Much to our disappointment, we made a rushed and premature exit from Vanuatu on 12 September.

VSA require volunteers to provide 6 and 12 monthly reports (see previous post: “The Halfway Point”). Mine were consistent in their recording of inadequate engagement and poor quality leadership at the Vanuatu Agriculture Research and Technical Centre (VARTC), the Partner Organisation for my assignment.

Between June and 22 August it became increasingly unlikely that I would be able to continue to work there in pursuit of the fundamental objectives of my VSA assignment. In June I met with the VSA in-country Programme Manager and discussed the potential to transfer my assignment to the Vanuatu Ministry of Trade’s Department of Industry. This was seen as a ‘Plan B Concept’ if progress was not possible at VARTC.

Eventually, on 22 August, I resigned once both Louise and I agreed there was no possibility for success. The key reasons were that:

• VARTC’s leadership (the CEO and Board) did not appreciate the relevance of Market Research, despite having sought a VSA volunteer with the title Market Adviser (Coconut R&D);
• Having put up a discussion document with recommendations, the Board responded with an autocratic and flawed directive that totally ignored the Market Research-led recommendation. No engagement nor discussion was permitted;
• VARTC’s CEO confirmed that a particularly inept senior employee would be the person I would work with to pursue the flawed objective. I had attempted to work with this character for a year and had a clear understanding of the limitation he would represent to positive progress;
• The funding for this flawed Applied Research work was due to arrive after the term of my assignment was due to expire – July 2017.

My deferred letter of resignation (per VSA protocols) contained the following last line:

“It is tragic that so many decent, capable and honest workers at VARTC have to suffer such dismal leadership. They deserve better.”

This disappointment was compounded by another we then experienced with VSA that cannot be discussed in a public forum such as this due to Clause 14 of my contract. See private attachment to the latest e-mail referring to this web site update.

As we progress with ‘life after Vanuatu’, we will increasingly look back beyond the trials and tribulations of the last few months to the bigger picture of our experience there. It was stimulating, colourful, enthralling, bemusing and rich in a highly human way – see next, more uplifting piece: “Vanuatu – A Special Place, A special slice of Life.”

The photo on the left was taken at Aore Island Resort on the Sunday farewell lunch with fellow volunteers. They had prepped Desmond, the musician just visible,  to knock out a particularly poignant song in our honour, to which our friends sang and we cried!

 

 

 

This retrospective of our time in Vanuatu is difficult to keep short so I’ll offer up a tumble of staccato screen shots from the memory banks:

Work:

Office shared with Marie, invariably cheerful, small desk, hard chair, big screen keyboard tapping. Vanuatu people, known as Ni-Vans, are reserved with newcomers, possibly more so when these are ‘white-fellas’. But over 14 months we gradually built relationships with many of the characters on the farm, typified by humour, warmth, trust and ready laughter. These fledgling bonds will wither with time but remain in the brain with affection. In the picture above the right is ‘my office’ – well Marie’s really, with her on the left, then Jules (Chief Mechanic) and Frank (Head of Maintenance).

Inspiration:

Interacting with and getting to know Ni-Vans in different communities was a good value check for self. Plenty of conundrums emerged as one’s understanding deepened. But the friendliness and open-hearted character of the locals with so much potential to step up a notch on the one hand, and one’s own 1st world education on the other, combined to make the will to contribute profound.

House:

Light, spacious, view east to the Pacific, tropical trees, warm breeze rising up the hill to waft through the rooms, motorbikes in the garage, Rufino’s goat Whisky tethered to the frangipani tree, the bullocks’ lustful baritones, the smiles and waves from passing farm workers. A happy place.

Lessons learned or underlined:

Leadership – the importance of standards, nurturing, direction, communication, engagement, sharing connections and know-how;

Society – sharing of resources, sharing of knowledge, sharing of security, sharing of belonging;

Religion – community coming together, headcount, hypocrisy;

Adventure – sharing of discoveries, sharing of wonderment; excursions beyond the comfort zone;

Natural life – nature on hand, weather encourages outdoor life, modest attire, lack of rules, lack of enforcers, freedom to be;

About self – happy conflict between pull of family and friend bonds back to home and lust for freedom to roam; valuation of contrasts, quiet time and rowdy time; persistence retained but with newly expanded patience for others, plus more tolerant of variety.

Club Life

Camaraderie amongst fellow volunteers, Kiwis and Aussies, all in the same boat, lack of money, lack of recourses, all trying to contribute, sharing tales of whacky impasses, simple living on a tropical roller coaster.

The over-riding memory of Vanuatu is warmth, freedom, friendliness, colour and the randomness of life.