One of the most stressful issues that ni-Vanuatu face is in regard to educating their children. While the vast majority of the schools are government-run, students are still required to pay school fees to attend. That burden has been lessened recently, as the government passed laws that ensure kids are able to go to school through the equivalent of 6th grade fee-free. However, beginning with secondary school, the fees are still imposed, and can be a significant financial burden since the majority of island families do not have a source of regular income.
Harry and Tess were some of the first Christians in Tanna, and have grown a lot in their faith. It has been our pleasure to work with them and get to know them better. Their oldest daughter, Joslyn, is enrolled in secondary school in the main "town" of Tanna Island, Lenekel. At the beginning of the year it became quite evident that they were not going to be able to foot the bill for their daughter's continued education (9th grade). So, Harry went and talked to the administration about the possibility of paying the school fees in the form of local produce (such could be plausible since the majority of the students board at the school, and thus the school is responsible for feeding some 160 people everyday). The administrator countered his offer with a job opportunity - head baker. Harry had baked bread back in the village before, and so he took the job.
To ensure that his daughter is able to attend school, Harry walks to Lenekel everyday (7 days a week) to bake bread for the students and faculty. Thankfully, it is an otherwise flexible schedule, since he bakes bread "today" to be consumed "tomorrow" - thus not preventing him from other family obligations and the weekly assembly. The walk down to Lenekel (there is a pretty significant drop in altitude) takes a little less than 2 hours from his village of Lorakau. The walk back up to the village takes almost 2.5 hours. Bread baking takes about 4 hours total, as he has to make two batches due to the size of his utensils and oven (he uses a 50lb bag of flour per day). A couple of perks include getting to take home the empty flour bags (used for transporting produce from the garden) and several loaves of bread.
Harry doesn't take home much pay, because the large majority of his wages are retained by the school for his daughter's fees (I would guess that the fees are between $400-500 per term, with 3 terms per school year). But, Harry and Tess are happy "because God has provided a way" (his words) for them to send their daughter to school. They have two more daughters and three sons coming up behind, and it will prove to be a continual struggle to educate their children in this environment. I am proud of the way they've handled the situation, and think they are to be commended for their sacrifice, commitment, and dependence upon God's provision.
I followed Harry to/from work one day while we were in Tanna last month, and very much enjoyed getting to visit with him. He is a thinker, and really does seek to manifest Christ in his life. Please be praying for him and his family.
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