VSA’s window on the world of development issue one 2011

A can-do attitude to food processing in

Talking the talk in Repackaging : rural tourism takes off

If you've finished reading this copy of Vista please pass it on to someone else so they can enjoy our news. Te-na- koutou o Te Tu- ao Ta-wa- hi Kia ora In mid May, couple Val and Birnie Duthie set off for Volunteer Service Abroad to start VSA assignments as English as a Second Language works with people in the Trainers at the Marine Training Centre in Tarawa. Pacific, and Africa, It’s been a while since we sent volunteers to Kiribati, which is one of the poorest countries in the Pacific; our last volunteer returned from adding the skills and there in March 2006. It’s exciting to be re-establishing our relation- energy of New Zealanders ship with Kiribati, and also with and . This reflects our to strengthen communities decision, announced earlier this year, to focus our work in the wider Pacific, and phase out our programmes in South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and . striving for change. But what really excites me is that while teaching English might not seem an obvious way to promote economic development, that is what the Duthies’ assignment will do. They will About VSA be working to improve the English standards of staff and students at the Marine Training VSA (Volunteer Service Abroad) is a home- Centre, which trains young I-Kiribati so they can get jobs in the international marine grown Kiwi organisation and shipping industry. The remittances they send home are a vital part of the Kiribati economy. has placed more than 3,500 skilled Learning how to speak English improves their employment prospects – which in turn New Zealanders on volunteer assignments contributes to Kiribati’s economic development. overseas since 1962. To me, it’s a great example of how we can use international volunteering in clever and We recruit ordinary New Zealanders to creative ways to meet ’s development goals. Creativity lies at the heart of VSA’s achieve exceptional work with our partner new strategic intent, which was approved by our Council at its meeting in May. We want to organisations. Our work is locally identified, broaden our reach and offer innovative volunteering opportunities so more New Zealanders locally relevant and locally delivered. can share their skills in developing countries. One way we plan to do this is by increasing our short-term volunteering programme. We are an independent and are Short-term assignments help meet the changing needs of our partner organisations. They non-governmental, non-religious and also recognise the reality of life in the 21st century – not all potential volunteers are able to non-political. commit to a two-year assignment. Become a VSA volunteer We’re also in the process of setting up a new unit to explore and develop partnerships Go to www.vsa.org.nz to find out about with New Zealand businesses and government organisations, particularly those working application criteria, to register your skills, or to in agriculture, engineering, financial management and small business. We are in the early see what assignments are being advertised. stages of discussing how these partnerships will work, but one possibility is that VSA will act as a “broker”, developing volunteer assignments for staff from the organisations we have Become a VSA supporter partnered with. We send people not money, but we need One thing we do know is that the appetite for international volunteering is as strong money to send people. Visit www.vsa.org.nz as ever, and that volunteering is well and truly entrenched as an effective development to donate or to find out about becoming a tool. We want to capitalise on this enthusiasm, and make VSA the “face” of New Zealand’s VSA member. development programme. It’s about real people playing real roles to achieve tangible, lasting results. Join a local VSA branch Phone 0800 VSA TO GO (0800 872 8646) for details of the branch nearest you. Deborah Snelson, CEO

Te Tu-ao Ta-wa-hi Volunteer Service Abroad Inc Te Tu-ao Ta-wa-hi Volunteer Service Abroad is a registered charity (CC36739) under the Patron: His Excellency The Right Honourable Anand Satyanand, GNZM QSO, Governor-General of New Zealand Charities Act 2005 President: Gavin Kerr, QSO Kauma-tua: Awi Riddell (Nga-ti Porou), QSM Council Chair: Farib Sos, MNZN Chief Executive Officer: Deborah Snelson

Te Tu-ao Ta-wa-hi Volunteer Service Abroad, 32 Waring Taylor St, PO Box 12246, Wellington 6144 Aotearoa/New Zealand Tel: 64 4 472 5759 Fax: 64 4 472 5052 Email: [email protected] Website: www.vsa.org.nz

Vista is the official magazine of Te Tu-ao Ta-wa-hi Volunteer Service Abroad Incorporated. Please note that views expressed in Vista are not necessarily the views of VSA. Editorial and photographic submissions to the magazine are welcome. Please address all queries and submissions to the Editor, Vista, at the address above. Please ensure all material is clearly marked with your name and address.

The New Zealand Government is proud © VSA. All rights reserved. ISSN 1176-9904 to provide significant support through the Reproduction of content is allowed for usage in primary and secondary schools, and for tertiary studies. New Zealand Aid Programme for New Zealand volunteers who work in a development Vista is printed on environmentally responsible paper. It is chlorine free and manufactured using farmed capacity overseas. eucalyptus trees.

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2 ConVSation News, views and happenings contents 4 Feature VSA volunteers are vista issue one 2011 helping Ni-Vanuatu living in rural areas get a bigger slice of their Cover: VSA volunteer Howard Iseli (left) and his wife Jacqui cross a river with Paul Ravun, who guided them on the three-day Man Bush Trek on Malekula Island country’s tourism pie. in Vanuatu. 7 Feature Adele Broadbent looks at the latest challenges facing volunteering organisations like VSA.

9 From the field A can-do attitude to food processing in Tanzania.

10 From the field Talking the talk in Papua New Guinea.

11 Books & Bites A VSA volunteer’s award-winning passion for the food of Lao PDR.

13 Growing Support The latest news from our coordinator Karla Paotonu.

vista issue one 2011 1 Convsation

Countdown to Project Friendship

Students from South Wellington Intermediate had fun with rugby player Neemia Tialata at a photo shoot for this year’s VSA Project Friendship, which runs from 15 to 21 August. Neemia and the students feature in the publicity material for Project Friendship 2011, during which New Zealanders buy colourful, hand-woven bracelets to support the work of VSA. Getting up close and personal with a well-known rugby player gave the students a chance to ask some important questions – such as how much money you earn playing rugby. “Good question,” Neemia replied. “You can earn a lot of money, so it’s pretty good.” Project Friendship 2011 will once again focus on youth. The money raised will support VSA volunteers working with young people who are educating other young people, working to look after their environment, or bringing communities together through sport.

VSA’s staff have been on the On the move move – both at our Wellington office and in the field. At the end of April, all our Wellington staff moved onto one floor as part of our cost-efficiency . Previously we occupied two floors of the Dunbar Sloane building in Waring Taylor St. We are now in the process of finding tenants to sub-let the vacant floor. We have also had some staff changes in the field. Camille Kirtlan, our Papua New Guinea country programme manager – pictured here schmoozing with Extreme Fishing star Robson Green, who judged the recent Miss Billfish competition in Kokopo while he was filming in PNG – has now finished her two-year posting in PNG. She has been replaced by Hannah Stewart, Calendar boy who previously worked as Pacific programme officer in our Papua New Guinea volunteer Antony Rewcastle has been Wellington office. immortalised in a 2011 calendar drawn by one of the boys Hannah’s husband Michael has accompanied her to Kokopo in the Papua New Guinea village of Toimtop, where Antony and has now started a VSA assignment as a teacher trainer works as an eco-forestry adviser. at Vunapope International Primary School. Clarence Vomne, 11, drew Antony undertaking a variety of Camille has returned to Wellington to take up a position as exciting activities, including flying to PNG from New Zealand, programme officer supporting our volunteers in Timor-Leste building a chicken house, cutting a big long snake, and diving and . She will also be responsible for VSA’s Asia and for fish. Africa programmes until they finish on 31 December 2011 and Clarence has exercised a certain amount of artistic licence in 31 March 2012 respectively. putting together his calendar: “No, I don’t have pink speedos,” Karen Horton will finish her posting as Cambodia country Antony told us when he sent through the images. programme manager at the end of June, and will take up a posting as country programme manager for Timor-Leste at Visit www.vsa.org.nz/blog/clarence-s-calendar to see the the beginning of August. full calendar.

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Cambodia-based volunteers had a chance to meet former VSA patron Dame Silvia Cartwright (fourth from left) at a drinks party hosted by Dame Silvia in Phnom Penh in April. Dame Silvia was patron of VSA during her time as Governor-General. She is now one of the international judges sitting on the Cambodia War Crimes Tribunal based in Phnom Penh. Farib Sos (left), chair of VSA’s Council, helped organise the Children from the village of Pidia in Bougainville, where Mister Pip is being filmed. drinks evening on a recent trip to Cambodia. “It was a good chance to celebrate the Kiwi-Cambodian connection,” he says. About 45 people attended, including current and former VSA’s Mister Pip connection volunteers and their partners, as well as several young Cambodians who studied at New Zealand universities. VSA’s experience working in Bougainville has been useful for the producers of the movie Mister Pip, which is being filmed in the village of Pidia during June. VSA first became involved in Mister Pip, which is based on the novel by Lloyd Jones and stars British actor Hugh Laurie, last year. Bougainville country programme manager Murray Benbow helped broker a ‘village deal’ with Pidia, which will see locals playing bit parts and carrying out other roles. Murray’s work in Pidia was important in making sure that filming was carried out in Bougainville, rather than in the . “Now that filming is about to start I feel very proud that VSA and I had a small but vital role to play in it being filmed in Bougainville,” he says. “I’m sure the making of this movie will advance the cause for peace and the reestablishment of Best-dressed Bougainville in the minds of the international community as an island of peace-loving and intelligent-minded people.” Members of the Bulls rugby team in East New Britain are playing in North Otago uniforms this season, thanks to returned VSA’s involvement with Mister Pip has continued this year. VSA volunteer Bill Kingan and the North Otago Rugby Union. provided background information about Bougainville to the production team, and in late May VSA’s medical adviser Bill coached the Bulls while he was on assignment as a farm Jenny Visser left Wellington to spend five weeks in Bougainville business adviser at the PNG University of Natural Resources as the film doctor. She will live on the ship that is being used to (formerly Vudal University). He was impressed by the team’s accommodate the cast and crew during filming. enthusiasm and commitment, but he was less impressed by their uniforms – a borrowed set from another club. The film crew’s arrival in Bougainville has generated a lot of excitement, but it had a special significance for Rosemary Hall, “They were really faded and worn.” whose husband Dave is on assignment with VSA in Arawa. The When Bill returned to Oamaru in October last year he container which was used to transport the film equipment also approached North Otago Rugby Union chief executive Colin contained about 500 books for a local primary school where Jackson to see if they had any spare rugby jerseys. As it turned Rosemary helps with English tuition. out, they had a complete set of North Otago representative Rosemary is helping set up a library to cater for the wide range uniforms available, including jerseys, socks and shorts. of age groups at the school. The smart new red and yellow uniforms – along with some “Friends and service groups in New Zealand very generously training manuals and DVDs – were officially handed over to the donated over 500 books, but the cost of postage was a big team at a ceremony at the university in March. hurdle in getting them to Bougainville,” she says. “We are really “However they play this season, it will make them feel good,” grateful that the film crew were able to bring the books with says Bill. their equipment.”

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Tourism is vital to Vanuatu’s growing economy. Ruth Nichol looks at the work VSA’s volunteers are doing to help rural Ni-Vanuatu develop small, sustainable tourism ventures to supplement their subsistence lifestyles.

The first meal the tourism students at Torgil Rural Training Centre in Vanuatu cooked at the centre’s new training restaurant was simple – corned beef hash, rice, pawpaw, cucumber and spring onion. But their local customers thoroughly enjoyed it. “The students love to cook,” says VSA tourism and hospitality coordinator Linda Bennie, who helped set up the training restaurant earlier this year. “We run the restaurant every Thursday lunchtime. It’s really good experience for the students to learn how to cook a meal, how to set a table and serve food. What we do is very basic – things like learning how to serve from the left, and the importance of smiling.” Linda, who works with 11 first-year and six second-year tourism students at the training centre on the island of Ambae, is on assignment with her husband Jim, who is working as a tourism business adviser. The couple, who previously ran a hospitality training school in Wellington, are among six VSA volunteers now working in the tourism sector in Vanuatu. Most of them are based on Vanuatu’s ‘outer islands’ – the larger of the 80 or so islands that sit north of the country’s most densely populated island, Efate. Tourism accounts for around 40 per cent of Vanuatu’s GDP, and has been a major factor in turning the country of 247,000 into a ‘Melanesian success story’. Last year, almost 100,000 tourists flew into Vanuatu – up from 58,000 in 2000 – and another 140,000 arrived by cruise ship.

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Top: Local style in the bedroom of a Vanuatu bungalow. Karen Henry outside a typical Vanuatu bungalow. Bottom: The training restaurant at the Torgil Rural Training Centre.

“Like many Pacific nations, Vanuatu faces rural depopulation and urban overcrowding as people leave their villages and go to town. The jobs created by small, local tourism ventures help to reverse that trend.”

They are attracted by the beautiful scenery, the world-class But the lack of tourists hasn’t stopped the couple from getting snorkelling, the bush walks, the active volcanoes, the famous ‘land on with their assignments. Last year, Linda successfully found divers’ of Pentecost Island, and – for the more macabre-minded – short work-experience placements for all her first-year students at the former cannibal and World War Two plane-crash sites. resorts on Santo – a four-hour boat ride away. One has now been Until recently, most tourism ventures in Vanuatu were foreign- taken on as a trainee chef at Village de Santo, and the resort owner owned, but local operators are becoming increasingly common. is so impressed with the training at the centre she has promised to Many Ni-Vanuatu now run tours and treks, and a growing number employ another student. have built small bungalows or guest houses – local-style accommo- Meanwhile, Jim has developed a new tourism curriculum that dation that ranges from very simple to relatively luxurious. will be used at all of Vanuatu’s 28 rural training centres. He is now However, despite the huge increase in tourist numbers over the turning his attention to the tricky question of how to get more last decade, the vast majority of them only visit the capital, Port tourists to visit Ambae. Vila, on the island of Efate, and the islands of Santo to the north Linda is confident that tourist numbers will eventually rise – and and Tanna to the south. that the visitors who make the journey won’t be disappointed. “Tourism is a big priority for the Vanuatu government,” explains “Even though it can be difficult to get to Ambae, once you do it’s VSA’s Vanuatu Country Programme Manager Diane Thorne- really fantastic.” George. “The aim is to try to create a more equal spread of tourism It’s a similar story on the island of Emae, just north of Efate, throughout the country – at the moment most tourists are only where VSA's Vila-based tourism business adviser Mereana Mills going to Vila.” has helped run tourism training programmes since she arrived in According to Peter Swain, VSA’s Pacific programme manager, at Vanuatu late last year. Despite being close to Port Vila, and having present there are few opportunities for Ni-Vanuatu living in rural attractions such as Cook Reef – “it’s like a sandy beach in the communities to make some cash to supplement their subsistence middle of the sea” – few tourists visit Emae. lifestyles. Mereana says part of her role is to help local tourism operators “The work that VSA’s volunteers are doing is helping all keep their expectations realistic. On the one hand, they need to Ni-Vanuatu get a bigger slice of the tourism pie, and to get cash provide the kinds of services international tourists expect – a flush flowing into remote communities. Like many Pacific nations, toilet (or a good-quality long-drop), clean sheets, a shower, and an Vanuatu faces rural depopulation and urban overcrowding as people evening meal. On the other, simply providing those services is no leave their villages and go to town. The jobs created by small, local guarantee that tourists will want to use them. tourism ventures help to reverse that trend. Responsible, sustainable “There’s been this mentality that, if you build a bungalow, tourists tourism has a good future in Vanuatu, and VSA volunteers are will come, but that doesn’t always happen,” she says. “It’s a case of laying the foundations.” trying to manage expectations while lifting the game in terms of the The challenges the volunteers face vary according to where they quality of the services that currently exist.” are based. So few tourists visit Ambae, for example, that Linda and She believes the domestic tourism market is just as important as Jim Bennie didn’t actually see one until four months after they arrived. international tourism when it comes to generating income for rural “There are lots of guest houses on Ambae, but unfortunately no communities. guests,” says Linda ruefully. “One of the opportunities on Emae, for example, is local people

vista issue one 2011 5 feature

Local guide Paul Ravun with Howard Iseli (front right), his wife Jacqui and an Italian tourist on the Man Bush Trek.

going there for a particular reason – staff from the local cellphone “Things are going reasonably well in Santo because we have company, or from government departments; expatriates exploring established networks coming from New Caledonia and Europe, as island life. As part of our training we point out that they are tourists well as lots of Australians and New Zealanders. But we certainly too, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be able to get the need a lot more tourists to make a difference to the rural tourism same level of service as international tourists. It’s also a safe way operators.” for local operators to practice their training for when they do have Since she arrived last May Karen has helped local business owners international guests.” create brochures and fliers to display at the local tourist information Appearing on a popular television show is one way of boosting office and distribute to visiting cruise ships. More recently she has your profile with international tourists. That’s been the case for the been helping to promote a new two-day trek due to open in June. island of Malekula which featured in a 2009 episode of Intrepid She is also helping organise the inaugural Big Bay Cultural Festival, Journeys starring Dancing With The Stars judge Brendan Cole. a one-day celebration of local culture being held at Big Bay on 17 July. “Malekula has also featured quite prominently in Lonely Planet,” says VSA’s Howard Iseli, who has been working as a tourism business adviser on the island since September last year. “It means “Sometimes small local tourism operators there’s some awareness of it as a destination – as far as we can tell we get six or seven tourists here a day. We’re also lucky to have daily feel they can’t compete with the big expat flights from Vila.” companies, but they can – they can easily create However, tourists find it difficult to get the information they what tourists want using local materials and need to book accommodation and activities on Malekula, such as the three-day Man Bush Trek that featured on Intrepid Journeys. local products.” Even calling a tourism operator direct can be hard because of the island’s very basic telecommunications infrastructure. Howard is now involved in a project to set up a call centre in the “It’s about offering a soft adventure experience to tourists who tourism office in the town of Lakatoro to coordinate bookings. want to get off their comfortable beach chair and explore their “For the first six months we’ll be in test mode. It will basically be surroundings, and experience the local culture.” me and Edna, the local tourism officer, with a phone and a laptop Karen has recently started working on a new programme to with internet access. We will have a dedicated website, and tourists provide tourism training to bungalow and guest house owners on will be able to email their interest and we will take their calls and Santo and the nearby island of Malo. She will support the partici- bookings. Then we’ll train a Ni-Vanuatu to run the call centre, pants as they work through their training modules. which will be owned and overseen by the local tourism association, “It’s a bit like business mentoring,” she says. “It gives them a and self-funded through commission fees.” chance to think about the future of their business. We will also be Howard feels positive about the future of tourism in Malekula. looking at things such as what is going on in the tourism industry, “I think the time is now right for Malekula to take the next step. We where tourists come from and how they get there, and what their have the unique tribal cultures of the Big Nambas and Small Nambas, expectations are in terms of service.” and a nucleus of products now reaching an acceptable standard.” Like Howard, she feels positive about the future of tourism in Things are even further ahead on the island of Santo, which Vanuatu. is Vanuatu’s second biggest tourist destination. That means that “Sometimes small local tourism operators feel they can’t compete Santo-based VSA volunteer Karen Henry is in the relatively with the big expat companies,” she says. “But they can – they can luxurious position of working with local tourism operators to easily create what tourists want using local materials and local develop and market products to an existing customer base. products.”

6 vista issue one 2011 feature The changing face of volunteering Volunteering for development has undergone many changes over the last 50 years. Adele Broadbent looks at the latest challenges facing organisations like VSA.

VSA’s first volunteers Ivan and Molly Short were big news when they arrived in in July 1963. The couple disembarked from an Air Force Hercules in Bangkok to be met by the New Zealand Ambassador, military personnel and Thai officials – and “lots of flashbulbs”. Articles about them appeared in several Bangkok newspapers, as well as in New Zealand. During the 20 months the Shorts were in Thailand they were minor celebrities. So were thousands of volunteers from other Western countries who, inspired by the idealism of the 1960s, headed off to work in what was then known as the ‘Third World’. As American Bill Moyers, who helped found the Peace Corps in the United States, observed in a recent magazine interview: “To volunteer for the Peace Corps in the early 1960s was to be Don Quixote and Galahad cast in one volunteer. It was romantic. It was that we were celebrities. The Peace Corps was the newest celebrity in the New Frontier.” Almost half a century and more than 3,500 VSA volunteers later, the celebrity status is gone, and the idealism has been tempered by the recognition that achieving real change can be a long, slow and sometimes difficult process. The nature of volunteering has changed too. In the early days, VSA volunteers taught in classrooms or filled hands-on roles in agriculture. They were often untrained young graduates or, in the case of the school leavers programme which ran from 1965 to 1975, inexperienced 17 and 18-year-olds. Today’s VSA volunteers are experienced professionals who work alongside their communities. Instead of teaching children in a classroom, for example, they Volunteer teacher Richard Mackay with a pupil from the recorder club mentor or provide in-service training to other teachers or principals. he set up at the Government Secondary School in Serian, Sarawak. The These changes in volunteering partly reflect changes in global photo was used to advertise VSA’s 1967 school leavers programme. attitudes towards aid. In the last half-century, theories about what will work to create long-lasting development in the world’s the governments of OECD countries – have carefully placed their poorer nations have changed with the political fashion of each era. money, and controlled how it has been spent, according to geographical Originally it was about modernising developing nations, just as the alliances and historical ties. West had done. Then it was about getting rid of state control and Now, with worldwide recession, concerns about climate change, privatising state assets. and a swing to more conservative political policies, aid and More recently, with the signing of the Paris Declaration in 2005, development programmes face uncertainty. At times of financial “ownership” has become one of the five pillars of good development. stress governments become less altruistic, and more pragmatic about Developing countries are now encouraged to lead their own where they spend their money. In this environment, volunteering development strategies and run their own development programmes for development faces interesting challenges as it continues to evolve in partnership with donor countries. in the context of the ever-changing needs of the billion-dollar aid Many would argue that along the way the big donors – mainly and development sector.

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This evolution can be seen in recent changes at VSA, which right: VSA’s announced earlier this year that it is expanding its short-term first volunteer Ivan Short on volunteering programme to meet the changing needs of its partner assignment in organisations and provide more skilled New Zealanders with the Thailand in 1963. opportunity to volunteer. Many similar agencies around the world are doing the same. A recent report on international volunteering by Cliff Allum, the chief executive officer of British volunteering organisation Skillshare International, identifies short-term volunteering as one of the major changes in volunteering in the last decade. His report, New Developments in Programme Models, suggests that this interest in short-term placements has come partly from the growing relationship between volunteering agencies and the corporate sector. VSA’s Australian counterpart, AVI, has been one of the pioneers in developing these new relationships. In the last few years, it has re-evaulated its partnerships, and used its skills in recruiting and briefing for cross-cultural professional contact to open up new part- nerships and opportunities. This has resulted, for example, in a partnership with the ANZ bank to provide volunteering opportunities to ANZ staff throughout Asia and the Pacific. Among the projects being piloted Above: Volunteer Margarette Cantwell as part of this new partnership is one in which ANZ staff in Papua working with preschool coordinators from New Guinea work as volunteers with the national university to help the Vanuatu Eli Jaelhud Asosiesen (VEJA). Margarette’s assignment finished last year. improve student administration processes. VSA, too, has started exploring partnership opportunities with a wide range of private sector and government organisations. This may eventually see VSA acting as a “broker” for organisations keen ‘South to south’ volunteering has developed to develop short-term volunteering opportunities for their staff. partly in response to the realisation Cliff Allum’s report identifies other significant changes in that volunteers from developing countries volunteering. These include the development of ‘south to south’ volunteering, in which volunteers in developing countries come often have experiences that make them from other developing countries. This has happened in his own more effective than their counterparts from organisation which has, for example, recruited Nigerian doctors developed countries. to work in Mozambique. He says south to south volunteering has developed partly in response to the realisation that volunteers from developing countries often have experiences that make them more resources, policy changes at government level, and ongoing research. effective than their counterparts from developed countries. So for the volunteers’ work to lead to sustainable change, organisa- Online or virtual volunteering is another growing area in the tions like VSA need to be working alongside governments, private sector, as is ‘voluntourism’, the growing volunteering tourism enterprise, and communities.” industry which encourages those with disposable income to pay However, like most in the sector Snelson sees long-term volun- to spend their holidays volunteering in parts of Asia, Africa, Latin teering as the most effective model; she says it will continue to America, and Eastern Europe. remain at the core of VSA’s work. This stand is backed by recent The popularity of voluntourism reflects the continuing appetite research looking at the effectiveness of long-term (a year or more) for volunteering. But according to VSA’s chief executive officer volunteering for development carried out at Murdoch University Debbie Snelson, it can make it difficult for the public to understand in Perth. It concluded that long-term volunteering fills a niche not what volunteers working in development actually do, and where covered by large donors and projects. they fit. Peter Devereux, a lecturer in sustainable development at These changes have been watched with interest by the Interna- Murdoch University, interviewed international volunteers and other tional Forum on Development Service (known as FORUM), the stakeholders in 80 countries, looking at long-term volunteering leading network of international volunteer organisations. Snelson and its characteristics, contributions and recognition. He found has chaired FORUM for the last two years. She says it has been an that effective, long-term international volunteering for development excellent mechanism for members to share ideas about different builds connections that bigger programmes cannot. ways of involving volunteers in development programmes, and “International volunteers highlight the importance of local getting a wider range of people volunteering by building relation- accountability, respect for local values and knowledge, the ships with sectors not traditionally seen as development players. appropriate pace and character of interventions, and the need to “NGOs in our area are aware that eradicating poverty requires remain engaged despite difficult conditions – all fundamentals of systematic change not just in skills but sustainable financial capacity development.”

8 vista issue one 2011 from The Field

Anne Perera (centre) demonstrates how Laying carrots out to dry on the solar Picking banana blossoms. to cook banana blossom. dryer. Food for thought

Tanzania-based volunteer Anne Perera wasn’t grow abundantly throughout Tanzania, her “My starting point is: let’s see if we can fazed when a power cut meant she couldn’t immediate thought was that a useful source reduce that,” says Anne, a longtime food use her blender in a juice-processing demon- of sustenance was going to waste. technologist and nutritionist. stration she was running for a group of “Having been brought up in a developing Anne showed the SIDO trainers how to women in the kitchen of her Arusha home. country, I identify the needs in a slightly dry a wide range of fruits and vegetables She just grabbed some cheese graters different way,” she says. using a wooden solar dryer designed by and showed the women, who belong to a Anne’s banana blossom cooking her husband Conrad, director of Auckland community organisation called Zinduka, demonstrations have been quite a hit. She University’s food science programme (who how to grate mangoes and pineapples and even gave an impromptu demonstration was visiting from New Zealand), and made squeeze the pulp through a piece of muslin at a training-for-trainers course on food by a local builder. She also showed them to create juice. Then she went ahead with processing she helped run in Arusha in how to preserve fruit such as pineapples and the rest of her demonstration as planned, January this year. mangoes by boiling them in sugar syrup, helping the women adjust the pH level of The course was attended by trainers then pouring them into hot sterilised jars. the juice to below 4.5, then bottle it and from her partner organisation, the Small And she introduced them to candied heat it in a water bath on her gas stove. Industries Development Organisation orange peel; she believes that candied peel It’s the kind of can-do attitude that has (SIDO). SIDO trains local would-be entre- made from Tanzanian oranges has the seen Anne, who is on assignment as a food preneurs to manage small food processing potential to become an export product. and nutrition adviser, running village-based businesses. It has trainers based at 25 In the meantime, she’s happy to share classes on how to cook banana blossoms. training and production centres throughout her knowledge about food processing with Bananas are a staple food in Tanzania, Tanzania. They help the entrepreneurs whoever wants it. Recently, for example, but Sri Lankan-born Anne was surprised get to grips with modern food processing she worked with trainers at fellow VSA to discover that Tanzanians do not eat the technology and comply with national volunteer Mike Allard’s partner organisation, blossoms – the conical flowers that form at hygiene and food standards. Global Service Corps, focusing on drying the end of every bunch of bananas. Instead, The purpose of the course was to provide food as a way of preserving it. they feed them to their animals or throw the SIDO trainers with information about “Everyone is so enthusiastic and keen to them away. different ways of processing food. Food learn – it’s a very humbling experience.” In , banana blossoms are a processing is seen as central to improving common cooking ingredient. Tanzania’s food supply – without it, huge “They are a completely familiar food quantities of food get wasted. It’s estimated for me,” says Anne. “They’re used fresh that 70 percent of Tanzania’s fruit harvest, throughout Asia, and you can buy them half of the milk it produces and 40 percent in cans at most Asian food stores.” of grain and fish is wasted because it cannot When she saw the banana blossoms that be processed and preserved for later use.

vista issue one 2011 9 from the field

Alice Keeling (left) with colleagues at a teacher trainer’s workshop. Alice Keeling with Ravi, Lena and David. Talking the talk

Former UniVol Alice Keeling, phrase captures many of my experiences helped me learn tok pisin as I learned both working in PNG. Right from my first few the word and the sign simultaneously. What who spent 10 months last clumsy weeks, jamming the photocopier (mi a great way to learn a new language: with year working as a special bagarapim fotocopier pinis) and forgetting accompanying visual cues! needs programme assistant the morning prayer (sori mi lus tingting!), my Missis In New Zealand Missis is a slightly frustrations, embarrassments, and dilemmas derogatory term for your wife or girlfriend, with Callan Services for were smoothed over with a soothing em which meant I couldn’t help being slightly Persons with Disabilities oriat. And you know what? It was alright. offended the first few times I was referred in Papua New Guinea, How did they know? I certainly wasn’t sure to as missis – whether it was ‘morning missis’ on more than one occasion. by some cheeky teenager on the street, or celebrates some of the new Em nau My time in PNG was full ‘excuse me missis’. I came to understand words she’s added to her of observations, ideas, revelations and that while it is partially a colonial remnant, vocabulary. inspiration … followed by utterances of em it was also a mark of respect and politeness, nau. It’s the phrase I remember learning in especially if the person didn’t know me. I All volunteers would agree that living and my first conversations with my colleague, never quite got quite used to it, and I much working in a new country is a complex and a warm faced Tolai man for whom a smile prefer ‘aunty’ which was adopted more and multi-sensory experience – the sights, smells or a laugh was never far away. Translating more as I got to know people and their and sounds are all new and different. My as ‘That’s right’, ‘I agree’ or ‘exactly’ em nau families. UniVol assignment at Callan Services for reminds me of all the high points, the deci- Iau ro Lastly, you can’t come to East New Persons with Disabilities involved living, sion-making, the bright ideas and exciting Britain without picking up the universal ‘see working and sharing through many different discussions I had. It still gives me the same ya later’. Right up to my last day of work modes of communication – tok pisin warm fuzzies of agreement and mutual I still got giggles from my colleagues for (pidgin English), English, tok ples (the local understanding – especially when it meant I shouting Iau ro m’catch (catch you later) as I language) and sign language. Some of the had made myself understood in tok pisin. left the office. phrases, symbols and signs I learned really Pinis Form your hand into the universal stand out, and will always remind me of my ‘thumbs up’ and then shake your thumb The UniVol programme is a collaboration time in PNG. from side to side – this is the Melanesian between VSA and Otago University’s Em oriat All frustrations, delays, stuff sign for pinis or ‘finish’, (as in Pikinini go Geography Department and Victoria ups (bagarups) or changes to the plan were pinis – ‘the children have gone’). It was one University’s Development Studies. UniVols meet with a reassuring em oriat. We think of the first signs in Melanesian sign that spend 10 months on assignment with New Zealand is laidback with its ‘she’ll be I learnt, along with words like children, one of VSA’s partner organisations in the right’ attitude. Living and working in PNG school, teacher, work, house, flower, garden, wider Pacific. Applications for the 2012 has introduced me to the em oriat attitude. vegetable, and pig. My Melanesian sign programme close on 30 June 2011. Literally ‘It’s alright’ or ‘It will be alright’ language is still limited and punctured with For more information visit our website, (present or future tense), this one little natural signs or facial expressions, but it www.vsa.org.nz

10 vista issue one 2011 BOOKS & BiTES Steamed green beans with roasted garlic, An award-winning ginger and herbs passion for the Ingredients 250g green beans, topped and tailed; use long, string or French beans food of Lao PDR 12 cloves garlic; roast the entire head before peeling the required cloves Former VSA volunteer Dorothy Culloty’s passion for the food of Lao PDR has been recognised at the prestigious Gourmand World Food Cookbook Awards. 1 piece ginger, thumb-size, roasted and peeled (if not using sesame seeds) Her cookbook, Food from Northern : The Boat Landing Cookbook, was judged runner up, best Asian cookbook in the 2010 awards, announced in Paris 2 – 3 T sesame seeds (if not using ginger) in March this year. 2 – 3 T light soy sauce Dorothy spent three and a half years on assignment for VSA as an adviser with 1 t salt the Rural Research and Development Training Centre in Vientiane in Lao PDR, 2 t fish sauce finishing in February 2008. She was accompanied by her husband Kees Springers, a photographer, who took the photographs for the book. 2 T mint leaves, chopped Dorothy was one of 32 volunteers who went on assignment to Lao PDR between 2 T coriander leaves and fine stalks, 1988 and 2010. VSA suspended its programme there late last year as part of our chopped (or sawtooth herb) move to focus our work in the wider Pacific area. The last VSA volunteer to work 2 T spring onion, white stalk and greens, in Lao PDR, Ken McIntyre, returned in December after two years teaching English finely chopped to government officials and mentoring English teachers at the Lao PDR Institute 1 T Vietnamese mint (optional) of Foreign Affairs. He has recently started a new assignment in Timor-Leste. Dorothy, who now lives in Thailand, has been passionate about the food of Lao Method PDR for many years. Before her VSA assignment she produced nine postcards of Slice the beans diagonally or halve them. Lao PDR recipes, as well as a Lao PDR and English guide to the vegetables of Lao. Steam the vegetables for a few minutes She describes the food of Lao PDR as the ultimate in ‘slow food’. until lightly cooked. Remove to a mixing “In Laos, the local fresh markets and forest provide an abundance of local produce, bowl. harvested or gathered the same day. ‘Slow food’ is what Lao food is all about – it’s Dry roast the sesame seeds until golden food that is locally and sustainably produced, and always fresh.” if using. Remove them before completely The recipes in the book are based on those made at the Boat Landing Guest browned. Set aside to cool. House and Restaurant, an eco-lodge in Luang Namtha, a province in the north-west of the country. They feature ingredients such as chilli wood and snake Put the peeled, roasted garlic cloves and gourd, as well as more traditional Asian ingredients such as lemongrass, fish salt in a mortar. Slice the roasted ginger sauce and fresh coriander. if using. Add to the mortar. Pound the ingredients together until well-integrated. Tip this mixture over the beans. To find out more or to order copies of the book, visit http://www.foodfromnorthernlaos.com Add the soy and fish sauce and gently mix into the salad by hand. Add the chopped herbs. Add the dry roasted sesame seeds if using and gently mix in by hand.

Transfer the mixture to a serving dish. Serves two to four depending on the number of accompanying dishes.

Variation: Be a non-traditional hedonist and use both sesame seeds and ginger. The taste is great! For a lowland Lao flavour, use 1 T dill instead of Vietnamese mint.

vista issue one 2011 11 Books & Bites When the World Calls By Stanley Meisler (Beacon Press, 2011) Reviewed by Don Higgins When the World Calls is a meticulously researched, compre- hensive and very readable history of the Peace Corps from its inception under John F. Kennedy through to the early days of the Obama Presidency. Stanley Meisler is ideally placed to write such a history. A former foreign and diplomatic corre- spondent for the Los Angeles Times and one-time deputy director of evaluation and research for the Peace Corps, he knows the politics of the organisation and of Washington. And the politics of the two have always been intertwined. The Peace Corps was founded in 1961; its founding director, Sargent Shriver, was President Kennedy’s brother-in-law. Later Presidents varied in their opinions of the organisation. Johnson tolerated it, Nixon loathed it for allowing its volunteers to openly protest the Vietnam War, Reagan was wooed by its director, Carter divided it and Obama’s choice of director was controversial. The Peace Corps has had 18 directors over its 50-year life, each of them a Presidential appointment. It is an agency of government, and although it was conceived as being independent of both US foreign policy and other government aid agencies, it has undoubtedly been used by various administrations to advance US interests in the countries it works in. Meisler is about this, while clearly admiring of directors who fought to keep the organisation as free of interference as possible. But this is more than just an insightful look at the politics of the organisation. It also features the stories of some of the 200,000 returned and current volunteers. Given the speed with which the organisation grew – from zero to 15,000 volunteers in five years – there were always going to be assignments with questionable benefits. And given the number of volunteers, most of whom were young and with little experience of life outside the United States, there were going to be a number of highly visible failures. But after reading the book I felt that, in the main, these were people who were committed both to the ideals of the Peace Corps and to the communities in which they lived and worked, and they did what they could to make a difference. If I have one criticism about this book it is the mawkish tone Meisler takes in the chapter devoted to whether or not the Peace Corps ultimately does any good. His usual fluency eludes him here and I wonder if this is because he has not been a volunteer himself. But this is a small quibble about an otherwise fascinating book. The history of the Peace Corps offers some object lessons for anyone working in development or involved in running a development agency.

Don Higgins is the deputy chair of the VSA Council. He was a VSA volunteer in Papua New Guinea and later the during the1970s.

Celebrating 50 years of VSA in photos

We’re looking for photographs from returned volunteers You can post copies of photos to put together an exhibition to celebrate VSA’s 50th (please don’t send originals) to: anniversary in 2012. We want to use the photos to tell the story of VSA’s work over the last 50 years. Alana McCrossin Graphic Designer We’re looking for more than just a good photo – we’re VSA, PO Box 12246 looking for a great VSA story to go with it. President John F. Kennedy and Peace Corps Wellington 6144 founding director Sargent Shriver address the first departing group of Peace Corps If you have a photo or two from your VSA assignment You can also email a low-res volunteers in the White House Rose Garden, that you’d like to share, send us a copy, along with a version to: [email protected] 1961. Photo courtesy of the Peace Corps. brief summary of the story behind it.

12 vista issue one 2011 Growing Support From: Karla Paotonu, VSA Fundraising Coordinator To: All VSA supporters Subject: Fundraising update

Hi Everyone As I write this it’s been three months since the Christchurch earthquake struck; my thoughts are with all those who are struggling to rebuild their shattered lives. The way the rest of New Zealand responded to the earthquake is heart-warming proof of just what a generous country we are. When Japan suffered even more devastation just a few weeks later, Kiwis opened their hearts yet again. With so much need at home, it can be hard to stay focused on the needs of the communities VSA works with overseas. But like the people of Christchurch, many of the partner organisations we work with are helping to rebuild their communities following natural disasters; many are also dealing with the aftermath of civil conflict. I’d like to thank everyone who has already donated to VSA this year. If you’d like to support our work, use the form attached to this page. Just fill it out and post it to us – you can use the Freepost option but a stamp saves us the cost of postage! Attached is a quick update about our recent fundraising activities. Thanks for your support. Karla

Karla Paotonu VSA Fundraising Coordinator www.vsa.org.nz

Gift-wrapped kiwis take flight

VSA’s newest fundraising appeal, Gift wrap a kiwi this Christmas, raised almost $11,000 – the equivalent of 603 volunteer days. Those who donated to the appeal to support a Kiwi volunteer overseas received a plantable kiwi Christmas decoration Rebuilding communities in the Pacific to send to their families and friends. The largest donation was a generous $3,000 – thank you! – and At a time when the needs of communities in Christchurch and the average donation was $62. We plan to make this year’s Japan have been at the top of everyone’s mind, our community Christmas appeal even bigger – watch this space. of supporters has continued to be generous. Our March appeal has raised $10,000 so far – with the highest donation of $1,200 coming from a Christchurch couple who told us to “keep up the $2,000 fundraising target for volunteers good work”. VSA has introduced a new volunteer fundraising policy encouraging This year’s March appeal focused on VSA’s work rebuilding all volunteers to raise at least $2,000 before they set off on their communities coping with the aftermath of natural disasters and assignments. The new policy applies to all volunteers selected civil conflict. It highlighted the work of volunteer Wendy Roger, after 1 May 2011. The money raised will help pay the costs of who was on assignment at the Arawa Women’s Training Centre in keeping all VSA volunteers on assignment, rather than to fund Bougainville. Wendy is one of many volunteers who have worked individual assignments. in Bougainville since VSA set up its programme there at the end Local VSA branches have welcomed the new policy, saying that of a decade of civil conflict in 1998. supporting the fundraising activities will be a good opportunity for them to get involved with volunteers before they depart. Watch out for a VSA volunteer quiz, movie night, auction or sponsored walk in your area as our latest batch of volunteers start raising money to support the work of VSA. vista issue one 2011 13  Become a volunteer... Share your skills and get the experience of a lifetime back. Check our website www.vsa.org.nz for current vacancies.  Become a VSA UniVol volunteer... If you're a university student studying at least 300-level papers in development studies, you could become a VSA UniVol and spend 10 months working in a developing country.  Become a supporter... Make a donation. We send people not money, but we need money to send people. Help VSA send more volunteers to share their skills and make a positive difference in the world.  Become a peer educator with Restless Development... If you are aged 18 to 28, you could live and work alongside young local educators in or .

Contact us on 0800 8728646 or visit www.vsa.org.nz Te Tu-ao Ta-wa-hi Volunteer Service Abroad Inc is a registered charity (CC36739) under the Charities Act 2005