Samauga #3

Our second week of seminars began in Samauga. It was a cool and rainy morning, or in other words, a perfect time to stay home and sleep. This raised concerns due to other experiences when trying to gather groups of people on rainy days. The first people to show up were the high chief of the village and the pastor. This brought comfort to my concerns, because if these guys come, the flock will soon follow.

Fa’avaoa, Valelia, Mariane, Peleupu, and Tapu, the nurses from the Safotu District Hospital, will be working with us this week. Fa’avaoa, the nurse manager, has played an essential role in helping us plan these seminars. With that in mind it is a special pleasure to work with her this week.

The seminar started with our best performance yet. Everybody was spot on with their lines and the crowd roared with laughter.

The picture below is from the funeral in scene one. Elisa, the angel, has made an appearance from heaven and brought the family a weight scale, or a sign from god to change the families eating habits. Semisi, who is lying down, has just died from diabetes as Sieni, his widow, looks on.

We also had some help from the audience during the rice suit demonstration. Fulisia, pictured below, has since told me that she will keep the weight off if this is what it feels like.

The informational session was very similar to that of Falealupo. The audience was very engaged, most notably the chief pictured below, who had many concerns and questions regarding his diet. Fa’avaoa, pictured below with Leni and myself, did great job in facilitating and addressing those concerns.

During the final segment where we explain the weight loss contest I asked the audience if there were any questions or concerns. The high chief raised his hand and let his concern be known. He spoke on behalf of the village and expressed that he was hungry. It had been a long morning so I quickly wrapped it up and let the nurses begin the screenings.

Strong winds and heavy rains continued throughout the screenings but we were still able to see almost 70 people. Papaya and coconut was provided by the nurses to people after they had their blood sugar checked for diabetes. It is very important for obtaining accurate results that one does not eat prior to testing their blood sugar. As you can see in the picture below the audience really does enjoy fresh fruit.