu. The clinic was not completed, nor did it look like it could be until Project MARC returns to finish the job. I left the villages holding the bag. The chiefs who’d worked so hard were left hanging. They understood the situation and had lived through the problems. They agreed to the change in the plan but it didn’t really matter. The reality was that the clinic was not finished and that was a real kick in the gut. It ... read more

Third week of November. This was to be the week of water. And what a week it’s turned into. As some of you may know, there is no running water at the project site and the nearest water source is several hundred meters from where we’re working (there’s also some serious hills and cliffs incorporated into that distance). We have already moved a 6000-liter water tank to the site so if we can just fill that up, we should be good for the completion of the foundation. If we need more water after the foundation’s complete, we’ll have to fetch more for the mortar. Now the tools that we have available to move the water include: our trusty steed (the Land Cruiser), three 200-litre plastic drums, a diesel powered water pump, a spool of 1inch hose ... read more

As some of you all know. I’m not back in the states as was originally planned. I’m still in Vanuatu, still building clinics. Had I held onto my original tickets, I would have landed back in the states late October and spent the holidays with family. I’ve changed my tickets thanks to some very generous benefactors here in Vanuatu. These benefactors have promised to finance the construction of a second clinic this year in Espiritu Santo. The location has already been selected by the Ministry of Health and Project MARC had already planned on building a clinic at this location. Realistically, I didn’t think that we’d get the funding for it within the next two years. The villages surrounding our next clinic site are truly lucky to have such generous business owners on their island. Now ... read more