Ryan talked with us about his experience at the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) in January and thanked the club Port Nicholson Rotary for sponsoring his attendance. There were some big days exercising first thing and going all day doing leadership training until around midnight. Some of the RYLA participants are now joining Rotaract which is inspiring and he is helping to mentor some of them.
Ryan spent 10 months on a Volunteer Service Abroad assignment in the Cook Islands last year. The experience was enlightening and different from any experience he could have in Aotearoa. A great example Ryan gave was the ability to get media attention since not much happens in the Cook Islands he was able to just call them up or go into the office for an interview and advocate on a topic such as helping Turtle survival. The project involved getting citizens to take photos of turtles so that the team could monitor their movements as the patterns on their body and shell are much like our fingerprints but more obvious making them easy to identify. This is important work for an at risk species. Propagating plants was another project and a visit to Aitutaki Island Ryan's first business trip! Once on the island he was offered a coconut with a single use plastic straw in it so his first thought was "mmm" bit of work to do here to make this place sustainable.
Ryan innocently entered into the Wearable Arts Show in the Cook Islands and thought he would be handing out tickets but I ended up in a dress complimented with makeup. It was the first LGBT celebration and Ryan was wearing a layered skirt. He had to admit to becoming a pride icon and even had a sandwich paid for by a member of the public afterwards. The beautiful blue skirt made of old church curtains was sold for $1,000 with proceeds going to the pride charity.
Ryan also had a "business trip" to the uninhabited island Takatia, another of the 15 islands, where there is a rat infestation. Ryan and his team made some tracks on the islands and set it up as a massive rat trap with rat poison. Sailing back by rudder driven boat rather than steering wheel was an experience he will never forget as it was an insight into the explorers navigational skills.
The islands all have issues with water and concerns arose with a lack of water so they had to drink coconut water. To do this you need to "ride the horse" which Ryan originally thought he was going to go riding on horse back but it involved sitting on a stool or box and husking coconut for the water and using the flesh to make oil. Ryan's diet included crabs and since they couldn't eat the whole catch in order to eat them fresh they had to hang some in the trees to kill and eat later. Line fishing for tuna was also a good source of food.
Ryan enjoyed playing cricket and football in Pukapuka which is an island closer to Samoa than Rarotonga but the locals are very proud to be part of the Cook Islands. Ryan represented Pukapuka in the Cook Island Games. He was told "look boy if you don’t win the cricket you will be deported." There were 30 people in the team and Ryan was selected and the team won. His prize apparently was a local woman and a piece of land. We hope you don't go back to claim your prize and instead stay here in Wellington as part of the club. Thanks for sharing your experiences on this fabulous time away.