Author’s Note: As a YMCA volunteer in Samoa (formerly Western Samoa) from 1983-1986, I experienced some of the highest, lowest, most frustrating and thoroughly exhilarating moments of my life. I was in love with the people, the place, and captured by the many challenges and rewards of this work. 

My experience in Samoa was a fascinating introduction to a totally different kind of YMCA work than I had ever seen before. The traditional YMCA programs of physical education, youth clubs and camping were almost non-existent. Instead, the Samoan YMCA programs responded to locally defined social and economic development needs and priorities as perceived by the people themselves, and where possible, collaborated with other local organizations, government, and international agencies to meet those needs.

Founded in 1978 with the assistance of the New Zealand YMCAs, the National Headquarters of the YMCA of Western Samoa was located in the capital and only city of Apia. The local Rotary Club raised $10,000 for the construction of the YMCA headquarters facility, consisting of a large open meeting room with attached office, classroom and kitchen. The main fale (Polynesian house) was built in the traditional manner entirely without the use of nails. Instead, twine woven from coconut husk was used to bind the beams together.

YMCA programs focused mainly on rural development, vocational training and youth development in Apia, and in 40 village YMCA branches or ‘clubs’ throughout the country. Leadership Training seminars and field practicums covered topics such as farm management, small business management, marketing and credit unions. The YMCA Sales and Marketing Program helped local communities find overseas markets for their produce, and organized competitions to encourage increased crop production. Cash crops included taro, the starchy root staple consumed locally and exported to Samoans in Australia, New Zealand, and the USA, and kava, a mildly sedating and culturally important beverage consumed widely throughout the Pacific.

Trades training programs in carpentry, construction, furniture sales, and motor mechanics prepared young people for jobs in town, while vocational skills development for self-employment were promoted in the rural areas. Weight training and aerobics classes were offered along with a popular Social Survival Skills course to help prepare Samoans who were planning to move and settle permanently in New Zealand for school or for work.

As the YMCA Public Relations Officer, my first assignment was to produce a newsletter by April which was four months away (high stress!) and I quickly realized the need to slow down and put any overly ambitious hopes for swift and immediate progress aside. Most importantly, I worked closely with my local counterpart at the YMCA, who would assume my responsibilities when I finished my assignment in Samoa.

Traveling to villages around the country on my Honda trail bike, I gathered stories and photos for the YMCA newsletter, ran youth programs, and enjoyed long, lazy lunch hours free-diving at Palolo Deep Marine Reserve on the outskirts of Apia, with fresh fish and chips, bananas, papayas, taro and palusami (baked taro leaves filled with coconut cream) washed down with a couple of young coconuts. It was my favorite refuge from the ‘fishbowl’ intensity that small places like Samoa can sometimes feel like to a foreigner.

My job at the YMCA was really fantastic. But I needed to work at relaxing more, and learn how to roll with the various challenges, including the slower pace of life in general. So, whenever I was exhausted or just frustrated from taking my work too seriously, it helped simply to stand out on the far reef and shout into the wind – unleashing my pent up fury at the top of my lungs – as my anguish merged into the thundering roar of the pounding surf.

Samoa is a small place, and I was able to involve the YMCA in various collaborative efforts with other organizations. Together with the Ministry of Health and other community organizations and businesses, the YMCA helped establish the first National Health Fair, which is celebrated each year on World Health Day. The event kicks off with a ‘fun walk’ and includes free medical and dental check-ups, general health education on topics such as nutrition, sanitation and first aid, and a poster-making contest for the kids.

With the Samoa Red Cross Society and the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture, the YMCA helped establish the first National Red Cross Water Safety Program in Samoa, and assisted an International Youth Leadership Camp involving young people from 14 Pacific Island nations. The YMCA also helped organize the annual Special Olympics and Games for the Disabled, and took the lead in establishing a National Suicide Awareness Campaign to address the epidemic of youth suicide that was spreading across the Pacific at the time.

Stay tuned for Part Three, coming soon!

You can read more about Jim’s backstory,  here and here.

Author’s Note: It was dark and raining as the plane approached the island. Through the gloom I could see some flickering lights of a village clustered along the shoreline, but nothing else. I shuddered with the thrill of excitement and some apprehension as this was my first trip to the South Pacific, and the start of a three-year stint with the National YMCA of Western Samoa.

The plane landed and we were told to remain in our seats. When they opened the door a flood of hot, damp air enveloped us. A man entered the plane and while walking down the aisle began spraying the cabin with some unknown white chemical. I tried not to breathe as the mysterious cloud of mist floated wetly down onto our heads. I learned later that treating all incoming passengers with insecticide this way was standard practice. Disembarking at last, I walked across the tarmac to the airport terminal and a tiny arrival hall lit by dim, greasy lights. A girl in uniform checked my passport, and I officially entered Pago Pago, American Samoa.

Outside in the darkness, a throng of heavy-set Samoans lounged against a barrier that seemed on the verge of breaking under their weight. While waiting for my connecting flight, I noticed the sharply rugged mountains that towered ominously in the shadows above me – shrouded in ragged clouds and mist. It was a cold, damp place, and I was glad to board the plane for the short flight to Western Samoa, where I was met by one of the YMCA staff.

Two of my four pieces of luggage had been lost somewhere along the way, so we loaded my remaining bags into the minivan, and began the long drive to town – past what seemed like villages and homes, but I could not make out much in the darkness. There were few lights, and I could only imagine what this mysterious island that I had landed on looked like. A light breeze was blowing, the air was soft, moist, and remarkably fresh – and again, I began to shiver with excitement as the whole long-awaited adventure was finally beginning to unfold.

The YMCA National Headquarters was located in the capital and only city of Apia. Compared to the back villages, Apia’s 35,000 people seemed like a bustling metropolis. In fact, it was more like a small town, with slow-motion traffic jams at rush hour, two-story wood frame buildings (tallest was six stories), live music and dancing at night clubs in the evenings, movie theaters, ice cream parlors, fish and chips stands, grocery stores, plus many small shops and a large open-air produce and fish market. A “fast” photo shop developed prints in 24 hours! Several historic downtown churches added to the town’s picturesque waterfront that formerly served as a whaling port for the early colonialists.

Three days after my arrival in December 1983, the YMCA closed for six weeks for the Christmas and New Year holidays, so I had ample time to begin learning my way around – at first by bicycle, making it up the steep incline to the Mount Vaea trail head for the short but steep climb to the summit where Robert Lewis Stevenson is buried, and for the fine views over Apia town area and out to sea – white crescents of surf breaking on the barrier reefs.

Palolo Deep Marine Reserve on the outskirts of town quickly became my favorite swimming and luncheon spot. A simple wooden platform and open fale perched on a small island made from coral rocks at the edge of a spectacular open deep area in the inner lagoon – it was like swimming in a huge natural aquarium stretching far out to the barrier reef that protected us from the open sea.

It was at Palolo Deep that I learned how to use my rubber thongs not only as protective foot gear for walking on the reef, but with no place to safely leave them while swimming, they made excellent hand paddles – one of the many practical Samoan ‘lifestyle habits’ that I carry with me to this day, especially when swimming in coral seas. It quickly became apparent that anything left unattended on the beach – or anywhere else for that matter – had a reasonable chance of ‘walking away’ by itself.

Piula Springs was perfect on hot afternoons. The 24-mile round trip along the scenic coast was a stretch by bicycle in the tropical heat, but well worth the effort to soak in the cool spring water flowing from a cave right at the seashore. Diving down into the dark cave, a distant spot of light marks an underwater tunnel leading to another cave further back where you surface in another hidden pool!

Stay tuned for Part Two, coming soon!

You can read more about Jim’s backstory,  here and here.