Lessons on Resilience

Vanuatu - an archipelago made up of 83 small islands that are of volcanic origin and cover around 12000sq kms. Around 65 of the islands are inhabited. The total population of Vanuatu is just over 200,000.

Tanna, located in the southern province of Tafea, is my turangawaewae, the place I call home. Our families are scattered from White Sands, to Port Resolution, to Ietukwei, and further south to Kwamera - indicated in the red circle.

Kwamera is where I spent a lot of my time, visiting six kindy houses, the teachers, children and families.

The landscape is lush and green with mangoe trees and enormous banyan trees towering over the small thatched roofs that make up the many small hidden villages. There is no mobile coverage, no electricity grids, and the roads can be near impassable when the wet season turns the earth into soft mud that many a vehicle has fallen victim to.

You can't help but see a strong connection between the rugged, remote environment and the contribution it makes to building resilience.

My family village here, known as Lighthouse, is set high up in the hills looking over the southern most tip of Tanna.

Water is piped up from a river below into the village, however this was the dry season, so the river had disappeared.

This meant that water needed to be sourced from a smaller water hole found at the bottom of steep, rolling hills for cooking, drinking, and washing clothes.

When it was time for a wash, my small sisters, Angela aged 4, and Mary, aged 2 years old led me down the steep but well worn track to the water source at the bottom of the hill.

As we walked, Miss Angela carried her own small bundle of washing down the hill, without complaint, in a fashion no doubt modelled to her by her Mother, her Aunties and her Grandmother too.

 

When we arrived at the water hole, she took out her soap, and her small bundle of clothes, and began to scrub them using the surrounding rocks.

After a swim in the cool, refreshing water, and with tiredness setting in after a long day of planting taro and preparing food, I wondered how the uphill climb would transpire.

As I followed them up the hill, I began to notice my sisters displaying some resilience building strategies as they climbed this enormous hill. It was as if I was receiving a lesson in resilience building, that is, the ability to bounce back or persevere in spite of difficulty.

So here are some of the lessons my sisters taught me that are essential to climbing the big hills in life:

"Take small but sure steps, go slow, don't rush"

"Don't look up and take in the entire mountain - it might overwhelm you. Focus instead on the step in front of you, in that moment. 

"Do it together - lean on your family when it's getting tough"

"If you feel tired, take the time to rest up and recharge"

"Expect some crap along the way"

"But if you are mindful of your surroundings there will also be some pleasant surprises along the way too"

"Take the time to savour these surprises, and express gratitude for even the smallest of life's blessings along the way"

"When you accomplish the task - celebrate - with a fresh coconut or two."