A better chance, a better future

Joslyn and Carol with their grandmother and aunt.
© UNICEF Pacific./2014/Thakkar

Port Vila is the lovely little capital of Vanuatu. Remarkably beautiful but also, compared to the hustle and bustle of foreign cities, remarkably quiet. Shops shut by 5pm on weekdays, midday on Saturdays and almost everything is closed all day Sunday, for religious observance and gatherings at homes. Two main roads, running parallel, each going one way.

When giving up is not an option

Villagers helping Susan with weighing the babies before 

vaccination. © UNICEF Pacific./2014/Thakkar

Susan Wokeke is a 30-year old nurse in the village health center of Big Bay Bush on Santo Island (one of Vanuatu’s 83 islands). Fresh out of nursing college, she was posted here at the tender age of 20. With a heart full of aspirations, she wanted to make a difference in the lives of the people here, reach out to them and help them with their health concerns. She soon realised that it was not going to be easy at all.

What is happiness?

A proud happy country. UNICEF Pacific./2014/Thakkar

Pharrell Williams took the world by storm with his ‘Happy’ song. It went viral within days with people around the world making their own video, dancing and clapping along with the tune.

A world without chocolate

Certainly not a world I want to live in! But I say that as a chocolate lover with a borderline addiction issue. 

As I was preparing for my trip to the Solomons, I did what anyone with internet access does - google relevant practical information. I packed some chocolate just in case I needed a fix while I was on the plane. So this well-prepared traveller arrives in Honiara and is all set for the place... or so she thinks! 

It is still not too late

The only source of water close to Tenavatu Primary school .
© UNICEF Pacific/2014/Thakkar

Did you wash your hands with soap and clean water in the last 24 hours? I am willing to bet you did. Perhaps even in the last 24 minutes. Did you know that is a privilege and not everyone is as lucky as you? Yes, something as simple as washing hands i.e. access to soap and clean, safe water is a matter of luck depending on where you live and it is a massive determining factor IF you will live at all.

In the last two weeks, 18 young children in the Solomon Islands died of dehydration due to diarrhoea. They died before they even had the chance to celebrate their fifth birthday. UNICEF and its partners have been working hard on water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in flood-affected areas, but diarrhoea cases spread in areas not affected by the April floods. While investigations are still going on, the fatalities are likely because of rotavirus, a highly infectious virus that is very dangerous to young children. When their parents or other caregivers are not educated about how to care for them, including taking them to a health care centre immediately, children can quickly dehydrate and die.

Laugh and cry together: the Solomon way

From L to R - Simon, Francis, Jacob, Israel: community 

coming together. © UNICEF Pacific/2014/Thakkar

Jacob Togovi is a 17-year old boy living in Kwai village in central Guadalcanal province in the Solomon Islands. He has an identical twin named Isaac. In addition, he has three sisters and another brother. Like all children in this village, Jacob and Isaac have completed primary education. But they could not continue their education since the closest secondary school is a three hour walk from their village. Instead they work with their father, Simon, to make ends meet.

Food for Thought, Food for Learning

Note : To view Photo captions enlarge Photo Story and click show info.

The day I almost died

Post traumatic memories and economic struggle make it 

hard to concentrate in school. © UNICEF Pacific/2014/Thakkar

Junior Miniti is a 14-year old boy living in Koahill, an area in Honiara city along the banks of the river Matanikau. Flash floods in early April 2014 obliterated his neighbourhood and claimed 18 out of the 22 lives lost that fateful day. His family chose to be in the evacuation centre for just a week. They went back to, what was left of their neighbourhood, started cleaning and rebuilding immediately. It took over a week’s hard work to just deal with fixing his home. It is now almost two months, and counting, cleaning up the neighbourhood. The signs of the devastation are still evident in the surroundings and the people. This is Junior’s story.

Value of Ten Dollars

What is the value of your ten dollars? I suppose most people are inclined to say ten dollars is ten dollars anywhere in the world. This question makes no sense at all. Well, let’s try an exercise.

Part# 1 exercise

Convert US$ 10 to your local currency and head to the closest supermarket to see what your money can buy. With the help of my local colleague Atenia Tahu, we decided to pick some of the common staple food items in the Solomons. Here is a picture of the value of my US$ 10 in Honiara.

© UNICEF Pacific/2014/Thakkar

The World's Blind Spot

© UNICEF Pacific/2014/Tahu

“Have you visited the Solomon Islands before?’ asked the flight attendant as he poured me a cup of tea. When I told him I hadn’t and, in fact, this was my very first time in the Pacific region; with a smile, he said, “It is a nice country; good people but going through a hard time”. 

I was as foreign to the region, as the region was to me. I wondered why. I am curious about the world, I read a lot about current affairs/issues, I’ve ventured quite a fair bit and am surrounded by well-travelled, interesting people who yawn at the idea of holidaying in Paris, New York. Instead they travel off-the-beaten track to places like Pyongyang, Bratislava, the South Pole and yet I didn’t know a single person who had been to Honiara. I didn’t know anyone who could give me first hand information about the capital city of the Solomon Islands, not some small little village on its many islands but the country’s capital city.