Brief leg

Vicky you’ll like this. The other day when I arrived at the VSO office I was taking my shoes off on the mat and Frank, the other volunteer who arrived with us, looked at my shoes and then looked at my feet. Then he looked at me and said “Hannah you have a brief leg?” By which I took him to mean, ‘my what delicate pretty feet you have’ rather than ‘your legs are a bit stumpy.’

Frank is from Uganda, as are three of the other volunteers here, as well as 2 philippinos, 1 kenyan and 3 other brits. I think Vanuatu must be one of VSO’s highest ‘south to south’ volunteer destinations. Its great; lovely to meet people with very different experiences and makes VSO feel far less imperialist than Peace Corps (whose american volunteers have to go through a swearing in ceremony at the end of their induction). In this example you might wonder at the logic of sending a Ugandan doctor to Vanuatu but I think VSO would argue that a big part of VSO is about sharing experiences, as well as skills, across cultures, developing international understanding etc. I would agree with that and also the African doctors have sadly, got extensive and expert knowledge about treating and preventing HIV/ AIDs. HIV is not a big problem in Vanuatu …yet. It is however thought to be a potential nightmare because of the combination of unprotected sex, with lots of partners, from a very young age (teenage pregnancy isn’t really the problem here, its pre-teenage pregnancy that’s the real worry.) HIV/AIDs rates in nearby(ish) Papua New Guinea (where they actually test for HIV) are very high. Frank also reckons that the severe lack of skills makes his placement necessary - 8000 children start primary school every year in Vanuatu but only 150 graduate secondary school...There arent a great deal of Ni-vanautan doctors around.