A week in the life of a Child Advocate

This weeks work has seen us traveling all over the Western Province in our bright yellow ‘Save the Children’ tinny. Monday morning we left for Simbo island, a beautiful active volcano, with sharp jagged mountains surrounded by lush green jungle. On arrival we went for a swim in the hot mineral water, where boiling water flows out of the volcanic mountain and into the ocean. This soothed our muscles after a very rough two hour boat trip. After our refreshing dip, we talked with community leaders about the issues which affect children on the island. Some very interesting issues came up, including children swimming across croc infested waters to get to the local school. We stayed a night in the village before heading back to Gizo to prepare for our next trip.

Wednesday we traveled two hours to a very beautiful island called Vella La Vella to visit a village where we have an established Child Club. We were greeted by fuzzy haired, naked kids who eagerly joined in with games and discussions on children’s issues.

Thursday we traveled to a very well established, pro-active village. It was a refreshing change to see a community which has built their own schools, health clinic and churches. However, despite the outward appearance, the same issues of child neglect, abuse and discrimination still exist. It was encouraging though to work with community members who are keen to be involved in advocating for children’s rights in the community.

Friday we made our last trip out to an island called Rendova. We almost didn’t make it though because we hit a reef and badly damaged the propeller. We had to paddle to a nearby island where the skippers managed to repair the damage and we continued on our journey through one of the most beautiful lagoons I have ever seen. Electric blue water and countless tiny islands on every side. The village we visited was quite a contrast to the other places we had seen that week. We were shocked to be greeted by kids covered from head to toe in a horrible itchy fungus. It is a very poor community… no school, no clinic, appauling sanitation and barely standing leaf huts. We held our session in a ‘kindy’ which the community had attempted to build. It had the appearance of an abandoned tin shed which was in disrepair. We were very saddened to hear that the kids have no access to education or adequate health care, and even more saddened to hear that the work which was meant to be done by the field officer was non-existent… the community had no knowledge of child rights (which could clearly be seen). Im sure there will be many more visits to this community in the near future.

At the end of a long, tiring week of eating nothing but rice, noodles and tinned tuna (a standard Solomon diet), Ben and I celebrated with a dinner at the Gizo Yacht Club. Ben ordered the lobster (which is cheaper than a steak) for the very first time in his life. For someone who previously screwed his nose up at the mention of the word fish, he has become quite the seafood connoisseur. The next day the staff celebrated surviving the week with a picnic lunch on a deserted island. It was a great finish to a very tiring, and yet strangely energising week. By the end of the week we had spent over 20 hours in our little boat, bouncing around on rough seas, being drenched at times and sunburnt at other times... I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything though. We sang a lot, laughed a lot, and achieved a lot. Our whirlwind tour of the Western Province has shown us both that we have a lot of work to do, and that we have the potential to make a huge difference in the lives of village children. I am feeling very inspired about the work that lies ahead and hope that on our next tour we will see a difference in the villages that we have been working with.