Because I am no longer a lazy Arts student with countless hours to watch daytime TV, I’m not quite up with what is on Oprah’s ‘favourite things’ list this year. But number one on my list is Vanuatu-based NGO Wan Smolbag.
Wan Smolbag is living the NGO dream having started with a handful of volunteers in 1989 and now counting around 100 paid staff members and over 400 volunteers. Wan Smolbag produces brilliant educational development resources including series for TV and radio, theatre scripts and books. They focus on the themes of education, environment, governance, health and youth.
Their resources can be purchased online and are free for Pacific Island schools and NGOs.
At Buala FM we’ve just finished a series called Nes Shirly about a young nurse experiencing an abusive relationship. We’ve now started Spare the Rod, a series looking at family violence and its effects on women and children.
The programmes are fantastic because they are in Ni-Van (which is very similar to Solomon Pijin) and relate to the culture and kastoms familiar to our listeners. They’re informative and approachable and we’ve had really positive feedback.
So while they may not make Oprah’s list, Wan Smolbag are top of mine and I think we know whose list is more influential…Ahem…
In other news, check out my new posts over at the Austraining volunteer site. This one is about adjusting expectations and climbing into the fridge (not unrelated points, either.) And this one is about culture, dugongs and Spam.
