Drama in Paama

As I’ve mentioned, my primary job here is to assist the Rural Training Center which teaches skills such as business, carpentry, home care (sewing, cooking, health) and agriculture. When I arrived in December, I learned that the school had not been in session for a year and a half because of mismanagement by the current manager. A strained relationship with the former manager was also a cause for its demise. So, my first goal was to get the school in session this quarter, however with “island time”, it’s often difficult to get things moving.

A general meeting took place which brought together the community to discuss the RTC and my hope to gain consensus on whether to keep the current manager or to promote the assistant manager, Sandy. There were harsh words spoken between the current manager and some elders but in the end, a new committee (with two women reps) and promotion of the assistant manager, Sandy was decided. The new committee and manager then began their work to plan fundraisers, awareness visits around the island, budgeting and clean up/maintenance. Classes began mid-March with now 11 students attending.

I was thrilled with the progress but too soon had I spoken that after the former manager was invited to a thank you dinner in order to make amends, he refused to come. The next day he hands me a letter addressed to myself and the committee. He demanded to be paid “gratuities” and threatened to take away the land that the RTC and my house are located. However, his demands were unjustifiable because he had already “paid” himself well from the first years the school was in session and the ground did not belong to his family. He was simply angry that he no longer held his position. I was stressed after reading this letter and shared it with my host papa (he’s on the committee). He was irate and told me that this went beyond the RTC and he would handle it along with other elders in the community. I worried what others in the community felt but I was reassured by everyone that I had done my job and not to be troubled by the situation. At this point, I stepped back and luckily was heading to Port Vila for Early Service Conference when they planned a general meeting to discuss the issue with him.

I returned from Port Vila, feeling that I did owe the former manager an apology that things went as they did since he did work with the Peace Corps to prepare for my service. Today, all is running smoothly and I have been teaching some English at the RTC. We’ve had one fundraiser, raising about 7,300 vatu (~$73) and the second scheduled in May. Some grants are in the pipeline (haven’t used that word in a while!) to bring electricity to the school to run a computer for a course as well as for carpentry tools.

Despite the issues, the committee and community have been grateful and receptive to my ideas and planning. They call me their “advisor” and their support and participation has been remarkable.

Besides the RTC, I have been teaching English and Math at the primary school where there are 30 students and ONE teacher, Miss Margaret. Levels 2 (levels 1 and 2 combined), 4 (3 and 4 combined) and 6 (5 and 6 combined) are taught. Margaret must juggle two rooms of students by teaching a lesson and then assigning work and then doing this again for the next two levels. How she maintains her sanity, I do not know but she is a patient soul.

My goal is to get the school new desks and chairs as well as a small playground.