Paradise to be Lost trough 21st century influence?

The first-time traveler to Vanuatu, walking in with eyes wide open, will find a society that stuns the senses of the Western world. A society, as only tropical islands can provide, that is the opposite of everything that we know in the modern world.

The rhythm of the beat of South Pacific island life greets you on arrival. At the airport, during the day or on the midnight flight, a string band bursts into life. Warm welcoming smiles and brightly colored shirts greet young and old.

As the cruise ships dock the throngs of locals playing their unique music and plying their wares, adds vibrance to the tropical air.These people are special - quietly spoken and friendly.

Your arrival is processed by a custom official in a voice barely above a whisper. The taxi drivers, with years of contact with travelers, are a little more gregarious. The streets abound with warm greetings, smiles and handshakes, with only a few loud voices heard, usually from the youth.

Things however, are on the change. Teenagers, influenced by DVDs and TV, are dancing to a different tune. They are seen walking the streets, clutching their newly acquired, special introductory priced, mobile phones.

For most of the villagers in Vanuatu, bare feet take them everywhere – along the paved roadways, across the coral beaches, deep into the forest. These are silent feet. Feet that for generations have propelled people over long distances every day.

Family groups in rural areas walk each day to source their food at their remote hilltop gardens. At weekends they trek long distances to attend church and visit family.

Their lives are not bound by the ticking of a clock, but by the mood and tides of the season. Very few Ni-Vanuatu people are seen to wear a watch. There measure of time relies is “When you get there”. Stress is an enigma and much can be learned from these ancient people and their gentle way of life.

The sound of “psst” breaks the quiet as someone’s attention is attracted across a considerable distance. The male youth, gathered under the banyan tree, burst into a raucous laughter, sharing news and discussing music. A giggle can be heard from behind the hands of the young girls standing over the cooking pots, or nurturing the young, like young mothers all over the world. Quiet and peace is the way of village life, unless discipline is being admonished, or a pig is being ceremoniously killed.

Family and relationships are more important to these communities, far above the need for possessions. Children are brought up by the extended family. The elderly live within the family group.

Chiefly law settles family differences, takes care of misdemeanors, and even serious crimes are adjudicated outside the criminal system. Time like the tide, however, relentlessly pushes in on these communities as the teenagers try to imitate the ways of the Western world. The village chief is still paramount, though this is being diminished by the 21st century.

Fortunately, the sense of community lives on in the young, whether on their isolated island home, or having moved to the capital, Port Vila, where life is beginning to take a different shape for the Ni-Vanuatu people.

Men are proud to tell a visitor that they are “Man Tanna”, or “Man Ambryn” as an identification of their island cultural heritage. Respect for elders is critical. Communities, gathered in distinct parts of town, are supportive of their own. The youth who drift to town for education or employment, are under the community’s wing. When natural hazards wreck havoc on the islands, the town community instantly responds with assistance of food and basic necessities for their isolated families.

Vanuatu is facing towards its 8th General Election since independence in 1980. The western approaches to law and order, business and civil society are increasingly threatening their past.

Education of the next generation is an urgent need for this Lesser Developed Country if it is to progress successfully.

Like mothers all over the world, Ni-Vanuatu women are desperate for the next generation to be well educated. They want to see their children fulfill the dreams of being a doctor, nurse, teacher, or carpenter.

In 2007 the government admitted that it was unable to adequately resource education. Education is not free in Vanuatu. For islanders living in a ‘no-cash economy’ payment of the school fees is impossible.

The horrible consequences are:

·only 55.8% of Vanuatu kids will get to grade 6
·of those only 18.2% will go to high school
·26% will never go to school at all.

One of the few charities, assisting these people,is YouMe Support Foundation. Their Child Trust Fund provides non-repayable education grants for high school education. If Tropical Island paradises like Vanuatu are to be retained, education of the next generation must be given priority and recognized as an urgent need in these communities.