Friends At Vunidogoloa Village

Mara and kids in the village

There is often this feeling that when you are about to visit a place where you have not visited before, you tend to have questions of how you would be welcomed or accepted. These thoughts occupied my mind for the best part of my time prior to my entry into Vunidogoloa village. I wondered what type of people they would be, i.e will they be accommodating, very open to my inquiries and socialize with strangers easily. My anxieties, for a lack of a better word, proved unreasonable after I was introduced to the villagers. 

Taking a time out with one of the elders in the village after an interview

I was firstly taken to Vunidogoloa by a villager who resides in Nasinu but had maternal ties to Vunidogoloa. I was fortunate in this because the aforementioned gentleman was quite well known in the area. We arrived in the village at around 2-3 pm in the scorching heat of a Cakaudrove afternoon sun. The fact that we had to walk a further meters from the road, through a rough track and carrying my pack, seemed like the initial phase military training. But all this was slowly forgotten as I was gradually eased into the village. 

There was one thing I discovered from the first initial meeting, and it was that these people, threatened by the sea everyday of their lives still find the courage, in some deep resource of their hearts, to put up a smile and play host in the most magnificent fashion. Their willingness was encouragement  enough for me to do my best in telling their story. There is not much one could do to repay these than to write about the suffering their had to endure everyday.

A Talanoa Session

The most appropriate person to thank for making my stay a memorable one was the Turaga Ni Koro. Here, was a gentleman quite like no other other I have met in all my life. The tenacity and courage in his demeanor and his confidence in his abilities are exemplified by the way he throws himself into his work. Being the younger brother of the ruling chief, the Turaga Ni Koro, was more or less born to this role and everyday I was in the village, he seemed to justify the appointment in a fashion best suiting the calling. It him, most of all, who made my stay the most memorable yet.

The Turaga Ni Koro (red t-shirt) with his son

My host family was strangely enough a curious case. According to protocol, visitors to the village with a certain capacity of importance, not that I am saying I am, but since I was sent under the banner of academia, in which case, The University of the South pacific, I was in fact viewed upon as would any learned visitor, with some ounce of respect, would be billeted by the Turaga Ni Koro. More or less, this meant staying with the Turaga Ni Koro's family. I couldn't ask for anything better.

My host family

The facets of my lodgings were quite simple, I was allocated a room, advised on certain matters I should know and protocols I should follow, of course needless to say, things I shouldn't attempt to do. As for the latter, I think anyone average human being would find it common sense to avoid. And to raise the brevity, I was lodging with the representative of the Methodist Church- the "Vatakatawa". Of course to be fair on the vakatawa, it was his residence, and the Turaga Ni Koro's family volunteered to look after him for he was not married. Hence, the curious and strange case of my lodging arrangements.

The Vakatawa, standing behind the makeshift church.

 And of course my stay could not have been a complete success without the support of the whole village. I felt that for once in my life, I had an opportunity to tell the suffering and dangers that a community is experiencing. There, it is the ordinary people who I must also thank, those who have influenced me in my research, these people deserve a big VINAKA VAKA-LEVU...

The Chief

At a Church service

Church Service

I do hope that as I continue with this blog, I might have an opportunity to relate some of my experiences whilst expounding on the main reason for my visiting the village. It would be wise, I think, that one should consider the human side of research of this nature because not everyone in the village was affected the same way from sea level rise and climate change. I hope there unique stories would help us understand their predicament.