Unwanted Suprise Visitor

The power went out during Sunday School - while Sister Thorne was giving the lesson.  The fans and the air conditioners all stopped, so things began to warm up a little too much during the last part of the Sunday block meetings.  When we returned home the power was still out.   I went into the bathroom and lifted up the lid on the toilet and found we had a visitor.  Fortunately, it was during the day time so we were able to spot the intruder.   The pincher's on the crab's legs looked way to large for comfort.  I have teased our grand kids by giving them the "craw" for years, this would have been sweet revenge on their part if I had received the "craw" from the crab.

The next challenge was how to get our friend out of the toilet and back in the ocean.  I had the brilliant idea, to take a garden spade and try to put the crab into a bucket - then carry it to the sea wall to return it to its home.  However, as soon as it was touched, it made a hasty retreat back into the drainage pipe.  After a series of  flushes, it went back to where it came from, hopefully!!! 

You can be sure we will turn on the light as night before we use the lavatory.  The couple who lived in the apartment before us (The Pulsiphers) had shown us a photo of a crab in their toilet, so we have been cautious, but this is our first and hopefully, the last sighting of marine life in our bathroom.  We are really thankful, there are no snakes in Kiribati.

Like the old Kingston Trio Song, "The Cat Came Back the Very Next Day" - 

So did our crustacean friend!!! A new version of this popular song might be:
"The Crab Came Back the Very Next Day"  Maybe our grandchildren can work on a music version of the song for our next family gathering

Despite the best laid plans, at 2:30 am the crab had returned, apparently the flush - flush - flush and more flushes theory did not work.  This time it was not about to return down the pipe, so I used a diversionary tactic by flushing and as it was scrambling to stay in the bowl, I was successful in getting the garden spade under it and then into a dust pan - lifting our visitor out of the toilet and quickly placing it into a bucket.  The crab then began doing every thing it could to get out of the plastic bucket, so a very quick decision became essential and needed to be done quickly so it didn't escape and I would not have to chase it around the house.

The crab appeared to be much larger when viewed in the bucket and it seemed be quite angry with me as it was trying to get out of the bucket.  It began reaching each pincher threateningly toward me, it became survival of the fittest or the smartest.  Not having time to put on a pair of shoes and still half a sleep, I decided to take it out the front door to turn it loose.  As I tossed it onto the grass it quickly scampered away or however you describe a crab crawling at top notch speed to get as far a way from me and as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, the door shut behind me and I was locked out of the house with only my underwear covering me, thankfully October on the equator is much warmer than in Utah.  Also fortunately, there are not many people out-and-about at that time of the morning.   By using the handle of the garden spade, I was able to knock on the door loud enough that it eventually woke my lovely wife from her deep sleep and she let me back into the house.  She quickly returned to her bed to resume her beauty sleep.  For some reason she didn't seem to be smiling very much as she opened the door for me, perhaps in a few days or months or perhaps a year from now she may see the humor in the situation. As for me, the adrenaline rush was not conducive to returning to bed for quite a while so I updated this blog post.

Anyway  now I know why people hide an extra key to the house outside for such emergencies.

A More Welcome Visitor

We did have a more friendly visitor a few weeks ago, from one of the neighbor girls, Rusila's daughter "Katie".  Her father unexpectedly passed away of a heart attack recently, he was beloved by the youth particularly those playing tennis every morning.  Katie had heard I was ill and brought me some flowers she had picked.  It was a very sweet gesture on her part.  We had a very nice visit with her.  She is a a very bright and beautiful girl, who speaks very good English.  She is still in Primary School, but will be a top notch student when enters Moroni High in the future. 

Katie wearing the hat  Bwereia made for Sister Thorne during our retreat a year ago

Form 1 - Student Performance

While sitting in our office earlier this week, one of the first year teachers said his students were putting on a skit and asked if I and Lita would observe them.  There were four different groups who all performed the same skit but each with a different twist.  The made their own costume and had a lot of fun performing the skit in English.

The story is of a king who was glutenous and developed head and stomach aches from over indulgence.  He blamed his doctor for not giving him the right medicine to cure him, and the doctor was told to heal him by the end of the month or be executed.

A wise man from the village developed a plan to help the doctor by visiting the king, partaking of his food and drink and then feigned the same illness.  The wise man blamed it of eating too much, so the king realized the error of his ways thus the doctor was not executed.  The students really got into their roles and performed very well in the first English speaking play.

Let There Be Light. but not for 24 hours every day!

The light in our living room has been an ongoing adventure for several months.  It was not working so finally one of the service center electricians repaired it.  Unfortunately, after he left the light would not turn off,  so for about a month we had continuous light in the living room 24-7.  Another repairman eventually came to repair the light but, after he replaced the switch and worked for several hours, he left and then the light would not turn back on, so darkness reigned.  After waiting another month to get it repaired, the electrician again returned and worked for several more hours to fix it,  but he failed to check the switch when he left, so now the light again will not turn off. 

Now we are into week two of continuous light.  We are on the waiting list again to have it repaired.  Hopefully, another visit from the repairman will get it to turn off and then on again.  It was out for a few hours Sunday, but that was because the power was out on the whole island.  But when the power came back on, so did the light.  It is a two way switch and it doesn't appear he knows how to repair it or there will need to be some new wiring.  

We are learning patience - 

We have seen the light (continuously) as well as the crab

 who like Arnold Schwarzenegger said as it scurried away "I be baaack"

So don't worry - be happy!!  Things will eventually, work out and please have a

 

Education in Kiribati

As school winds down for the year it is appropriate to do a blog post on the education system in Kiribati.  Kiribati has very few resources and is one of the poorest nations in the world.  This post examines the education system for the I-Kiribati people.  It should help people appreciate the education system in more developed countries.

Kiribati Education

The Kiribati education system is based upon a 6-3-3 model and consists of five stages: Early Childhood Education for ages 3–5, Primary for ages 6–11 (Years 1–6), Junior Secondary for ages 12–15 (Years 7–9), Senior Secondary for ages 16–18 (Years 10–11) and Post-Secondary for ages 19–20 (Years 12–13). Age limits for each stage are notional, as it is common for students to repeat years. 

The first six years of formal education is within a primary school model covering grades 1-6. There are 91 government-run primary schools in Kiribati. The Kiribati Government is the sole provider of primary education in the country. Almost 30% of all primary age students are not enrolled in a primary school due to logistical constraints. High costs of maintaining and operating schools on outlying islands is prohibitive. 

There are 2 Combined/Junior Secondary Schools, 24 Junior Secondary Schools and 16 Senior Secondary schools in Kiribati. Approximately a quarter of these schools are government-run. The rest are run by religious groups. The Kiribati Government provides financial support both to the handful of public secondary schools and the non-government schools.

Schooling in Kiribati is free up to Junior Secondary level and attendance is legally compulsory between the ages of six and fourteen. However, a significant proportion of children in the primary and junior secondary age groups do not attend school. Students who fail competitive examinations at Year 9 and Year 11 are unable to continue their studies. This factor—and the school fees charged by all senior secondary schools—contribute to a high attrition rate among older school-age children.

Considering that the per capita income in Kiribati is less than $1500 per year, there are many challenges for families to find the necessary resources to educate their children.  Without scholarships, post secondary education is out of reach for most I-Kiribati people

English is the medium of instruction in secondary schools. The Kiribati language is widely used in primary schools, although its use is encouraged beginning in Year 3.  K-2 in most schools and preschools only teach in Kiribati during the first few grades.

 High Stakes Testing

One of the objectives of the Kiribati Government is to train and produce people with the particular technical and professional qualities to meet the manpower needs of the nation.  Thus only the best and brightest students are selected for education beyond primary school (6th Grade).  All students sit an examination at the end of class 6 (6th grade).  Of the approximate, 2000 students taking the test only 200 slots are available at four Junior Secondary Schools subsidized by the government.  

At the end of Form 3 (fifteen-year old) - students sit the "Junior Entrance Examination. Those who obtain high marks on this test are eligible to continue on to Forms 4 and 5 (grade 10 and 11).   If parents of children not passing the exam want to continue their education, they must pay the tuition and book fees which range from $400 to $600 or more per year.  The average per capita income in Kiribati is $1500 per year, so this places a great burden on families.  As a result many students do not continue education beyond primary and junior secondary school.  Only 25 percent of students attend a government or government subsidized high school.  The rest attend schools run by religious organizations.

At the end of Form 5 (11th grade) children sit the New Zealand School Certificate Examination.  For those getting high marks entry into Form 6 is possible.  At the end of one year in Form 6, children sit the Kiribati Form Six Exam, which costs the student $135 to take.  If their performance is of high standard, they may be considered for scholarships to the University of Papua New Guinea or universities in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.

Moroni High and a few other schools provide a Form 7 curriculum, where students may earn concurrent college credit while still in high school.

Kiribati shares with the other Pacific Island countries a rather heavy reliance on norm-referenced classroom tests and external examinations in assessing learning achievements of its students. The examinations have to date served the necessary function of selection for the limited places at the secondary level and the tertiary institutions.

The trend to ‘push-out’ about 30 percent of candidates at the end of Primary School and another 30 percent at junior secondary school (Form 3) and about 50 percent more at Form 5 continues. The wastage in terms of human potential is serious, as there are only limited opportunities for those who do not pass these examinations to move into any other useful direction in search of a gainful employment.

Students desiring study in the Arts have to gain four "passes in: English, Mathematics, Geography, and History.  Science students must have "passes" in English, Mathematics, Science, and one optional subject for entry to a university.  Additional tests are given by the Kiribati Ministry of Education for students to be considered for Government scholarships with the final decision made by the Ministry's Scholarship Committee.

In the past, about 90 percent of total scholarship awards, was given by the British Government.  The remainder by Australia, New Zealand, Canada and others.  The UK is gradually reducing its financial assistance in Kiribati resulting in a decline in the number of students going overseas for university study.  Private sector scholarships are almost non existent, due to the lack of commercial enterprises with significant wealth to assist in supporting scholarships.

Some of the unsuccessful students, may be accepted in the tertiary institutions in South Tarawa: Tarawa Technical Institute, Tarawa Teachers College, Marine Training School, and the School of Nursing (operated by the Ministry of Health and Family Planning).

As you can see, education in Kiribati is like a pyramid, where students are sifted, sorted and pushed out - so only the best and brightest continue their education for the limited number of employment opportunities in the government and private sector.  This pyramid system is also due to the lack of available resources to provide an education for all students.  Most students with disabilities and special needs do not even get a primary grade school education.  There is only one school serving about 100 students in Kiribati for students with disabilities.  The school was begun by the Red Cross but is now run by the Australian Government.

 A Bright Spot for Universal Education Opportunities

One of the goals of the Church Education System in the Pacific is to allow students to continue their education even though they may not have received high marks on the government tests.  Moroni is attractive because of its high moral standards, safe environment, academic reputation, English only speaking classrooms, and low tuition ($200 per year).  There are about 20 scholarships available for students recommended by their bishops and branch presidents.  A few other individuals have also provided financial support to the school through BYU Hawaii and the LDS Foundation (much more is needed)

The enrollment at Moroni is around 500 students with about 80 student living in campus dormitories.  Costs for staying in the dorm is $175 per term (there are 3 terms).   Students from the outer islands, who do not have relatives with whom they can live stay in the dorms.  LDS and non LDS apply for entrance a Moroni, but the waiting list is much larger than space available.  

Visitors often observe how happy the students are at Moroni, some have referred to it as the "happy or smiley school".  We witness the joy students, especially young women,  show each day as they meet friends and give each other a hug and a kiss on the cheek then walk holding each others hands or with arms around each others shoulders.  Boys are a little more subtle, but you can see their joy as they see friends also.

Moroni High is truly "a gem" in the Pacific and provides hope for the future of its students, families, the Church, and the Nation. It has been and continues to be central to the growth of the Church in Kiribati.

English Continues to be Problematic in Kiribati

Even though English is the official language of Kiribati, a recent study by the University of South Pacific (USP) showed that only 12 to 14 percent of students sitting their English proficiency exams pass a with college readiness score.  This is compared to 48 to 50 percent of students at USP's other campuses in the Pacific.  Some possible explanations for this include the need for better English instruction at the Primary and Secondary Schools, the lack of English speaking media (few families have a television and local radio stations mainly speak Kiribati).

The returned missionaries who sit the SLEP Test, which is the English proficiency exam for BYU Hawaii, only about one in three pass the exam with a high enough score (52) for entrance there.  Nearly every returning missionary has a dream of attending BYU Hawaii, but only a small percent are admitted and unless they receive a scholarship, few have the resources to attend with out an I-Work Scholarship.

Another problem is that government scholarships will not provide a waiver for LDS students desiring to go on a mission or for other students unable to attend immediately.  The scholarships have a "use it or loose it" clause.  With the change in age requirements this will even be more challenging for students graduating from high school students earning a scholarship.  However, the age change is very positive for young women.  Currently, many sisters in Kiribati serve missions, so when they return at age 23 and work to get an education, may single sisters are in their late 20's or early 30's before they even consider marriage.

TVET

The problem of helping some 90% of school leavers who will not find a paid job has remained critical.  A renewed effort to establish technical and vocational programs and cottage industries is critically needed.  The TVET (Technical Vocational Education Training) is starting to receive more attention at the government and school levels.  There are a number of government institutions that offer TVET training in specific fields. These include:

• The Kiribati Institute of Technology provides short courses in areas such as the building trades, carpentry, vehicle maintenance, computer skills and business studies, adult education and engineering. Most courses are pre-diploma level, although there are a small number of diploma qualifications. 
• The Kiribati Police Academy offers pre-service training for recruits to the Kiribati Police. 
• The Kiribati School of Nursing runs courses leading to a Certificate in Midwifery and a Diploma in Nursing and Obstetrics. 
• The Kiribati Teachers College offers certificate- and diploma-level teacher training for primary and junior secondary teachers. 
• In addition, two government institutions provide TVET in the nautical field. The first of these is the Fisheries Training Centre (FTC).The FTC provides seamanship training to the level of rating (Deck, Engine and Fishing) for Kiribati men intending to work on commercial fishing vessels. Qualifications on offer also include an upgrading course for qualified fishermen. 
• The Marine Training Centre (MTC) runs basic training courses in deck, engine-room and catering work, including a number of certificate-level programs. German shipping companies provide the main employers for graduates of the MTC. 

There is a renewed effort among the LDS Church School on TVET programs.  Moroni High will implement several new TVET courses during the 2014 school year.

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Much of the information on this post was taken from: 

http://www.icde.org/projects/regulatory_frameworks_for_distance_education/country_profiles/kiribati/education_system/

http://www.unesco.org/education/wef/countryreports/kiribati/rapport_2_2.html

General Conference in Kiribati

General Conference Weekend

We were able to listen to General Conference last week end via the Internet on lds.org and on the Mormon Channel.  This weekend it will be rebroadcast to the Saints in Kiribati.  The translators have been very busy all week translating the different sessions into Kiribati.  

Saturday morning the Priesthood session will be rebroadcast at 7:30 am, then the Saturday Morning at 10 am and the Saturday afternoon session at 1:00 pm.  This will be followed by the General Relief Society meeting at 5:00 pm.  So it will be a long day, but also an exciting one.  On Sunday the two sessions will be replayed at 10:00 and 1:00 pm.  Our stake will meet at the Moroni High chapel where it will be broadcast in English.  Some of the classrooms will be used to broadcast conference in Kiribati.  

The other stake center will broadcast conference on a similar session but it will be all in Kiribati.

Creative Grandchildren

Madison's Music Video is interrupted by her sister Anne who is Campaigning for a Student Council Office at her middle school.  It was fun to watch.

Last year we posted a short video of Anne's video as she ran for a class office.  Apparently, each candidate can make a video as part of their campaign speech.  So Anne and her creative sisters prepared another video.

Other Family Updates

Kevin and Carrie won a free trip to Hawaii for a week, all expenses paid, so we are anxious to hear all about their trip after they return this weekend.  Distance wise they are about one-half of the way to Kiribati (as the crow or Frigate birds fly).  However, airplanes do not take the shortest route.  

Jalene and one of her friends, who was a fairly recent convert to the Church, got tickets to attend General Conference at one of the Sunday sessions.  Her friend was so excited to hear President Monson speak.  They both made it back safely and had a great time.  

Brian and Tracy have tickets to go to Greenland in March to watch the Northern Lights for their anniversary.  It is a very unique present and we get to attend the grand kids while they are gone.  That will be fun for us and hopefully for the kids.

All the Foisy girls are busy with piano, dance, ice skating and school activities and hopefully academics.  Elizabeth has her own car, so she can get up and drive herself and Madison to early morning seminary.  The school asked Madison to be an ambassador for for the school to welcome guests and new students.  She was quite surprised when she was asked, but also excited.

Jeff's team took first place in their soccer tournament now he looks forward to wrestling.  Drew, Luke, and Jorja are in a dual immersion program where they are learning Spanish at school.  Brian reports they are starting to speak several words, and Jorja sings several Spanish songs. 

Random Thoughts

Photo of all the missionaries from Kiribati at the September Zone Conference.  Sitting in the middle of the photo is Elder Pearson and Elder Wakolo along with Pres. and Sister Davis of the Fiji Temple and President and Sister Shaw.  All the missionaries from the outer islands and even Christmas Island were flown to Tarawa to attend Zone Conference and Stake Conference.  More about the zone conference is in an earlier post on this site.

Language Barriers

One of the challenges for students and staff in learning a second language is vocabulary.  Lita (the principal of Moroni) is emphasizing the importance of teaching academic vocabulary as part of each lesson.  

President Tune related a humorous story which illustrates this point.  A few years ago there was as Tsunami warning in the Pacific.  So the Tarawa Police Department radioed the police in the outer islands.  The police went from door to door telling the people there was a Tsunami warning around 3 pm for the island.  Most of the island people did not know what the word Tsunami meant.  They thought it was the name of a ship bringing supplies to the island, so they all went to the ocean to wait for the tsunami ship. 

When it did not arrive at 3 pm, the people were upset, saying, "did the Tsunami ship take our supplies to Christmas Island instead of bringing them here."  Fortunately, the Tsunami did not hit the island or the story would have been tragic instead of humorous.

There were a couple of major communication problems first, there was no training for the people on what a tsunami was and that they should go to higher ground, not to the ocean.  Second, if they had just said, there is a "big wave" coming the people would have understood.  

Good Riddance to the Bats - 

A few weeks ago our daughter Carrie went into our home and it was full of bats.  She called an exterminator who removed about 100 bats from different places in the house.  The next evening, she and Kevin went to our house at dusk and saw around 300 bats fly from our chimney.

It appears Carrie and Kevin have got rid of the bats, at least, we hope so. With Halloween coming up at the end of October it would have been a good decoration, especially if they flew out the front door when it was opened for trick-or-treaters.  Perhaps the bats have moved to a new location and some one else can have fun with them.  We have enough challenges here with rats eating the internet wires.

Treating Spiritual Failure as a Catastrophic Event

Recently, I saw an education web seminar advertised with the title: "What if a school treated a student failure as a catastrophic event?"  This is an interesting concept that could have many applications. 

What if a ward or branch treated failure of an young man to be ordained at the appropriate age or a young women not attending or being advanced in primary or young women as a catastrophic event?  Or a man not being ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood when they turn 18 or not serve a mission at age 19?

When a major catastrophic event occurs - such as a large earth quake, flood, tsunami, tornado, or other natural disaster - an immediate response brings a multitude of resources together to alleviate the suffering from the disaster.  People leave what the are doing a go to the aid of the victims. 

From an eternal perspective, is not a spiritual failure as important or more important.  Should not all the resources possible from a ward focus on the serious failure of an individual?  Is that not the purpose of Ward Councils, Priesthood quorums, class presidencies and the teachers and advisers?

Another Busy Week

Brother Bruce Yerman, area director of Seminaries and Institutes in the Pacific, visited Moroni High a week ago.  Brother Yerman works out of New Zealand and his duties are similar to a Superintendent over the Church Schools in the Pacific.  He arrived at 8:00 am on Monday and met with the teachers for professional development later that morning.  During his stay he also observed many classrooms.  He was very complementary on the things he saw while at Moroni.  On Tuesday evening Lita, Mary, Bro. Yerman and Sister Thorne and I went to supper at a Chinese restaurant.  It was an enjoyable evening.

Wednesday evening the students put on a performance for Brother Yerman.  The music and drama department performed several musical selections and there were three different plays that were written and performed by the students.  The event took place in the cultural hall, because there was no stage with curtains, students stood on chairs and held up a long piece of fabric which served as a curtain during the performances.  

Moroni won first place with their  musical groups and the plays also received high awards during the Independence Week where all the high schools in Tarawa  competed.

This group won first place at the national music festival held during Independence Week this past July.   The man in the middle is their teacher and the rest are students.

This video clip shows one of the numbers they performed for 

Brother Yerman and others in attendance

The first play was about a mother who sent her two students to College in Fiji.  During their time away, they grew too independent and forgot their mother and would not write her or even take telephone calls from her.  As a result she died of a broken heart, and then the prodigal sons returned and were very sorry on how they treated their mother.

The second play the students wrote and performed was kind of a "Cinderella" tragedy.  A father finds a young baby while fishing and brings her home to his wife and other daughter.  The mother and daughter never accept her and after the father dies she is treated like a servant.  She is rejected by other students at school and is made a social outcast.

A new boys enrolls in school and wants to befriend her but peer pressure keeps him at a distance for a few weeks.  Finally he asks the unpopular girl to a school dance and they have a great time and begin to fall in love.  But her mother, step sister and other still treat her as an outcast.  As a result she dies.  Then the mother, sister and all the students feel very sorry and weep over her lifeless body as it lies in state.  The new boy is especially heartbroken.

The father finding the baby and bringing it home

Students not accepting the girl at school

 This is a scene from the play only one girl at school befriends the "Cinderella" girl, while all the students will have nothing to do with her.  Note the curtain in the background, people learn to improvise in the islands.

 The repentant step mother weeps over her dead step daughter who has passed away and is sorrowful for how she has treated her

  

The students enjoyed performing and did a good job.  I am not sure why the plays dwelt on death and sorrow but never the less the evening was enjoyable.   Each Wednesday is club day and every student must choose a club in which to participate whether it is academics, sports, speech, drama, music, or from several other choices.  The important thing is that they get to choose and be successful.  

Parents and students really enjoyed watching the performance of these Moroni students as they sang, danced, and acted.  Of course a traditional large meal was also part of the evening.

 "Sandwatch" Club another 1st Place Winner

One of the other clubs on campus is the "Sandwatch" club which has about 40 different nations with school clubs.  One of the goals of the club is to keep the beaches clean and attractive. Last week was Sandwatch week at MHS and the Moroni's club called the "Beach Warriors" won first place in the school competition in Tarawa.  One of the activities was to see which school could collect the most bags of rubbish along the beaches.  This was another successful activity where students experienced personal satisfaction from doing service

Another Dance Festival

Friday evening we attended the Tarawa West Dance festival with the other senior couples and President and Sister Shaw.  It was well attended and each ward had many adults and children performed different traditional Kiribati dances

Zone Conference

President and Sister Shaw are here for a short visit (Thursday to Monday).  While here they said goodbye to four elders and Elder and Sister Ogborn who have or soon will soon complete their missions.  Saturday morning a Zone Conference was held and the missionaries were taught by President and Sister Shaw.  It was a short meeting because another zone conference was held last month when Elder Pearson was here.  Additional training was provided for the new district and zone leaders and for trainers who will be getting new missionaries next week.

The next Zone Conference will be in November around Thanksgiving time

President Shaw teaching and challenging  the Missionaries at Zone Conference 

 As a special request by Sister Ogborn, she asked that the missionaries 
sing the Mission Song - one more time before they complete their mission

The Majuro Marshall Island mission song was in an earlier post, but many of the missionaries have changed since that video was posted.

More Singing and Dancing and a Tragic Death

Students and staff at Moroni High School often welcome special guests using some of the tradition dances and songs with a few modern twists.   They love to sing and dance and have a lot of fun practicing and performing.  

The video clips are from a few months ago performed for guests Leo a principal of a school in Samoa, Folau an assistant area school director from Tonga (former principal of Liahona Middle School), and the Derek an accountant from the Philippines.  An earlier post in this blog talk more about their visit

Traditional Dance to welcome special guests to the Moroni High School campus - performed by students in the cultural hall.  At the end of the dance a floral garland is placed on the head of the guests

This performance illustrates an I-Kiribati man using some very creative dance steps combining traditional with a modern twist to court a young lady (or is the young lady courting him?  You be the judge!)

A traditional I-Kiribati Dance performed by Moroni High School students as a welcome to guests from Tonga and Samoa.  Students in the front - are wearing traditional dress

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The Tragic Passing of Brother Teraoi Mwea

Last Friday - September 7, 2012 - we attended a training session and social for teachers and other church employees at the Tarawa West stake center.  It is a beautiful chapel next to the ocean with a marvelous view of the Tarawa atolls.  One of the activities the people really enjoyed was tie dying.  The ladies would take white cloth about 3 yards long and fold it in various ways and then soak it in different colored dyes and then spread it out on the ground to dry.  Many beautiful designs emerged from checkered patterns, shapes like sea shells, multicolored circles and other designs.  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the activity.  Unfortunately, we did not bring our camera to take photos.

Next one of the physical education teachers at another school led the group in aerobic exercises.  People were enjoying the various moves and then they did some sitting exercises.  Then Brother Teraoi Mwea who lives a few houses from us led another round of aerobic steps to music.  Everyone was having a great time and really enjoying themselves, when suddenly he collapsed.  Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.  He was transported to the hospital which was near by.  He died of an apparent heart attack.  He was only 38 years old, a father of 4 children and several other adopted and foster children who live in their home.  His wife is Rosila, the vice principal of Moroni High School.  Bro. Mwea was a large physical man about 6' 2''  and has been involved in athletics most of his life.  He served as the tennis coach for the young children who come to the Moroni tennis court every morning and evening and play for hours each day.

Because their are no mortuaries on the island, the funeral and burial usually occur within 24 hours.  Bro. Mwea's body was brought from the hospital to the maneaba on the Moroni campus and placed on some large tables while an all night wake was held.  Friends and family members visited, sang songs, and spend all night in the maneaba with the body.  A wooden coffin was purchased where he was placed.  Unfortunately the sides of the coffin were not tall enough, so another one had to be made during the night.  It too was also not tall enough so they had to remodel part of it.  This delayed the funeral for nearly two hours.

The funeral was held on Saturday and scheduled to start at noon but was delayed because of the problem with the coffin.  It was a nice service.  Two of his teenage children spoke and a daughter gave the prayer.  His wife Rosila also spoke which must have been difficult but she held her composure very well.  Their son that spoke is deacon age and the daughter is mia maid age.  The services were in Kiribati so we understood little of what was said but the Spirit was there in abundance.  Bro. Mwea's younger brother spoke as did Lita, Pres. Tune and the new stake president.

Following the services the body was placed in a large truck and the pall bearers and others rode to the family home where he was buried in their yard.  Life expectancy in the islands is short, heart ailments, diabetes and other diseases which could be treated with appropriate medical care are prevalent on the island.  During the past few months a Bishop and a counselor in the stake presidency have died of heart problems (both of them were in there late 40's).  Most men do not expect to live long after reaching 50 or 60 years of age.

Our heart felt sympathy goes out to Rosila and her young family.

I-Kiribati Singing and Dancing

There has been no school this week, it is the end of the 2nd semester.  School will resume on Tuesday September 11th.  Because most of the students were off campus and the computer labs were shut down, we finally had a strong enough Internet signal to down load some of the videos we have taken during the past few months.

The first one is of the celebration of President Monson's birthday.  It starts out somewhat slow but then you hear the traditional I-Kiribati birthday greeting.  The other video's are of traditional Kiribati dances that were performed for Elder Pearson of the 70 and Area Presidency.  The performing groups are the Eita 1st Ward and one of the branches that won first and second place in the Stake Musical Festival held a few months ago.   

It was dark when the dances were performed on the outdoor basketball court, so they are not a clear as we would have liked.  The videos were taken with an I-PAD so there is no zoom and when we posted them on the blog, it doesn't allow you to show the full screen.

But, they do give you a view of some of the traditional I-Kiribati singing and Dancing.  The traditional costumes are all made of local natural plants and flowers, often the day of the actual performance.  Traditional skills are an important part of the I-Kiribati culture that is being preserved.  At Moroni High they offer a class in Kiribati Studies, which includes many of the traditional skills.

Moroni Students singing Happy Birthday to Pres. Monson

The grass skirts are crafted locally by members of the Wards and Branches

The lava lava's worn by the men are woven very tightly and then pounded with mallets.  When they slap their hands against them it makes a loud clapping sound which is part of the traditional dances.  The men sitting around the drum sing and chant as the dances are performed.  The drum is a large square box approximately 5 x 5 feet, made of two layers of plywood to make a loud sound as the men hit their hands on it in unison's