Musings of the Father of a Peace Corps Volunteer- Ken Maddock

My Father, Ken Maddock, and me, his daughter in Dallas, TX

At one point my daughter Kelli, currently serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Fiji, thought it would be interesting if I were to comment on my experiences as a PCV parent. To be honest, until recently I have put it off. Why? Primarily because it has been such a painless experience I thought it would be boring. Kelli was already living far enough away in the states that I didn't see her much anyway, so it hasn't seemed like a huge change. We communicate more often now than when she was in the states! Yes, it is quite different knowing that I can't go to see her by jumping in the car and going for a nice long ride. Her challenges are also quite different than they were back home. Adapting to a new culture is challenging for anyone, but Kelli is well equipped to handle it, with her curiosity, her willingness to accept others as they are, and her outgoing personality. Moving to Fiji of course has its challenges, such as living with lots of bugs and rodents, no hot water for showers, and a lack of access to many of the luxuries she has been used to. On the other hand, she does have access to the internet, although it is spotty at times, and she has running water and electricity. She has been accepted into the community, and seems to be having a great time. Stripping her life of many of the possessions she had, as well as many (but certainly not all) of the financial challenges is probably good for her and allows her to focus on what is important.

So as I thought of all of the above, writing a comment on her blog about how I feel seemed like it wouldn't be that interesting, even to me. However, Cyclone Winston changed all of that. The feelings I had during the experience helped me to understand how different my experience is from that of parents whose children live or attend school in another state. The feeling of helplessness is impossible to describe. Watching the track of the cyclone led to feelings of relief and then of panic, and back again, all within the space of hours. It really hit home that despite the fact that I could chat with her, as well as do video and audio chats that make it seem as if she is right next door, she is halfway around the world. She is in a part of the world that isn't as developed as we are; is ill-prepared to deal with an emergency of this type. It really brought home to me how different her life is now, and how much courage it takes to volunteer for a role like this. That any day she could face a challenge unlike any that someone living in the states would face, and have to deal with that challenge with little or no assistance. It also made me realize how special she is, as well as all of her peers working in underdeveloped areas of the world. Our armed forces put themselves in harms way every day, and I have always admired those who are willing to support their country in this manner. However, I now realize that Peace Corps Volunteers also put themselves in harms way, with little protection and an expectation to immerse themselves into the culture of their new community, leaving their world behind. To me that is just as admirable.

Fortunately the Peace Corps took good care of Kelli and her peers during Cyclone Winston. They are all safe, and Kelli's village and her home avoided the extreme damage that hit some areas of Fiji. My heart goes out to those who lost their lives to this terrible natural disaster. But my heart also goes out every day to Kelli and the other PCV's who donate a considerable portion of their lives to try to help those in developing countries. It hits me every day now how far away she really is and the challenges she faces. I am so proud of her it is impossible to describe. And yes, I worry. I worry a little bit every day. But I know Kelli is strong and will deal with any challenge life throws at her. I know that this experience will help Kelli to grow and become an even stronger and better person than she is today. I know that she will spend her life helping others in one way or another. If she chooses to do that in some location very far from me, I'll miss her badly. But I'll be happy knowing she is making a real, positive difference in people's lives.

-Ken Maddock, Father of PCV

#StrongerThanWinston

There are several blog posts by volunteers about Cyclone Winston and I will retweet or share them online as I see them because my perspective is not the only one. This post does not reflect the combined experience of Peace Corps Fiji or the nation of Fiji, this is only my, humble experience.

As many of you know, I'm a midwesterner at heart. Tornados, thunderstorms, heat lightening, and blizzards (all in the same week a lot of the time) are just a way of life, but this is the first cyclone I've ever experienced. Cyclone is the word for hurricanes in the southern, Pacific Ocean. We had already been evacuated to Suva, which is the capital of Fiji, once for a Cat. 2 cyclone New Years Day. I remember sleeping in my Bure thinking my roof was about to come off. Traditionally, a Fijian Bure, is designed to let the air pass right through and over it, which means that most Bure's typically will withstand cyclones. The cyclone from New Years changed it's path and I got a sunny few days off in the capital. I live about 2 hours from the capital by bus.

Two weeks before the cyclone, it was the hottest weather Fiji has ever experienced, courtesy of El Nino, and I saw Kadavu; Kadavu is an island off the southern tip of Fiji. According to the village, if you see Kadavu from my site, then there's bad weather coming. The week before Cyclone Winston hit it passed Fiji once and we had wind warnings. We were put on "warning" mode of our Emergency Action Plan; every Peace Corps country has an Emergency Action Plan, or EAP, and it has several levels. We thought it was gone with some rain and wind... We had training planned the following week for my group, Group 92 and I was told that we may just go a few days early. We had no idea what was about to happen...

On Friday, I was told to evacuate early to our hotel in Nadi for training. At this point, Winston  had turned around and was supposed to pass south of Kadavu. At 10PM Friday night, I recieved a text that said "get on the first bus you can." It changed to being predicted to hit the capital of Suva; then later, Winston was supposed to pass directly through the main Island of Viti Levu. My site is pretty far south on the main island of Viti Levu, and is, just barely, considered western. I remember trying to sleep, but I couldn't because I was afraid my roof was going to come off. On facebook, at 5AM, I saw that Peace Corps evacuated Koro Island Volunteers at the last minute on a private jet, because the path of the storm had changed once again.

Peace Corps Volunteers were on Standfast, which means you don't move from your site, once we were consolidated. We were in Labasa, Nadi, Suva, and Taveuni... The Taveuni volunteers have a crazy story all on their own, which is not mine to tell. Peace Corps was doing the aboslute best they could to keep us safe with the ever changing path of the storm. This was the strongest, ever, cyclone in the entire southern hemistphere. The final path of the eye of the storm that we saw before the storm hit, showed the storm hitting land just off of the province of Tailevu. This is where we all stayed with host families during training; to say we were nervous was an understatement. We weren't nervous for us, but for the people of Fiji that we have fallen in love with.

The people of Fiji have this spirit, vibrancy and resiliency. For example, the people of my village built a "lovo" or earth oven the morning I was leaving and seemed unconcerned. They believe that whatever will happen, is God's will and they will be okay no matter what. To my eyes, it looks like unpreparedness, but to their eyes it's full faith in God. Up until the last minute the Minister and government were begging the people of Fiji to make preparations before it was too late. The Police had to shut several markets down and clear the roads. I arrived in the hotel, got my snacks and started to wait...

The winds began to pick up and we started to get nervous. As it got worse, we were asked to go into one room, so Peace Corps staff could keep their eye on us. As the winds picked up, I texted my family and friends to not worry because they expected us to lose power and cell phone service.... And then it went black.

Thankfully, for us, we had a backup generator. We played card games, danced and talked to pass the time. We were so thankful the eye of the storm went north of us and we didn't bear the full brunt of the storm. We lost contact with the other volunteers and were really worried about the people in Labasa and Taveuni. They told us be prepared to spend the night in this room listening to the winds.

All in all, we were very protected. Peace Corps Fiji did the absolute best they could with the eradic weather changes and unpredictability of the storm. While we were waiting we talked about how nervous we were for our villages, how weird it felt to be in a hotel with air conditioning and hot water, when our villages had nothing, and how surprised we were that we would all rather be with our villages. For group 92, we had barely been here 5 months, and that was a suprise to see how much we felt connected already. The air was thick with solemnity and anxiety, but we passed the time. It was hard to be in the dark not knowing for hours. I had the good fortune of knowing my village was not in the path of the eye of the storm., but that didn't make it easier.

Drinking grog to pass the time during training

We finally got approval to go to bed once the storm died down. We weren't allowed to venture out and walk around yet, so we only had the word of a few people who had the other phone company because they were able to check facebook. We got on with training and were slowly joined by the other volunteers. We were so relieved to be together and have everybody be safe. Many of the volunteers couldn't get in contact with their villages; for some it took 2-3 weeks to be able to see their sites. About 25% of volunteers were displaced short-term or long-term due to damage to their houses.

Peace Corps is not disaster relief and I think some of us struggled with that. They have our safety as a priority, but it's hard as a volunteer to sit and do nothing. Slowly they released us to sites and I was one of the first to go back. There's a lot of guilt from being okay, when so many people are suffering. There's some tension because there are people who compare situtions. Everyone's feelings were valid and are still valid. Nobody can judge anybody else's site, but I am fully aware that my site was very blessed; that doesn't make it any easier to process the depth and severity of the situation.

While Winston was a mere 24 hour newsbite in America, it is still effecting half the Fijians here. I urge you to donate to the Fijian Government, Red Cross New Zealand or Red Cross Australia. The people of Fiji are so strong. I won't forget hearing the children laugh and playing on the area where a house used to stand in my village when I walked back into my village. Everyone is so strong and even in the face of trials, they will still give you the shirt off their back. They will share in their food, their grog, tell stories, and laugh. These people live off the land and the infrastructure was not prepared to handle a disaster of this level. There is a large deficit for funding for repairs. Entire villages were destroyed and 42 people lost their lives. But the laugh of those kids, that is the spirit of Fiji and that is why I urge you to donate. The spirt of Fiji is contagious.

The children of Navola Village playing post-winston 

http://www.fiji.gov.fj/getattachment/ebb52bfc-8e2e-4742-8f28-d4cccd009d76/FACTSHEET-ON-ASSISTANCE-FOR-VICTIMS-OF-TC-WINSTON.aspx

http://www.redcross.org.au/cyclonewinstonappeal.aspx

Please do not copy any part of this post into a journal, blog or newstory without my consent. Feel free to share online, but I prefer to get a heads up. Thank you!

Care Packages

CARE PACKAGES!

I've had a few people ask what things I would like in care packages. I don't need anything, but here are things that would make my life easier or more enjoyable for a day. I also urge you to consider donating to the Red Cross instead of sending me packages if you are wanting to help Fiji. Therefore, I've made the following list of things that would help me for my school and village:

Food Things:

• Ground coffee
• Dark Chocolate
• Taco Seasoning
• Lawry's Seasoning Salt
• Packaged Chili Seasonings
• Velveeta Mac and Cheese...hidden in another box

Misc. for Village

• Cheap kids games (like pick up sticks, dominos, chinese checkers, checkers, etc)
• Flash Drive with movies and music on them
• Coloring stuff (this tends to walk off and not come back)
• 2 black out curtains- cream or khaki
• Americana fun things
• Americana Fabric (2 yrd a piece) for skirts for people in village
• Kids books on world or American history
• Ant bait that kills the whole colony
• American Flag
• Big World Map
• Sports Equipment (baseball, football, basketball)
• Educational Magazines (discover kids)
• Twin Bed Bug Cover
• Bed Bug Powder (please)
• Pool Toys

Music Stuff:

• Guitar strings size 11, acoustic 
• Guitar Picks
• Hand held percussion instruments
• Sheet Music or Lead Sheets

What NOT to send: 

• Easy Mac (I can do this, but it doesn't work as well without a microwave)
• Biohazard materials
• Expensive Electronics
• Volleyball, rugby or soccerballs
• batteries
• towels, plates, or other home-y supplies
• mace
• Electronics not built for humidity
• Fans
• Electronics that cannot be used in 240V
• Clothes
• Leather Shoes
• Blankets
• Jackets

Using Music to Teach Wellness

Firstly, I want to apologize for waiting so long between posts. I promise you'll have either two or three posts today to make up for it. Today, I'm going to talk about my teaching assignment. I am posted to Nasikawa Vision College teaching Family Life Education and Music classes. Family Life Education is basically youth wellness, which covers mental, emotional, social, physical, and nutritional health. In Fiji, they teach PEMAC, which is Physical Education, Arts and Crafts, and Music; in order to be certified, you have to take two of the three subjects at university. The certifications here are different and not quite as stringent. My counterpart, who is amazing, took physical education and arts/crafts courses. I am teaching music, because I am the most qualified; however, the agreement with my counterpart is that she must learn or sit in my classes, as well.

I am part of the Community Youth Empowerment Project in Peace Corps Fiji; this means that the other volunteers and I cover sexual and reproductive health, self-esteem, confidence, recreational activities, climate change, parent education, and professional development. If you are one of those that is really into statistics and data like me, I would be happy to share the actual outcomes in an e-maul, but I don't want to bore the rest of my readers.

For those of you that haven't figured it out yet, back home, I am a Music Therapist-Board Certified. This means that I completed, at least, a four-year degree, practicum, 1020 hour internship and passed a board certification exam. I use music to reach, or teach, non-music goals. In Fiji, I do this through to teach the goals Peace Corps has given me. Not everything is music-based that I do, but a lot of it is. I use the creative arts, drama, literature, and other play-based activities to teach wellness. Mostly, I try to model using all the learning styles. My goal is to pass my knowledge onto my counterpart and the other teachers. I also am in the process of designing some behavior management in-services for the teachers. As per the Peace Corps guidelines, I don't work clinically or as a music therapist, but I do use music therapeutically here. It's also about sustainability, I don't want to do something that cannot be continued here when I leave. I use a lot of my training and education to figure out creative ways to meet the goals that I've been assigned.

The students in Fiji, are extremely musical and their learning styles are very aural based. From the time they are born, they are patted on their bums to lull them to sleep. Then they start clapping and patting on the floor to play. After that, they begin to play the Loli drum, which is a large, outdoor drum. I'll have to post a picture, because the loli is very hard to describe... Basically, you hollow out a tree, but leave the ends. The loli drum is played every morning for devotional time and for church. Fiji is incredibly musical and my students react really well to the music-based curriculum's.

Jason and Laura Semprini, PCVs on Vanua Levu, Fiji and I by the Loli drum

In Fiji, many of the topics covered in Family Life Education is "taboo," or "tabu" in Fijian; this is one o the reasons Peace Corps is in the schools. The rates of sexual assault, domestic violence, STI rates, and teen pregnancies is remarkable. If you know of the United Nations Development Index, Fiji always scores high on technology and other requirements, but gender-based violence is high. Thankfully, the government of Fiji noticed a while back and there are several organizations designed to address the issue. I am very impressed by the Fijians who are willing to address this issue. Most of the time, the women are completely on board that I've met and the understand the consequences for not being on board. I am so hopeful!

My community is unique because many of the women and youth work at resorts, which means they are being exposed to western ideals. It's a bittersweet blessing because they long for some of the material needs, but they have to preserve their culture. I tell my students they get the privilege to determine how to mesh these two worlds. Some communities choose not to mesh at all, which is also, totally alright. My job here is not to push western ideals onto the youth, it's to help them learn to think critically about their choices, whatever they may be. I am so empowered myself by seeing my students learn to grasp new concepts and ideas. It gives me so much hope!

Navola Women's Group, International Women's Day, March 8, 2016