Monday, March 12, 2012

Kiribati water lens protection - Educational game (in Gilbertese)

This is a simple and fun game that uses a bingo format (which is very popular in Kiribati) to teach what activities are likely, and which are not likely, to pollute groundwater. It was developed as part of Phase II of the Kiribati Adaptation Program.

 The playing cards feature a range of everyday activities that are common in Kiribati.

 

 Youth playing the game (which uses an image of a village as the board).


The reverse side of each card features information regarding the impact of each activity on groundwater quality.


The rules of play are as follows:


The Bingo can be played with a large group of people of all ages.
Facilitator instructions:
1. Inform about the water lens, how it gets contaminated and what can be done to avoid contamination. Please see Unit 4 Water Pollution and Protection, Water Committee Training Module 3: Water and Health Awareness (available from the Kiribati Adaptation Project).
2. Divide the participants into five smaller groups and divide one set of cards amongst the participants in every group.  Ask them to place the cards in front of themselves so that the pictures are all visible. One set of game cards (black and white) is for the facilitator.
3. Then it is like normal bingo. The facilitator randomly picks one card at a time and calls out the name of the activity, animal or construction. If the participants have the card, they take it away.
4. The facilitator keeps on calling until the first person in the group has no more cards visible and calls out Bingo! Give out some candy to the winners.
5. For the next step place the picture of the water lens in the middle of the group and explain to the group what it is.
6. The group then has to place their cards they have been given inside or outside of the water area depending on whether they think it can have an impact on the water lens or not. Tell the participants not to look at the backside of the card.
7. When all the cards have been placed in all groups, all the people in the groups leave their board and move to the board of another group. The cards of the other group is turned over so that the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ sign can easily be read and then the number of right answers inside the protection zone are counted.
8. The group with the most correct answers wins the second round and receive some candy.
9. Then let the participants take turns in reading the backside of the cards out loud to the rest of the group so that the group learn about why the water is polluted and what can be done to avoid pollution. Encourage discussion amongst the participants.
10. Now ask every group to discuss which of the activities the Community/School should keep outside of the area. The facilitator should take notes of their answers.

 Facilitators explaining the rules in a maneaba

For a high resolution version of the game, please visit the Kiribati Adaptation Program: PO Box 462, Bairiki, Republic of Kiribati - www.climate.gov.ki

Sunday, February 6, 2011

The birth of..... the Kiribati Surfing Association!

I have been helping out with starting up a Surfing Association here in Kiribati.

There are lots of waves and lots of kids who would love to ride them.... but no surfboards. Usually they just grab a piece of wood or whatever they can find and get out there.



I even saw a young boy riding what looked like a piece of the bathroom wall from his parent's house (some wood with insulation on one side and bathroom tiles on the other!).

Hopefully the Association can bring in some equipment and get all the locals up and riding... there is a whole ocean of waves right on their doorstep just waiting for them.

There is a new website for it starting up here: http://kiribatisurfing.webnode.com/

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Living in South Tarawa

Finding a peaceful place to stay in South Tarawa is tricky with 50,000 people crammed into such a small island...We were fortunate to find somewhere that you can relax and feel like you have escaped everything.

Since Tarawa is a very narrow coral atoll, most of the hotels are right next to the road which means the noise of the traffic (especially from the buses and their loud music) is constant. The Lagoon Breeze Lodge is quite far from the main road and is located in a quiet village. Highly recommended!



There is a website here with more info: http://lagoonbreeze.webnode.com/