A Remote Village, and a Very Unusual Eye!

This past week, we went to the remote village, Navunikabi.  It was an amazingly beautiful drive into the tropical jungle highlands of the interior of Fiji.  

We were met by a number
of children from the village.

The children were also
waiting in the Community
Hall for their eye exams.

It's their tradition to sit on the floor, rather
than chairs; so that's what they did while
waiting their turn for their eye exam.

Ann helping them with
their frame selection...

It was interesting to see that a
number of the ladies chose to
kneel on the floor, rather than stand
 up while Ann was helping them.

Two happy ladies
getting their glasses.

They gave us some kind
of fry bread for breakfast.
It was very tasty!

Ann couldn't resist holding
this cute little baby.
Almost as good as
holding a grandchild.

The Chief of the village honored us by having
 us dine with him in his house, sitting on the floor
 once again.  What an awesome experience!

We then finished the week off by traveling to different churches in Waila, Navatuyabo, Togo, and Nausori.  At each church, there were lots of people lined up for hours in extreme heat, patiently waiting their turn.  They view their eye exam and glasses as a once in a life time experience.  We were able to see from 90 to 112 people each day.

Ann helping with the frame selection.

Checking the patients in...

Ann is like a kid magnet.

Our Fiji "adopted son" comes with us some
days to help us out, especially with
translating the Fijian language.

Another baby for Ann to hold!

Some days, we worked in a nice air conditioned room...

...other days, we worked in a hot room.

This 15 year old boy had the most unusual eyes I have ever seen.  Three years ago, he was normal; then all of sudden his eye started to bulge forward and downward, progressing slowly over these past three years.  Amazingly enough, he can see perfectly out of both eyes, and does not need any glasses.  His mother says that he has had scans and been checked out by specialists, and says there's no tumor or other problems.  I'm going to contact the specialist to find out more details.  Wow!

On this particular day, the people of the
church surprised us with an amazing lunch.
...chicken, fish, salad, banana bread, fruit...
It was very tasty.

This big fish was caught in a river behind the church, and cooked over an open fire.  The head of the fish is cut off and offered as a special treat.  The chief (or head of the village) is usually the one who is honored to eat the fish head.  When we declined the honor, the head of the church in this area was happy to eat it.  He had a good laugh, watching our faces of horror as he ate it in front of us!

 

Although we miss our family and friends, 
at this special time of year, we would like to 
wish you all a very Merry Christmas from Fiji!