The 1, 2, 4, 3, 7 story

Well, I’ve been writing this blog for months now, and have just realised that I haven’t explained much at all about Red Cross, despite the fact that it is the reason I came to Fiji! So I thought I’d give a brief explanation now..

When we tell people about Red Cross, we often use ‘1234′; 1 man, 2 ideas, 3 ‘pillars’, 4 conventions. The ‘man’ was Henry Dunant, widely considered to be the father of Red Cross. In 1859, he came across the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino; more than 40,000 wounded and dying lay scattered across the battlefield. Dunant went to nearby villages, and brought back an army of helpers – most women and the elderly, those who could not fight, and together they brought the wounded soldiers, regardless of which side they were fighting for, to the biggest buildings they had available – the churches. Once there, this army of volunteers comforted and cared for the soldiers in whatever way they could.

From this experience, Dunant had two ideas: firstly; that there should exist a society of volunteers, who would provide medical aid to soldiers during times of conflict, regardless of which side they were fighting for. Secondly; that these volunteers should be protected by law, in order that they would not be hurt in their efforts to help the wounded. The laws eventually put in place to protect these people were the Geneva Conventions, of which there are four (plus additional protocols). Basically, these provide protection for injured soldiers on land and at sea, as well as those in Prisoner of War camps, and civilians. Additionally, the Red Cross symbol (a red cross on a white background) is given special protective status – those wearing this symbol must be recognized as neutral, independent aid-providers, and it is a war-crime to shoot at them.

For this reason, the emblem must always be used correctly. In times of conflict, the large Red Cross emblem is protective; in peacetime, only smaller, indicative emblems may be used. These show the connection of somebody or something to the movement, but do not have the protective status of the larger emblems. The Rec Cross is not a Christian movement. The emblem is actually a reversal of the Swiss flag, and since all the portions of the cross are of equal size, it is not the same as the Christian cross. However, some nations prefer to use the symbol of the Red Crescent, and this is recognized, too. Recently, a new emblem called the Red Chrystal was developed. It is designed with the purpose of having no religious or political connotations.

There are three ‘pillars’ of the Red Cross movement; The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which deals with armed conflict; The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which deals with armed conflict, but also disaster; and the National Societies – no more than one in each country – of which there are 187, who deal with disasters, health and welfare, safety etc etc. So I am volunteering for the Lautoka Branch of the Fiji Red Cross Society. There are seven fundamental principles of the Red Cross, which must govern the actions of the movement. These are Humanity (prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found), Impartiality (no discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions), Neutrality (take no side in hostilities or controversies) , Independence (work with the government, not for the government), Voluntary Service (should not be motivated by desire for personal gain), Unity (there can only be one National Society in any one country, and its services must be open to all) and Universality (all National Societies have equal status).

Every year, World Red Cross Day is celebrated on the 8th of May – Henry Dunant’s Birthday. At the moment, we are focusing on getting out Junior Red Cross clubs involved in World Red Cross Day, and thinking of ways in which we can make the day a success!

My Crime Free Birthday

My Birthday (Saturday the 15th) was also a day of celebration for Crime Free Day. National Crime Free Day technically ran from midnight on the 14th until noon on the 15th. In the run-up to Crime Free day, the Police do a lot of awareness and publicity, to encourage the public to keep that day Crime Free. For the Western Division, our celebration of Crime Free Day was held from 8.30am in Shirley Park; the aim of the day was not only to celebrate a day free of crime, but also to raise awareness of many issues surrounding the topic of crime.I got up bright and early at 5am, had a shower, then began to open the presents which I had received in the mail – all of which were really lovely (so thank you everyone – you know who you are!). There was a little knock on the door, and Sharene came in to give me her present and a Birthday hug, and then Kate woke up and gave me her present, which was all really nice! I got dressed up (wearing some pretty new things which I had just received), and was so on the ball that I was outside Red Cross at 6.40am! Once everything was ready to be transported (puppet show equipment, things for our stall), a group of us set off on foot to Shirley Park.

Once there, I had an important job to do. I had been assigned the task of garlanding the Chief Guest, and to do this I had to be dressed up in traditional Fijian dress, the name of which I cannot remember, but is usually worn for weddings. Part of the tradition is that you mustn’t wear any jewelery or shoes, and that your hair must be down. Two of my fellow volunteer, Tila and Liti, helped to tie me into the dress, before heading over to watch the hoisting of the flag – and some really cool dancing from a couple of little Fijian boys!

Then came my big moment! I had to take very short, careful steps across the stage to the Chief Guest, ask his permission to garland him, then place the garland over his head, before bending down as low as I could and giving three hollow claps. I hope I did it right! But then there was a surprise in store for me; the speaker announced that it was my birthday, and I was also presented with a garland of lovely purple flowers! I’ve never worn a garland before in my life, so it was pretty exciting! Also, since it had been announced on stage, people kept coming up to me all day and wishing me happy birthday, which was really sweet. My picture was even in the paper! Afterwards, I changed back into my everyday clothes, and sat around watching the entertainment; LTC were every bit as good as they were at National Youth Day (and invited me for a couple of bowls of grog), and there was also a fantastic Rotuman dance group (not to mention the Red Cross puppet show on the theme of marijuana – well done guys). I went round with a collection tin for a spot of fund raising, and we also distributed condoms.

In the afternoon, once the Crime Free Day celebrations were over, we headed back for some fijian-style beer-drinking. Its a similar routine to how kava is drunk – someone brings you a small glass, and you have to down it. The glass gets refilled, and handed to everyone in the group in turn. Once everyone has had one glass, round two begins. It was a lot of fun, but me and Kate headed home at about 5.30.

The rest of the long weekend was pretty relaxed; on Sunday we went to church as normal, and on Monday we met up with Emma (all the way from Nadi), and went for lunch at a chicken/burger place, then to the cinema to see ‘1408′ (which was a bit strange and not all that good. Maybe 1 star out of 5). The working week went by very quickly – not surprising, since it was only three days long! On Tuesday we did another session about Adolescent Reproductive Health at Central College, and the students were every bit as attentive and polite as last time. The weather was awful though, and getting to Arya Samaj school on Wednesday for the Junior Red Cross club was a bit of a ngihtmare; my new flip-flops had rubbed my feet so badly that I couldn’t wear them, so had a 20 minute walk in pouring rain -juggling flip-flops, a big folder, and an umbrella- just to get there!

Luckily the weather cleared up in time for the weekend. On Thursday I went to watch the rugby in Nadi – saw Crusaders thrash Stallions 29-6, though I received mixed messages about who I should be supporting! Went for a few bowls of grog with some of the other volunteers afterwards, but pretty much spent the rest of the weekend relaxing at home. I managed to eat my way through all the lovely food that I was sent for my birthday, and also read ‘The Naked Jape’ by Jimmy Carr and Lucy Greeves, which I was sent for my Birthday (it was hilarious, so thank you very much!). Our T.V. is broken at the moment (no Shortland Street. boohoo), but at least thats given me time to do other things – I’ve even started drawing (badly though)!

This week we’ll be doing and Adolescent Reproductive Health session at Ba Provincial School, and I’m also hoping to be able to observe a First Aid Training course, which I’m looking forward to!

Our Mural and Marilyn Monroe

The long weekend (yesterday was a public holiday because of National Youth Day) was a really great way to relax after a very busy week last week! In fact, I didn’t have time to check my e-mails or right my blog all week, due to meetings for National Youth Day and Crime Free Day, Adolescent Reproductive Health Presentations, and Junior Red Cross Club visits… and then finally National Youth Day celebrations on Friday, including march, Red Cross Stall, and Red Cross puppet shows!

The morning of National Youth Day (Friday the 7th March) was pretty stressful – we got up early and came down to Red Cross, only to find that no one else was there! We began to panic, thinking that none of the volunteers would show up, and that we wouldn’t be able to get our equipment transported down to Shirley Park for the event. We needn’t have worried. Soon enough, our administrator arrived and unlocked the premises, and we sorted out which things were to go in the transport vehicle, then we ourselves set off on foot with our lovely ‘Blood Donors are Quiet Heroes’ T-shirts. We arrived in plenty of time for the youth march, which was great fun, with some very smart marching bands from Natabua and St Thomas school. The march took us round the center of Lautoka, then back to Shirley Park, where the Chief Guest was introduced, and the festivities got underway.

For the first part of the day, I minded the Red Cross Stall- which was shared with Ministry of Youth- while Kate led her team in the puppet show. The Ministry of Youth had some lovely banners which I am very jealous of, so I am hoping to make some similar ones for Red Cross before Crime free day on Saturday. The leaflets which we had brought along were snatched up like hot cakes by the high school students, and I wondered whether we would have enough left for the rest of the day! The puppet show came on, and from what I could see looked pretty good! It was quite funny to see the puppets dancing to the music before the show began!

After a time, one of the other volunteers came over to mind the stall, and I went to congratulate Kate on the puppet show, and was told that we would now be painting a mural based on the theme for the day (‘Breaking Barriers’), which would be judged as part of a mural painting competition with other schools in the area. Since we had had no time to think of a design or prepare anything, we all just mucked in with whatever was handy – including our fingers and twigs – and although our mural didn’t win any prizes, we all thought that it was the most beautiful one there! We then had a bit of time to wander around and enjoy the other attractions- Kate, Laisa and Liti took a turn on the military obstacle course (I couldn’t, because I felt that I was inappropriately dressed!), and there was also a display by the Fire Authority, and many cultural acts singing and dancing on stage. My personal favourite was the group from the Lautoka Teacher’s College, who gave a really lively and professional performance, which put a smile on everyone’s face!

On Saturday morning, we caught the 8.15 bus to RakiRaki, together with Emma, Kate P. and Mowle (who had come up from Sigatoka and Nadi the night before). I managed to grab a window seat, and must say I really enjoyed the 2 1/2 our drive. The Fiji countryside is really beautiful – huge, interestingly shaped hills which look greener than you can possibly imagine, and driving through some rural settlements gave us a brief snapshots of what life outside the town might be like. When we finally arrived at Volivoli Beach resort, we were glad to see that the area around it, too, was stunning. It was like a shallow bay, with islands within rowing distance across the water, and everything was very green and pretty!

We all got changed quickly into our swimming things, and went for a dip in the sea. The water was lovely and cold, and Jenny and Jack decided to go water-skiing. This way pretty cool, as Mowle and I were allowed to ride in the boat while they skiied along behind it. It took very difficult though, so I don’t think I’ll be trying anytime soon! When we got back to land, my shoes had vanished, which was a bit weird since they were really old and falling to pieces- just plain pink flip-flops! They were the only shoes I brought with me for the weekend, so I had to go barefoot all the way home. Let me tell you, tarmac really gets hot! And it doesn’t help when there’s little bits of gravel all over it!

The absolute highlight of the trip was the Sunset Cruise, which we booked for Sunday evening (Emma’s 19th – Happy Birthday Emma!). At first, we all thought it sounded a bit pricey at 35 dollars, but we managed to negotiate a group discount, so it was well worth the price. We went out to the edge of the bay in a two-engined speedboat, beginning at quite a leisurely pace, but getting pretty manic once Jack took the wheel (I never knew that ‘drink driving’ could apply to boats!). The staff told us that we could clamber round to the front of the boat for a photo opportunity. Clambering back round, I had a Marilyn Monroe moment, when my skirt completely blew up in the wind, and I couldn’t even pull it back down because I had to hold onto the boat! A bit embarrassing at the time, but quite funny on reflection.

I felt quite refreshed when we returned to work today. We had a lovely visit from Peter and Margaret from Children of Fiji, who dropped by to give us some art materials for the 2008 ‘How do you like my Art Competition.’ The materials look fantastic, and it was great fun to have a chat over a cup of tea as well. Once they left, it was back to business; preparing the stall and puppet show for Crime Free Day! Should be fun.

Visitors, pt 2

Tuesday night. I don’t know how I heard the squeaking over the noise that the dogs were making, but I did. I heard it very very clearly. I turned on the light, and saw a black blur streak across the floor to the wardrobe. I had suspected- I had heard scratchings and scrabblings in the night- but now I knew for certain: we were living with a rat. Kate was in denial at first, but I could see it; it kept sticking its furry little black head out from the side of the wardrobe, its eyes fixed on the jelly bean in the middle of the floor. Each time it tried to run out, I screamed at it to go away, but of course, it didn’t listen! We made so much noise that Aunty woke up. She thought we were being burgled! But I explained to her through the wall that it was a rat, and she came over. Aunty is very very brave. I have seen her kill even the largest of cockroaches with her bare feet. She helped us to move the wardrobe, then stuck a birch brush in behind it. Out came the rat and dashed across the floor of Kate’s room, disappearing through a crack in the wall. Aunty said goodnight, and Kate and I began constructing our rat barrier, made up of cardboard, paper, filled water bottles, and huge amounts of cockroach chalk. Once that was done, I slept much better, comforted by the rat barrier, but also by the fact that the rat looked no bigger than a gerbil!

It returned last night, and through the darkness I could hear it munching away at Kate’s Bombay Mix. I was up like a shot, and examined the rat barrier. We has missed a hole. I got some more cardboard, and filled the hole with it before returning to bed. In the early hours of the morning I could hear it scratching and clawing, as though it was stuck somewhere in the wall between Kate and Shalene’s room. I think that we weren’t the only ones who heard it, because in the morning, when I was eating breakfast, Aunty told me that Shalene plans to get a cat. Kate and I are, of course, delighted, and are already planning what we are going to call it. We think a superhero name would be best. So far, we like the name ‘Bourne Kitty.’

Anyway, our lives here do not revolve solely around vermin. This week has been pretty busy for us at work; we had two committee meeting, four school visitations, and the AGM, which was held today. The Crime Free Day committee meeting was held on Wednesday at the council chambers, and we felt very official sitting there amongst representatives of the police, military, fire department, etc etc. It was great experience to see how meetings like this are run, and how a big event like this is planned, and we were very proud to be representing Red Cross. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for very long after the meeting, as I had arranged to visit the Art and Craft club at the Sunshine Special School. I was really struck by how friendly and chatty the children were, but also how very talented some of them were at art! The drawings which they produced were amazing! The resources that the have are limited, and I hope to be able to obtain some funding to buy art materials for them to use to create some entries for the 2008 ‘How do you like my art?’ competition being run by the Bulgarian Red Cross. Only if they want to, of course! Friday was spent running small errands – dropping off a teacher pack, putting things in the post, trying (and failing) to source some art materials, and neatening-up the Red Cross compound in preparation for the AGM (which was held today).

I expect that next week is going to be just as busy, with lots of school visits planned, and also rehearsals for the puppet show which will be performed on Friday the 7th March as part of the National Youth Day celebrations in Shirley park. So we are relaxing this weekend; we are about to go and see ‘Fool’s Gold’ at the Village4 Cinema, and we also have a collection of new DVDs at home to get through. Should be fun!