Friwen

The Kalabia was out in Raja Ampat last week, where we delivered an education program at the small village of Friwen. Friwen is actually pronounced “free when”… funnily, as it turns out, because with the speed and flow of life in this hamlet, the answer is invariably, ‘anytime’! A german film crew came out for part of a day to catch us in action as well.



Here are just a few photos from this program. It never ceases to amaze me that in such a short time, we are able to create intense bonds with communities, while at the same time, have so much learning and environment-loving going on!










Obviously, our program is closely linked with the sea, and since our activities are interactive and experiential… that means we have to be close to the sea in general, and thus we spend a lot of time near shore. During our last program, I had occasion to watch and appreciate lots of the activities happening on a tiny island beach. Children in Raja Ampat are virtually born in the water! They are learning to swim by the time they can walk… and by the time they enter primary school, they are swimming like fishes!









When we take the program participants snorkeling, the main thing we have to worry about is that the kids don’t eat the bite-tabs on the snorkels.




The covered hut on the jetty at Friwen was host to a few conservation-minded messages – here is one of my favourites:


It reads: Once the last tree has been cut down, the last river has been polluted, the last fish has been caught, only then will people realize that they cannot eat money.