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Published: November 12th 2009
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Sulemari Dispensary
We hope to make a dispensary like this in the Limarua area next year. Travelblog July Part 4
“If you come across an 30 inch tall, naked infant that is holding a 36 inch blade vertically over his head as he stares you in the face and cries his little eyes out in fear…you may be in Sulemari Village.”
On our first night in Sulemari, the boys in our team went to the river to have a swim and wash the road dirt from our backs. On our return to the village we were shirtless, dripping wet, and showing a great deal of exposed WHITE skin. When we stumbled out of the jungle and into the village the first person to see us was the little guy mentioned in the quote above. It’s very common for little children in the remote areas to burst into tears at the sight of a whitefella. Quite often, MARC teams are the first examples of white-skinned human beings that many of these children see.
On our first full day in Sulemari we split our teams as was becoming customary. One team was to survey the Sulemari School, while another was to head up the North side of the valley to visit the villages there. The hiking
Go Rotary
Here's Will Harris on loan to us from Rotary International along side a Rotary Water Project in Jerewavusus village in the Sulemari Village. strains were taking toll on our team, and yet another group of volunteers stayed in our camp to nurse wounds.
The hiking team split even further, with one group heading to Tanokoro while the others went to Lolio and Jerewavusvus. The villages were surveyed and information about the upcoming Measles Campaign was distributed. The whole day of hiking was rather exhausting, but being surrounded by such scenic beauty helped keep us going.
That night we were gifted with the best meal we would have that month. A rogue pig had escaped the village some months before and had gone feral in the jungle. Over the past weeks it had taken to attacking the gardens of some of the villagers, and thus had to be put down. The hunt for the pig had lasted several days but on that first day of our stay it had ended. All members of the village were given even shares and we were granted a portion for our team as well.
On day 14 it was deemed that our teams have a day of ‘light duty.’ With the hikes from the previous days adding up in our joints we took a half
Best meal ever
Nick and Iza prepped the pork. day of rest after a half day of work. The short hike for the day called for us to visit Toramari village and those little settlements surrounding. It was easy day for all and gave us a chance to rest up before our large hike the following day.
That last night in Sulemari we got to sit in on a string band rehearsal. The village band was getting ready for the competition that would take place during the Independence Day festivities. It should also be noted that we got to stay in the newly constructed Sulemari Clinic. It is a cement building that dwarfs the usual aid post in this section of the island. Hopefully we’ll duplicate this structure in Limarua next year.
July 16th marked the day of our great hike to Tasiriki. It was originally planned that we would hike only to Kerevunumbu and stay the night, but the team preferred to push on to Tasiriki (despite the light rain) since it was early in the day when we reached the lunch stop.
Of note is the ‘White Grass Plain’ on the trail between Sulemari and Kerevunumbu. From this high plateau one can see great
sections of the SW Coast of the island. It is also here on this plain that the locals believe life on the island began. We even got to see the location where local belief says that the first man on the island built the first fire. It was quite fascinating.
The hike from Kerevunumbu to Tasiriki involves a very steep climb down some very slippery trails. During one of the more extravagant slips, one of our team slid off the trail and down a section of the mountain. There was so much jungle vegetation that he didn’t go far, and was soon reunited with the muddy trail.
Upon reaching Tasiriki in the evening, we set up camp at the Dispensary and made arrangements for the following day. I set up an afternoon truck ride back to Tasiriki and arranged for guides to take me back up the coast. I needed to survey some villages around Kerevunumbu that we had skipped in our hurry to reach Tasiriki. We also made plans to survey the school in Tasiriki and the neighboring village, Pelmol.
At dinner that night, the American volunteers informed me of their decision to leave the expedition
Looking upon Tasiriki
Here's where we saw how far we had to walk to Tasiriki. early, as soon as they reached Luganville.
On the morning of our 16th day I headed North with a guide to survey the villages of Tovutovu and Kereambu. Both were in the mountains surrounding Kerevunumbu, so I had the pleasure of scrambling back up the steep muddy trails and luckily there were no major slips.
The school survey team spent a good deal of time at the Mamara Center School and the Pelmol Team got a decent cardio workout on the walk to the rather distant ‘neighboring’ village. Come early afternoon all the teams were converging on Tasiriki once again for the breaking of our camp and the packing of our gear. Before the truck arrived, however, Will and Iza were asked to jumpstart the revolutionary Nagriamel Movement by sending $150,000,000.00 USD from the states, in exchange for a woven mat…but that’s a story for another time.
The truck ride that evening was incredibly smooth as the road, which had bogged us in the mud on our first trip, was surprisingly repaired. As the sun was setting over the coconut plantations in South Santo, we pulled into Luganville and the Beachfront Hotel. The group photo shows the
Proof for Mom
The beach at Kerevumumbu Village condition of our team at this stage of the July expedition. It was Friday the 17th, and we’d returned 3 days early to town. It had been a hard two and a half weeks in the bush and so the weekend was used for light work and heavy relaxation. It’s at times like this that you can truly appreciate cold beer and hot showers.
The rest of the month was looming ahead with a great deal more work to be accomplished, but for at least a few days we had a breather.
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