Kiva Stories from the Field

Gali Sends Greetings from Samoa

29 October 2008 at 21:26 eviatar 7 comments

For those of you who know me as Eviatar (or do not know me at all), I am now Galumalemana, or Gali for short. This is my Samoan name, bestowed upon me by some of the loan officers during my “initiation” on my first Friday night here. The event included some rugby rituals, a healthy amount of Vailima (the delicious local beer), karaoke, many laughs, and a fuzzy feeling of being welcomed into my new family.

I arrived in Samoa two weeks ago, and have had an interesting time since. I will try to not be too redundant with previous entries written by fellows who served in Samoa, so I won’t talk about the myriad churches, the beauty of the country, the heat and humidity, the crazy drivers, the fascinating state of poverty, or the kindness of the people. (If you haven’t already, I suggest that you read their very interesting entries by searching for “Samoa” at the top of this page.) Except, the poverty and the extent of the friendliness of the people here is so fascinating that I must write about it, even if it is in repetition. Hopefully you will find something unique in my impressions and interpretation.

Poverty here is intriguing because it presents itself in such an unexpected way. I haven’t been here long enough to make any judgments and pretend to be an expert (that’s next week), so here are some initial observations regarding poverty in Samoa. Although Samoa ranks 36^th on the UN’s Least Developed Countries list, that is far from obvious. People here are extremely nice, and it’s hard to imagine any hardships going on in such a paradise of smiles and helpful strangers. Also, there is a very strong extended family and community support net, which keeps the poverty hidden underneath the surface. Samoans would never let anyone sleep on the street or go hungry, even a stranger. They are very generous- and not of the sort that expect something in return, but of the sort that gives because they can. However, this social support places a burden on everyone’s resources. Without going into welfare economics, I should mention that the impact of this system on incentives for people to work hard has crossed my mind a few times.

The second stand out topic is the extent of the happiness and friendliness of people here. Although there is no way for me to tell for sure how happy people truly are in just two weeks, I take their constant smiling, laughing, and kindness as positive indicators. It’s so pronounced that you have to wonder what makes a whole nation so nice. Is it the History? Geography? Chance? Genetics? Climate? Let me illustrate this kindness with an experience that despite its subtlety, startled me quite a bit. A few days after arrival, I went to the immigration office to finalize my visa. There were two booths with clerks in each. One clerk was busy assisting someone, and the other was doing some paperwork. People were sitting in the waiting area, waiting, I assumed, for one of the clerks to become available and invite the next-in-line. I sat down, and within a few minutes, someone entered the office, and headed straight for the clerk doing the paperwork. After exchanging their greetings, the newcomer caught my gaze, understood the situation, and immediately invited me to talk to the clerk before him. Apparently the people in the room were waiting for something else, and I was supposed to have interrupted the clerk on arrival. Most locals in every other place I have visited would have taken advantage of me, never mind been sensitive enough to notice and consider my position. Importantly, I feel like this was not a fluke. Although most of my experiences with the kindness of people here are subtle and individually unimpressive, I am confident that anyone here would go out of their way to help me, even if doing so would send them in the complete opposite direction.

I came to Samoa not to be the recipient of kindness, but to help SPBD with Kiva-related processes. Over the last two weeks, I have been learning how the microfinance institution operates, going over their procedures and the new Kiva interface with the office staff, planning ways to improve their processes, and arranging excursions into the field to write journals. Still, I have not overlooked the fact that I have had the luck to be placed on this beautiful island. Accordingly, I have been exploring quite a bit, and yes, it is extremely beautiful. Upolu is one of the two main islands comprising Samoa, and where I have been staying. It is covered by thick greenery, exotically painted flowers, and white beaches riddled with palm trees. To my peers in Sudan and Azerbaijan, please take comfort in knowing that most of the beaches are occupied by coral. As my scraped hands and knees can attest, this makes for unpleasant swimming.

I look forward to discovering more about Samoa, especially the effects of microfinance and Kiva on the people here. This should happen when I meet borrowers in the field starting in the next few days. Until then, be sure to borrow a page from the Samoan way of life, take it easy, and know that no hardship is worth being unhappy for. I’m constantly reminded of the first sentence I read about Samoa: “If relaxing was an Olympic sport, Samoa would win gold.”

Entry filed under: KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Samoa, South Pacific Business Development (SPBD). Tags: Samoa, South Pacific Business Development (SPBD), SPBD.