Work
Contrary to popular belief, I am here to work. My assignment is to measure the contribution of the non-profit sector to the Tongan economy, but I try to involve myself in other types of work whenever I can. It’s been refreshing starting everything from first principles. CPI pricing involves going to the fruit and vege market and fish market to weigh and record the price fluctuations of a basket of commodities. I am starting from scratch compiling a directory of NGOs in Tonga as the business register does not contain this information.
However, sometimes I feel like my assignment does not directly impact on communities. It is true that it is part of the ‘bigger picture’, but it does not make me feel better that I may not be making a difference as much as everyone else might be. How can this be changed?
My office
People and the culture
They don’t call Tonga the Friendly Islands for nothing. Tongans are the friendliest people I have ever met. You have a chat with them and they invite you to their house for an elaborate feast. Everyone loves to have a talanoa (conversation) over keke (deep fried dough balls) and instant noodles, and everyone loves to sing, laugh and generally be happy.
The one thing I find extremely refreshing is the fact that Tongans are generally satisfied people who don’t necessarily have to commercialise everything. They value family and religion, and making money is not a core value. Even the ‘tourist’ destinations here are largely untouched. You’ll likely find the beach or a tourist spot tucked away down a dirt track with little to no signage and they will all likely be free or relatively cheap.
However, their laid back culture can sometimes be frustrating, especially at work. People tend not to show up to work, and when they do, no one does any work. It is difficult to ‘build staff capacity’ when you have no staff to work with.
Kids enjoying themselves, opening of Parliament with the Prince and kids marching, traditional Tongan dancing in Oholei
Social calendar
This is one thing that isn’t lacking here in Tonga. I am so grateful to be here with a bunch of other like-minded people that I can easily share work questions as well as a drink or ten with on a regular basis. As volunteers, it is also great to be able to help the community in a variety of other ways outside of work. Just last week, we organised games such as apple dunking, zumba and egg and spoon races for the kids at the Rotary Fun Fair. I’m also getting involved in a Peace Corp initiative called Camp GLOW, a camp designed to promote women empowerment.
In short, I would say life here is like living in paradise, but obviously it’s not all sunshine and coconuts all the time!
Exploring the island
0 comments:
Post a Comment