Salea’a’umau village. When we think of fishing we usually imagine someone casting a line into the water and reeling in their catch. ...

Matafa’a canoe project update: All but one tree chopped down and moved to the finishing area in the village. (Canoe total: 16) One tree...

The incredible experiences are piling up so fast I can’t write about one without the next one happening and clouding the details of the...

Matafaa, Samoa If you’ve ever spent any time in a rural area like this, or on a farm, you know that the romantic notion of a single...

Matafaa, Samoa, 3-24-12 what you can't see in this picture is that it is pounding rain! Finding a big tree to turn into a canoe is like...

Salea’a’umua, Samoa, 3-16-12 Meeting up with Nanai from the Community Centered Sustainable Development Project (CCSDP) to visit the...

Matafaa, Samoa The other night I was sleeping—early, admittedly, about 9 p.m.—when the door opens and in comes the high chief, the man...

It’s hard to put into words, so much was going on when I arrived at Tuilagi’s house for umu—the traditional meal cooked in a pile of hot...

The morning light creeps down the steep verdant hills behind the village as the sun rises in the east. Already, I can hear the sound of...

Matafaa from across the bay As I drive around the lush southwest corner of the island and toward the village of Matafaa, the road...

Apia, Samoa, 3-9-12 Jumping across the International Date Line in the Pacific is always a bit confusing. Are we three hours behind, but...

I hope everyone had a pleasant Thanksgiving. . As I reflected on my life, I felt gratitude for my family and friends, and all the...

In Hambantota, a town in southern Sri Lanka which was especiall hard hit by the tsunami in 2004, MicroAid built a house for the Soodin...

MicroAid provided windows and doors to two tsunami families who, after their homes were washed away, were just handed money to rebuild....

Mrs. Nagakanni’s husband, a fisherman, had been abducted by the LTTE and then imprisoned for seven years.  He was away when the tsunami...

Talofa Everyone I want to thank you for all the great emails and words of support while I was on the fact-finding mission in Samoa. . ....