Visiting Eot in the Faichuk islands
Donna’s friend Kathy Mori was able to arrange a boat trip on short notice to Eot, which is an island on the other side of the lagoon in a group of islands called the Faichuks. It was a 45 minute ride in an open motor boat that held about seven of us. We walked around the island along a path that ran near the water. Donna explained to me to watch Kathy and take my lead from her, since we were able to visit here based on her connections and reputation with the community. Kathy would stop and chat with different people as we walked around the island’s circumference, checking in before taking our party further. People eat a combination of imported and local food. The preference for rice has led to deficiencies like the girl with vision problems caused by a lack of Vitamin A. This is the tropics, so bananas grow easily, as do food plants like breadfruit, taro and the like. When our path went by a small shack built on a volcanic rock outcrop, we found a girl diving for sea cucumber, a...