Lying in the shadow of the live volcano, Mt Yasur, in Sulphur Bay, on the remote tropical island of Tanna, Vanuatu, is the home of the ‘Jon Frum’ movement. This is one of the only remaining ‘cargo’ cults left in the world.

It was formed when ‘John from America’, supposedly an American medic, literally dropped in on this ancient culture, in a plane, distributing medicine and gifts to the local people. It was just before the time when American troops, stationed in Efate and Santo, were assigned to protect the South Pacific islands against a Second World War Japanese invasion.

The cult urged the local people to turn away from the aggressive teaching of the Christian missionaries and to put their faith in their own customs. The arrival of the white man had introduced many new diseases to the local people, causing the population of some of the Vanuatu islands to be almost wiped out.  A further decimation of the population occurred through ‘black-birding’ when thousands of Vanuatu males were conned to go to work in sugar plantations in Queensland, Australia.

Though the true source of Jon Frum is rather blurred, each Friday, outlying villagers walk to Sulphur Bay to honour Jon Frum. The men sing and play guitars while the women dance around them in the light of kerosene lamps. They call to the cowboy spirits, Cowboy Billy, Cowboy Jimmy and Cowboy Steven. These will help them communicate with Jonn Frum. Following a deep rumble, Mt Yasur in the background, lights up the night sky with spurts of glowing lava.

Many of the followers of Jon Frum believe he lives in the volcano. Accompanied by 5,000 troops he will bring sack loads of gifts and liberate Tanna to a glorious new age. At one point the villagers cleared enough bush to make an airstrip and erected a bamboo control tower, hoping to encourage Jon Frum to return in his plane.

For fifty years the Jon Frum followers have paraded on the February 15th, under the leadership of Chief Isaac Wan, in home-made US uniforms, beneath the Stars and Stripes flag. Playing the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ on bamboo flutes and carrying bamboo weapons, they hope to entice another deliver of ‘cargo’.

In 1957 the American warship, the Yankee, visited Tanna. The commander, at the request of local authorities, tried to explain to the villagers there was no such person as Jon Frum in the US. The local villagers dismissed the commander as being ‘a false American’.

David Attenborough, brother of filmmaker Richard Attenborough, one of the first foreigners to find the Jon Frum movement in the 1960’s, asked the people of Tanna, ‘Why wait for someone who never comes?’  One of the islanders is reported to have replied, adding, “You have been waiting for 2,000 years for Jesus Christ.”

Vanuatu is the tropical island ‘Must See’ travel adventure destination of the South Pacific. The perfect place to find a Blue Moon Opportunity, one that will set you free.

If you would like to know more about the author and a Blue Moon Opportunity in Vanuatu take a few minutes to check out Win A Resort

On the tiny tropical island of Vanuatu, a local headmaster, Alick Garae, has been given a Blue Moon Opportunity, (one that will change a lot of lives), in being unexpectedly accepted by the Fulton College in Fiji, to study for his Primary School Bachelor Degree. However, it appears that due to lack of funds, Alick will be unable to accept this great offer.

Alick, a gifted teacher, has dedicated the last 22 years to educating the children of Port Vila, Vanuatu. He has increased the number of students in the Olwi School, in Port Vila, to 150, with classrooms from kindergarten to grade 6.  Soon he hopes to take the school a step further by adding grades 8 to 10.

Alick has also been able to assist many of his staff to gain their local teaching qualifications and continues to train as many of his teachers, as his time permits.

One of Alick’s students has been chosen to be the first pupil to be given a non-repayable high school education grant from the YouMe Support Foundation and Child Trust Fund. A grant that is given only to children whose parents have absolutely no way of being able to raise the funds for their child to continue their education. Unfortunately this is not an uncommon thing in Vanuatu, where there is no free education. Statistics have changed little since the 1990 survey:

• 25% of children will never go to school

• Only 55.8% will reach grade 6

• Only 18.2% will continue on to high school.

Unfortunately it seems Alick finds himself in a similar situation to many of his students. He is unable to raise the funds to take up the golden opportunity to continue his own education, as he has to find $Fiji 4800 by January 2009.

The Fulton College has a special program which includes 11 hours per week of manual labour around the college. This not only improves the students skills in such areas as farming, orchid work, librarian and general gardening, is also of practical use when the students return home, but it allows the college to maintain a low structure of fees.

If anyone is able to assist Alick fulfill his dream of continuing his own education, so he can give better service to his own students and teachers, please contact Mark at the Daily Post on email: publisher@dailypost.com.vu or Dr Wendy on email:  info@seachangelodge.com

If you would like to know more about the author take a few minutes to check out YouMe Support Foundation

We waited for our Sunday lunch to be served on the tropical island of Vanuatu, cooled by the gentle tropical breeze. We sat watching the rays of the sun dance and sparkle off the brilliant blue-green waters of the South Pacific. As we sipped a delicate Australian Sauvignon Blanc, Just a few feet away three young Ni-Vanuatu boys cast a net in the time honoured traditions of their forefathers.

Slowly and with great care the boys trawled their net onto the white coral shore, in their minds retracing the images of having watched their brothers, fathers and grandfathers before them enact this timeless custom. Searching incredulously for the smallest of fish caught between the folds of the net, the delighted beams on the boys faces told it all. Victoriously they caughts each tiny fish between forefinger and thumb before being deposited into an awaiting 300ml green Tusker beer bottle (the locally brewed and well accepted beer).

Watching the young boys acting out the traditions of their people was a relaxing and enjoyable pastime for us. A welcome break after our 25k eco-tour bike ride, snorkelling over the reef admiring the numerous coloured fish, enjoying an early morning kayak paddle up the lagoon, or lazing in the warm sun at the resort’s swimming pool.

We thought these industrious young boys were gathering the fish in hope of catching enough to make a meal, just like some people gather whitebait. We did wonder though if the fish would be ‘cooked’ in the bottle long before the boys managed to get them home.

Time and again the young boys repeated the process, as the water glistened off their fit brown bodies. Each drag of the net managed to gather at least a couple of the tiny creatures.

Finally, one of the boys produced a plastic bottle around which was wound a long length of fishing line. It took several minutes for him to extract a fish from the bottle. With great care he attached the tiny ‘catch’ to an equally tiny fishing hook.

At last satisfied, he plunged out towards the deeper water, where he cast his fishing line for the real task at hand – catch a good size fish for the family’s evening meal.

This was not a game to these young men, but a real-life endeavour, that would sustain them in the years ahead. Education in Vanuatu is not free and over 25% of the children never have the opportunity to go to school. The ingenuity of taking hold of opportunities that present themselves on a daily basis, such as a discarded glass beer bottle, turns the ordinary into something special, (a Blue Moon Opportunity). This combined with the traditions of their parents, will keep these children alive. Our challenge is to help them move into the 21st century without losing their rich heritage.

To learn more about the author and take a few minutes to look at a Blue Moon Opportunity (one that could completely change your life) check out Win a Resort

Vanuatu, a peaceful tropical island nation in the South Pacific, witnessed an unprecedented custom ceremony when Chief Joshua Batakoro Vanua,  father of Lee Tamata, a high risk escapee from the local jail, ceremoniously handed over ten pigs to the community heads, in a plea for forgiveness for the misdemeanors of his son.

The community leaders included the new Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Edward Natapei. It was the highest price ever to be paid in the tradition of the island of Pentecost custom peace ceremony.

Earlier in the year a Pentecost chief had demanded that Jenny Lido, a woman candidate pay 10 pigs in a custom ceremony, for her right to continue to contest the country’s general elections. Jenny had already performed a 10 pig-killing custom ceremony, simply to be permitted to be allowed to enter the male dominated arena of politics.

When Chief Joshua found out how much damage and fear his son had caused to members of the local community in Port Vila, he felt compelled to offer the pigs on behalf of his son, asking for the leaders forgiveness.

Isolated away from his family and home island, Chief Joshua spent three months in the capital Port Vila. He was forced to sell kava (a local made drink) and taro in order to be able to raise the funds to buy the pigs for the peace ceremony.

It was a very expensive exercise for the father, as pigs are the wealth of a village and ten mature pigs highly prized. Curled pig tusks are used as currency in some remote areas of the Vanuatu islands, with the Tari Bunia Bank having 14 branches. The bank gives loans, issues cheque books, and has reserves, all on the currency of pig tusks. While there is a vault to the bank there is no need for the use of locks . “The bank is protected by spirits and snakes,” proudly says the bank manager.

“My son has erred and I ask for your forgiveness,” said Chief Joshua, who spent time counseling his son while in Vila. The Chief will now return home with assurances from his son that he will serve the full term of his sentence and act with respect towards the law.  Lee’s name means peace in the language of his home island, Pentecost.

Vanuatu is a ‘Must See’ travel adventure destination of the South Pacific and the place to see a Blue Moon Opportunity that can be your chance to be set free.

If you would like to know more about the author and a Blue Moon Opportunity take a few minutes to check out Win A Resort

Time is a precious commodity which you never have enough of. It is really important to take time out each day to have a laugh, as laughter has been proven to be a stimulant which increases productivity. So let’s spend a few minutes and have a laugh over that most elusive of all things - time.

Here are just a few things you can do with time:

• You can be pressured for time,
• Waste time
• Desperately try to balance time (something we all have great difficulty doing).
• You can buy time.
• You can ask for a person’s time, or
• You can give them time.
• A person’s time is the one thing we all fight for on the Internet and here is a tip that may be just in time to help you leap forward in your business. “In a war you require study and logic.” Content is king on the Internet so that requires study and the world of the computer is based on logic. These two points are the underlying foundation of any successful Internet business.

You may gain time if you are flying internationally, but lose it again on the return journey. Often small amounts of time can make or break you, particularly if you are prone to playing the stock market. It takes time to find genuine Blue Moon Opportunities - ones that will truly change your life.

While time is a unit, or system for measuring a sequence of events and a vital element of your day to day living, it’s something you can spend, but never recover. Here are ten pieces of trivia where three minutes of time made a difference.

1. In Malaysia, Roslan Ngah, divorced his two wives in three minutes. Ngah had already divorced his third wife 7 years before and has 8 children from the three marriages.
2. A Spanish couple escaped death because they missed the Spanair flight by just three minutes. The plane crashed in Madrid.
3. The people of China kept silent for three minutes, marking in the 7.9 Sichuan earthquake on May 12th. However, cars, ships and trains blasted their horns, marking the start of three days of national mourning for the 12,000 killed and 18,000 missing.
4. In an attempt to jump-start the slumped economy and job market, Japan has launched the Tokyo based ‘Three Minutes of Happiness‘ stores, which sell design-heavy, extremely affordable, ‘recession chic’ necessities, from clothing items, to kitchen utensils. The shop is set up in a massive ice-cream parlour.
5. In the ‘big bang’ theory of the origin of the universe, Weinberg’s timeline refers to the ‘First Three Minutes‘.

Now, I have probably used up your three minutes of patience, but just give me a little more time.

1. According to a recent study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, sex has only to last 3 minutes to get great results. The test was done by women holding stop-watches.
2. Having had your three minutes of sex you may feel hungry. You can knock up a non-nutritious meal with three-minute noodles, but if you add a perfect three-minute boiled egg you may save the day. Also add the perfect cup of tea, having brewed loose tea-leaves for three minutes.
3. While you are at it you had better feed the goldfish, for the average goldfish has only a three minute memory span, according to everything2.com
4. While your are showering, remember the best songs are usually only three minutes long.
5. Finally the average person dreams for only three minutes. They say you can come to, change the end of your dream and go back and dream again with your ending. Wow - that blows the mind! Worth a try.

We are fortunate to live in Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, where there are no ‘three minutes’ for the locals, as very few people wear watches. They live on island time, guided by daylight and dark and turn up ‘whenever’. “See you in the morning”, could mean 6.00 a.m. when the sun gets up. However, Vanuatu, with its ancient culture and traditions, is the one place where you feel ‘Time can be Regained’, or at least your batteries recharged.

Let us know if you can think of any other great ‘three minutes’ of time.

You can find out more about the author and a genuine Blue Moon Opportunity at http://winaresort.com

It seems Killer Rabbits keep surfacing, even in the tropical island nation of Vanuatu, in the South Pacific.

The original ‘Killer Rabbit’ was a fictional beast created for the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This was followed the President Carter’s incident when the Killer Rabbit decided to take a swim.

In Monty Python and the Holy Grail , Bors, one of knights of King Arthur’s round table, boldly approached the innocent looking Guardian Beast, known as the White Rabbit. Bor’s head is chopped off by the White Rabbit, to the sound of a tin opener at work. The knights then attacked in force, only to be driven off by the ‘Killer White Rabbit’.

The Killer Rabbit made its next appearance in a musical, Spamalot, inspired by the Monty Python movie, which in turn was inspired by Shakespeare’s, Hamelot. Since then there have been many Killer Rabbit products: ‘Killer Rabbit slippers’, ‘Killer Rabbit dolls’, ‘Killer Rabbit Tshirts’, even a Jimmy Carter Killer Rabbit attack.

President Jimmy Carter, on a break from the pressures of office, was fishing in a pond in a canoe, when he saw a desperate looking rabbit swimming straight for him. “It’s nostrils flared, hissing menacingly, with its teeth flashing, it was frantically struggling to reach a safe haven,” was the report from one eye witness. No doubt it brought back many memories to the President, of tales told in his childhood, of killer rabbits in the swamps. The President’s Secret Service men were caught flatfooted.

As he was without a weapon of any kind,  the President  was forced to use the oar against the monster rabbit, in an attempt to defend himself. Fortunately for (we are not sure who), the rabbit decided to turn tail swim for the shore line. It was thought, a photo taken of the incident by a White House photographer, suffered the fate of all ‘Killer Rabbit‘ photos. Flushed down the Presidential toilet, never to see the light of day again (until now).

Then Dean Hunt’s killer rabbit surfaced and ran riot on the social network, hitting the front page of DIGG.
Rumour has it that Dean’s Killer Rabbit has a Killer Rabbit mate who has immigrated to Vanuatu, a tiny tropical island nation, that is the travel adventure destination of the South Pacific. It has been reported that Dean’s Killer Rabbit may be holding a secret tryst with MKR-Vu (Ms Killer Rabbit, Vanuatu) later this year, at Resort, Vanuatu. Stay tuned as we bring you more in the ‘Killer Rabbit’ series.

You can find  out more about the author at http://winaresort.com

Women in politics deserve all the encouragement they can get, in a male dominated arena. It is great to see Ms Hilary Clinton once more in the headlines now backing Barack Obama. A world away on the tropical island of Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, another woman faces unbelievable odds, in an even more male oriented arena, Mrs Jenny Ligo. Jenny is taking up the challenge to go for her once in a lifetime Blue Moon Opportunity. An opportunity that will completely change her life, no matter the outcome.

Jenny follows in the footsteps of her famous aunty when she was granted a chiefly title by the head of the national Council of Chiefs, Chief Paul Tahi, earlier this year. Jenny had to ceremoniously killing eleven pigs, to gain that honour and in order to enter the brutal field of politics. A feat she also did at her wedding to Joe Ligo late last year, on the island of Pentecost.

Jenny is the niece of political and women’s rights’ activist, Grace Molisa. Jenny’s Aunt became the first woman to hold the post of Private Secretary to the country’s first Prime Minister, Father Walter Lini, after the nation’s Independence, 28 years ago.

It is now only weeks to the general election, in Vanuatu and Mrs Ligo has returned to her home, the tropical island of Ambae. All should have been plain sailing for this courageous lady, as she travelled to most parts of the island on her election campaign. Wrong!

Chief Moli Tari, speaking on behalf of some of the chiefs of the island of Ambae, says that Jenny  is not allowed to contest in her home island, according to custom principles. It seems strange that this principle never floated to the surface at Jenny’s pig killing ceremony. Perhaps ancient custom principles of the island change from day to day?

Because of her marriage to Joe Ligo on Penetecost, the Chief told Jenny, she can only contest the Ambae constituency on one condition. She must perform another custom ceremony, by presenting the chiefs with ten tusked pigs.

Now, Jenny can’t just slip out and buy 10 tusked pigs, like going to the supermarket. Pig and their tusks are real currency in parts of Vanuatu. They are the wealth of every village and one of their highly prized possessions.

Pigs, chosen to produce the highly valued tusks, have their top teeth knocked out.  The bottom teeth then grow into the coveted curled tusk. It is then necessary for the pig to be hand fed for the remainder of its life and tied up, in order to prevent the animal breaking or damaging the valuable tusks.

Where does Mrs Ligo find the 10 pigs she may have to pay to Chief Moli and his group of chiefs? Particularly as Chief Moli is not a resident of the island of Ambae. Will Jenny have to present the pigs on the island of Ambae, or to the chief residing on the distant island of Santo? Will the pigs have to be flown to the island of choice, for the presentation as going by ship could not be an option.The elections would be over by the time the pigs reached their destination. This may make Vanuatu, one of the first countries in the world, where pigs can fly.

Two more chiefs have now stepped into the political arena. Chief Benwel Garae of North Ambae and Chief Pascal Sese of Lolopuepue. They come from the chiefly rank of Mambuhangvulu, the second highest rank of the Ambae chiefly system. They told the local newspaper in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, the call made by Chief Moli is childish and has no substance.

Jenny would be happy to meet face to face with Chief Moli, but for some unknown reason, Chief Moli, living on the island of Santo, is not available to see Mrs Ligo.

Jenny truly deserves to be congratulated and seen as one of our modern day heroines. Jenny could make a difference in the education of the next generation. A soft spoken mother, with iron strong determination, Jenny will look after the future of the children.

Postscript: Jenny didn’t get elected this time round, so is now planning her next election campaign for four years time. I hope she makes it then. Jenny however, is an inspiration for other women to give it a go in a male orientated society in the tropics. Jenny won’t give up until her Blue Moon Opportunity comes to pass.

Take time out to find out more about the author and a genuine Blue Moon Opportunity at http://winaresort.com

The prestigious  Annandale Gallery, built as a Methodist Church in 1860, converted to a Masonic Hall in the early 1920’s now holds a unique position in the landscape of Sydney, Australia. The gallery owners have  earned their reputation in the art world, through specializing in showing the best of Australian and overseas contemporary art.

July 22nd was exceptional from the outset. The invitation spoke about rare art on view for the first time, from a remote tropical island, of the tiny South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu. Secret ceremonial art which had never before been seen outside Vanautu. A group of nine Ni-Vanuatu artists, dressed in full regalia, would perform a secret sacred dance, from the island of Ambrym, at the opening. It all sounded rather mysterious and lots of fun.

Gentle island music greeted the guests as they arrived at the tall imposing building in the heart of a trendy upmarket inner Sydney suburb. Sipping a glass of French champagne the guests buzzed with excitement, as they admired the beautifully carved wooden figures and masks. Among the artifacts was a four metre wooden tam tam (tall thin log drum), one of the world’s largest free standing musical instruments.

“This art is unique to Vanuatu and traditionally kept hidden from the outside world, because it belongs to a secret and sacred society.” David Baker, the Gallery’s curator described the art as stunning.  “Only similar piece has been found in a British museum. The art could  easily be mistaken for any piece of modern artwork. This work has the art world agog.”

Suddenly a barely clad figure stepped up to the huge drum and began a steady methodical beat on the lip of the wooden carved face. A face that had been stylized  to represent an ancestor.  The slit up the front of the drum allowing the ancestor to speak once more. The eyes representing the morning star.

Four dancers, covered from head to toe, in what looked like a tent outfit made of dry leaves, with a painted wooden mask, topped with  chicken feathers, covered the faces of the men. In a slow rhythmic, almost dreamlike shuffle, they advanced to the center of the room. With a monotone chant, they moved as one. In the middle of these four dancers, rhythmically stomping, clapping and chanting, came five other men dressed, in the full regalia of their secret society, a bright red hibiscus flower over one ear. ‘Full regalia’ being a misnomer.

Shock registered on the Sydney matrons’  faces as the five mature Ambrym men, dressed only with a wide bark belt slung low over their hips and a Nambas penis sheath, barely covering the essential part of their manhood, concentrated on their complicated sacred dance. The performers appeared to be unaware of the sensation they were causing, as their gleaming well formed buttocks jiggled up and down in time to the beat.

“It used to be that if a woman looked on these dancers she was killed. Even today, women are not permitted to touch these men,” one of the guests laughed, as she explained to me later, what she had been told. “When the dancers first entered the room it was rather difficult to know where to look. I haven’t seen that much bare buttock since my four children were babies.”

Two cultures could not be more different. Ladies who never even think about electricity when they casually switch on the lights, or put their hands under the tap for running water. Ladies who drive in their shiny modern cars to well stocked supermarkets to buy groceries from all over the world. Before them were men who sleep on woven mats on a coral floor. Water seldom comes from a tap and electricity is non existent in their home villages. Communication is often limited to the mystical language of the gong. Their supermarket is a ride in a dug out canoe to glean the fish from the ocean, or a walk out the to village garden.

Yet these dancers come from a nation voted as the Happiest Country on Earth in 2006. What is their secret? Their environmental footprint is one of the lightest in the world. Their longevity surpassing that of many other nations. A society where family relationships are valued far above possessions.

The head on collision of two cultures will long be remembered in the minds of all who attended the opening on July 22nd.

Take time out to find out more about the author and a genuine Blue Moon Opportunity at http://winaresort.com

The ancient birth place of Extreme Sport lies in the swirling mists of time, on the tiny tropical island nation of Vanuatu, the travel adventure destination of the South Pacific. It is the home of the Pentecost land dive.

Vanuatu was the inspiration for the book by James A Michener, which in turn inspired the classic musical Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1958 film South Pacific. The Television version of the original classic, in 2001, never found favour with the viewing public. The television South Pacific series of Survivor was filmed in Vanuatu.

Vanuatu rose once again to the forefront of the world stage when it was voted the Happiest Country on Earth in 2006.

World Heritage status was recently been granted to the grave site of the last Paramount Chief of Vanuatu, Chief Roi Mata. It is said more than 20 wives were buried live with the king, plus some of his men. It is believed the men had been granted the privilege of drinking the local drink kava, but the women were forbidden to do so.

The release of unique and traditionally kept secret art work, from the northern island of Ambrym has once again brought Vanuatu to world attention. The art circles of the world are agog with excitement, at these never before viewed works are seen for the first time outside Vanatu. Many pieces could be easily mistaken as contemporary pieces of artwork. Only one similar piece was found in a museum in Britain.

The towering slit, carved wooden gongs, go unnoticed by most visitors to Vanuatu, because they are so common. Yet, these drums are among the largest free standing musical instruments of the world. Gazing at the sometimes four metre high gongs, few people are aware of the connection to the hidden secrets of Vanuatu society.

The carved figure of the gong is stylized in the form of an ancestor. The eyes of the drum represent the morning star, of a society which has kept its traditional secrets well away from the peering eyes of the world.

The gongs played a very vital role in sacred ceremonies, such as funerals, initiations and dances. Carefully coordinated actions by multiple drummers, beat the lip of the gongs with a small wooden club. Informal village orchestras performed rhythmical ensembles of immense variety and complexity.

The gongs were a method also,  of communicating between neighbouring villages. Intricate messages could be sent over long distances, using the unique gong language. Neighbouring islands could even be contacted, if the atmospherics were right.

Tourists frequently carry home smaller hand-carved versions of the larger musical instrument.

In a conscious effort to not lose their ancient culture, the Chiefs of Vanuatu released some of their secret and sacred artifacts to the world. Education of the younger generation is the only way they can preserve their ancient culture. The art of the intricate language of the gong is almost totally lost among the young people.

Hopefully the sharing of their secrets, will bring about the desperately needed change in the education system of the next generation of this tiny South Pacific archipelago. The urgent need for Vanuatu, is formal education, if the younger generation is to take its rightful place in the 21^st century. There is no free education in Vanuatu.

26% of the children will never go to school. 18% will never go to high school. Only 56% will go over year 6. The government openly admits it is unable to meet the demands of the educational needs of the country. The government openly admits it is unable to meet the demands of the educational needs of the country.

Paying school fees in the Happiest Country on Earth is totally out of the question. Many villagers live on under $1 per day. Eighty percent of the population still live in the ancient traditional style. Many of the high achieving students will have to stop studies after primary school. They will never have the chance to see the inside of a high school classroom.

It has been said that for every school you do not build, you have to build a jail. It would be a tragedy if the Happiest Country on Earth had to go down this pathway.

You can take an active part in helping educate the next generation of these beautiful and ancient people through a unique Blue Moon Opportunity.

Take time out to find out more about the author and a genuine Blue Moon Opportunity at http://winaresort.com