Help Wanted

Vava'u may be paradise, but living in paradise isn't always easy. Usually it is pretty rough. The papaya trees may be over flowing with fruit, but the pockets of the people are pretty empty. This is due to the lack of money or the hole in the pocket where a few coins slipped out unnoticed. Mizpah is facing some challenges right now, mainly how to run a school where the teachers are underpaid and the budget sees more credits than debits. The computer lab is barely functioning. Only seven of the computers are working, which is difficult for a class of twenty five who are suppose to be learning how to type. The two student toilets are broken, which are still shared among the hundred some kids that go to Mizpah. Cardboard boxes are used for trashcans, my classroom is to poor to afford one. Teaching supplies is slim. Two pens, a pencil, a few paper clips, and a teachers rule book were handed out to each teacher at the beginning of the year. Folders would have been nice to keep the rule books in, but they are not in the budget. A piece of paper is printed on for a class, then used to take notes in a meeting, then used to write memos on, then finally used to clean the windows of the classrooms. The tuition was raised about $7 U.S. dollars this year, but was lowered back to the original price because that was to much for the parents to pay. No money was left over from last year and it has been hard for the principle to make ends meet. I am hoping to find a way to change this and could use some help. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions on how to raise some money for Mizpah school they would be greatly appreciated. School still begins everyday and the kids still learn, but it is very hard work. I want to make it easier for the staff here to do their job. Please leave comments about ideas or places to start. If you want send me an email at dhodgson@southern.edu. Thank you for the support.

Fish, Fishing, and Fishing Pigs

Every Wednesday night at my old high school was known as "Hump Night" because it was the middle of the week and it is all down hill after Wednesday night. The deans would open up the gym in the evening to play games and relax. This Wednesday I decided to celebrate my mid-week by going fishing. I walk down to the bay close to Mizpah school, rigged up my line and had visions of fish tacos in my mind. But I was not the first one and the bay. Around four pigs were walking up and down the shore fishing. They were actually digging for clams when the tide was out, but nobody want's a clamming pig so they have been giving the name "Fishing Pigs." Since these local couldn't give me any tips I continued on my way. One exciting thing about fishing is that you never know what you might catch, another exciting thing about fishing is catching a Barracuda. This was the first time I have caught a Barracuda and I hope it's not my last. Long and fast, the Barracuda fights like a Northern Pike, but is gray and shiny like a King Salmon. The fish shimmered in the crystal clear water of Vava'u, water so clear you can see the colors of the coral fifteen away while walking along the shore. Barracudas are not safe to eat so I threw it back, but I was able to catch a fish that I cleaned, filleted, and cooked up for dinner. A very good end to a climatic day. Here comes the weekend.

1st Day of Classes

Today was the first day of classes at Mizpah, I am teaching Form 1 Health, Form 2 Math, and Form 3 Computers. I am also the home room teacher for Form 2. The kids are cheerful and helpful, but VERY QUITE. They say they are just shy around me because I am a Palangi, or a white person. Girls wear red dresses with white ribbons in their hair. Boys wear white shirts and red sulu’s, which are like long skirts, but have pockets. I just wear khaki’s and a polo. Here at Mizpah it is not so different from home, the girls sit on one side and the guys on the other. The girls pay attention and take notes while the guys goof off in the back. There are kids who want to be the best and kids who don’t care at all. Time is giving in class to do homework, but it is spent staring out the windows. And the Teachers have no idea what they are talking about.
While on campus the kids are only suppose to speak English inside and out of the classroom. This makes for a quite fifty minute class period. Most of the classes have been spent try to get the kids to respond to a question, or make any sound at all. I do believe in time the kids will begin to open up and speak up in class. The last twenty minutes of the day are used to clean the room. Floors are swept with brooms made out of sticks and the windows are cleaned with scrap paper. Then the benches are put up on the table, closing prayer is said, and the kids rush out the door to catch the bus. Not knowing if the kids understood the lesson, I am left there to pick up my books and get ready to do it all again the next day.