Nede's Notes

Tuvalu celebrated Independence Day on 1 October with a massive parade followed by an address from the Prime Minister. Officials read out congratulatory emails from several foreign leaders, including the President of Taiwan and the Australian Prime Minister. Police and school groups lined up on the runway Watch a video of Police marching School groups marching The Gilbert and Ellice Islands succeeded in becoming independent nations in 1978 with the formation of Tuvalu and Kiribati. Below is a timeline of significant events for Tuvalu from  https://nationaltoday.com/tuvalu-independence-day/ For the celebrations (or coincidence!) a Brazilian sports team flew in on a NZ charter jet early on Tuesday. After discharging its passengers it left, only to return again on Thursday to collect. Watch ZK-ZEK Cessna C680 take off We've been busy working with separate teams on the asphalt plant site and the runway. Most of the expat team (approx 10 people) is assembling the plant while the local gu...

Island life is interrupted by the arrival of the four planes a week around lunchtime on Mon, Tue, Thu and Sat. While many passengers are coming for business reasons, a few tourists want to tick off their trip to the least visited country. With the Filamona being close to the terminal, its long-term guests are ideally placed to interact with outgoing passengers as they await their flights.     First time approaching Funafuti from the north The country gained independence from Great Britain in 1975 and became a Pacific nation by 1978. But due to its remoteness and the convoluted travel arrangements necessary to get here, tourism isn’t catered for. According to the last census, Tuvalu is the second least populated country after the Vatican. Independence Day is next week, 1-Oct, and will be celebrated with a big parade and party. Everyone gets two days off except us. We have to work due to programme and weather delays, but I hope to be able to talk about the festivities next blog...

The maneapa was back in action all day and night on Monday with the 46 th  anniversary of Solomon Island’s Independence celebrations even though the actual day was Sunday, 7 th  July. The cake Team shirts for the celebrations The music and dancing were great, there was a big cake and many speeches. Last of the speeches. Note the hi-tech sounds. The Solomon Island community in Tuvalu has its own Executive Committee which was reelected at the end of the celebrations. The President and Secretary I wandered over and was immediately welcomed into the celebrations. For forty people there seemed to be an enormous amount of food, complete with a whole slow-cooked pig, BBQ lamb chops, pre-cooked sausages and many other foods unfamiliar to me.  Plates of island food Slow cooked BBQ pork The party was over by 10:00 pm and the maneapa returned to its empty shell by 11:00 pm. The deal is, you can hire the venue for $25 but you leave it clean and tidy. The Police come and check afterwa...

As I write this week’s blog, a church group sings in the maneapa next door. Watch the women warming up The women are sitting at opposite ends to the men and each group take turns in singing. Hear the women sing And the men respond Sometimes there’s a soloist and sometimes they all sign together. They had their church service this morning at 10 am then all walked the hundred or so metres down to the maneapa for lunch, fellowship and of course, singing. The Vaiaku Vaialofa Church Of the 11,500 Tuvaluans, 92% are Christians with 86% belonging to the Church of Tuvalu (CoT). Twelve churches on Fongafale Islet cater for the 6000 inhabitants of which only about 840 are not members of the CoT. A curious thing happens every night at 6:45 – 7:00 pm. The police park in the middle of the main intersections with their light bars going, Police stop the traffic between 6:45 & 7:00 pm Mon-Sat and a bell tolls at the beginning and end to signify the call to “devotion” when the island stops for 15 m...

This week began with the opening of Parliament at 8:00 am. While an auspicious occasion for the Government it didn’t seem to capture the local inhabitant’s interest. However, we had an excellent overview of the Police Guard of Honour. Police Officer in ceremonial uniform Preparations had been happening all the previous week with maintenance and painting of the Women’s Centre. Each morning last week the Police would practice their drill from about 6:30 am. I guess so they could be ready for normal duties at 8:00 am. His Excellency, Tofiga Vaevalu Falani, formally opened Parliament and presided over the remainder of the event. Opening of Tuvaluan Parliament by the Governor General By the time the plane arrived at 11:00 am, you couldn’t tell anything had happened, the flag pole and stand had been trucked away and the hall returned to normal use. Police Guard of Honour on Airport Apron While the island has probably, a dozen or so “ maneapa ,” (halls) to accommodate events it seems the Wome...