Louise Whelan award winning photo journalist and I were welcomed at St Louis High School bu 810 high school students who sang to us. Their singing was beautiful and they cheered us for visiting.
After a tour of the school grounds, I was invited back to speak to the teachers.
I spoke about my books, especially ‘I Am Jack’ and ‘Butterflies’ and the power of real story in reaching kids.
Jill Finanne coordinator of the Pacific Calling Partnership spoke after me about climate change and gave them a trial teaching kit with an invitation to comment.
It was a wonderful experience sharing with the teachers, the fantastic principal and Kiribati.
The voices of the peope of Kiribati have deeply powerful harmonies. Their songs make modern music feel thin. The youth service on Sunday was in their cathedral which is a massive church with open walls to the air and breeze can wft through - it’s hot on the equator.
Their traditional dancing is stylized, fast, beating, theatre with huge casts of strong, beautiful young people. The dancing and singing involves the whole community and is not for tourism. It’s part of their lives.
Our sturdy boat lost its top on the crash and crunch trip from Tarawa Island to Abaiang – highlights include:-
-my toe sliced and deciding to hang my leg over the side into the water
- Good news – no sharks were attracted to the trail of blood
- The Pacific Calling Partnership delegation all survived the 3 hours trip.
Abaiang has a wonderful Catholic school and old limestone church in the centre. However we focussed on the southern side with white sands, thatched huts, coconut trees and village hospitality.
The village elder told us about the sea flooding the taro plots and threats to housing and food supplies with warming climate and rising seas.
They prepared a feast in their mwaneaba meeting place. They cooked octopus – just caught in the sea – not my favourite dish. Kids played around us, the sea was blue, the palms green … and these villagers want to stay in their village.
Kiribati is low lying and vulnerable.
The children are beautiful, warm, laughing and school is valued. Most live in basic island accommodation with the mwaneaba – community meeting area – where there’s eating, gathering, praying, sharing, under a canopy of woven palms.
The main island of Tarawa is densely populated with the ocean on one side and lagoons on the other. The other islands are sparsely populated, but all islands and peoples face serious issues of:-
safe water supply, sanitation, sea water rising with climate change.
I’m here with the Pacific Calling Partnership to find out more about these low lying islands and take the message back that these islands with their people are at serious risk.
Susanne Gervay and Jennie Orchard with Room to Read
The Edmund Rice Centre brought forward the brilliant initiative of an event about the power of story to engage young people in social justice. The auditorium was full, the stands representing Fair Trading, the Pacific Islands and Room to Read bringing literacy to the children of the developing world were there.
The speakers were passionate, committed and had the audience moved and ready to act for eco justice and human rights.
Melina Marchetta, Nadia Wheatley, Maria Boyd, Libby Hathorn, Libby Gleeson advocated for human rights through their stories.
Lynette Riley a Wiradjuri & Kamilaroi woman, Deputy Director of the Koori Centre, was especially powerful in her advocacy for the indigenous. Robin Morrow spoke about the power of literature to enrich and inform.
Mark Raue is working to save the Pacific Islands from drowning with climate change , a founding member of the Pacific Calling Partnership sang for social justice and ecology. I loved his songs.
Mark Raue
I spoke about my emotional experience talking about ‘Butterflies’ at the World Burn Congress in New York. The audience responded with tears and a commitment to engagement with those who face the challange of disability.
It was wonderful. All wonderful
Susanne Gervay's Butterflies
