As Manager of AusAID's Health Program here in Vanuatu, my work is a myriad of different tasks. At sometimes, I feel like an over-glorified events planner because I have spent days wrangling with airline tickets, catering bills and photocopy machines. At other times, I feel like a high level political advisor after spending hours in meetings with the Minister for Health, dining with the Prime Minister and advising the Director General on policy decisions. Most of the time, though, I feel somewhere in between, clicking away at my computer answering a gazbillion emails, returning phone calls, attending routine meetings and managing program financing. It's a challenging, diverse job that - for the most part - I truly appreciate.
Two weeks ago, I kindly informed Fred that he would be a widow for the week of 2 November as there was a high level Health delegation coming in from out of town. I had spent the previous weeks being both event planner, meeting organiser and policy advisor and was preparing to juggle those roles live and in style during the delegation's visit. This would mean six hour meetings, impromtu business lunches, long dinners and trips to outer islands.
Indeed, the week was long and full of meetings but went quite well. The event that I was most worried about, however, was a trip to the very north of Vanuatu to visit the island of Loh in the Torres Group. This meant 6 hours in an Islander airplane, a six-seater piloted by one young man. In addition, other than myself, the passengers in the plane were to be the Australian High Commissioner, the Minister for Health, the Director General for Health, the Director of the National Malaria Program, and three internationally reknown Malaria experts. They might as well have told me that I was going to be flying with Richie Valens, the Big Bopper and Buddy Holly. Luckily, my Mom left me with a couple magic blue pills (relief thy name is Xanax) and the flights went smoothly.
This was the first time I had been up to the Torres and was disappointed that we could only stay for four hours. Above and beyond the ethics involved in swooping down to an island that only receives supplies every three months or so in your own charter flight and then only staying for a handful of hours, it was fun to see the people and get a chance to experience the Torres at least a bit. I wasn't surprised to find that the islands were breathtaking and almost completely untouched by development. I also wasn't surprised to find out that teenage pregnancy is rampant... what else is there to do?!
I was pleased, however, to learn that coconut crabs were rampant as well because the season had begun only the week before. Coconut crabs are giant land crabs that feed on coconut and are considered an endangered species in most of the country. Loh is one of the few islands to have plenty of them and they can be harvested every other year in limited numbers. Behold...
I was given one as a present to take home. Fred and I ate a lunch fit for a king!
Woody was very interested as well.
