We created a school yearbook because Poka grew curious about my camera
By Matt Crichton
Western Samoa, 2007-09
I grew up in the moss, drab gray skies and slow drizzle of the Pacific Northwest. When I arrived in Western Samoa I was surrounded by bright colors and none more beautiful than the walls of a traditional Samoan house, which is called a falé in the Samoan language.
My room on Upolu island was in a falé made of a corrugated iron roof held over a 30-foot-square slab of concrete and held up by various-sized tree trunks. My house had no walls. Just six or seven brightly colored lava lava skirts of red, yellow, blue and green that rustled in the warm South Pacific breeze. On a sweltering afternoon, all I had to do was walk a few steps from my room to the Pacific Ocean for a swim.
My host family lived in the rest of the falé which was large enough for the extended family of eight. One of the smallest and most curious was little Ina, who frequently popped in to ask about my possessions. I was happy to show and share my things with Ina, but my Samoan father, Tuala Peniamena, built a large lockable chest where I could keep my belongings, just in case.
My Peace Corps assignment at Lefaga Secondary School was to teach about 90 students and teachers the basics of desktop computers. The school had another PC volunteer previously teaching about computers, but they wanted to expand their knowledge further.
Teaching photography
On my second week in the village, I decided to take my camera out of my bag to photograph the walls of color in my falé and my view of the water.
“Can I take a picture?” Poka asked me. She had apparently been watching me photograph my falé for some time.
Poka was a curious and assertive member of my host family and an 11th-grader at Lefaga School, but as I found out later, also a quick learner.
I was hesitant to hand her my camera because it was an old digital camera and I wanted to record my Peace Corps experience for two years. I also didn’t know if she knew how to take photographs, but I thought it would be a good experience for her, and maybe also help to build a positive relationship.
Poka is a fa’afafine, Samoans who are a recognized third gender, feminine and are highly accepted in their culture. There were two fa’afafines in my Samoan family, Poka and Peni.
“Sure, Poka,” I replied. “Stand over here so I can show you how.”
I showed her which buttons to press, how to auto-focus, and how to zoom in and out. She was a quick learner of this new gadget. She giggled with delight, and other children from the village began to gather around to see their faces reflected back at them on the viewfinder of my camera.
Lefaga’s yearbook
Poka’s skill with my camera proved invaluable when I realized the students at school could succeed by creating a school yearbook.
I prefer to teach using hands-on projects and given the students’ skill level, I was sure that producing a yearbook was do-able. I knew it would be a stretch, but as a teacher I encourage my students in every lesson, and I knew with my support they could do it. The day when Poka and her friends could see their faces reflected back at them and see instant feedback of those images was the day the seed was planted for creating a school yearbook.
In my second year at Lefaga School, and with the principal’s blessing, my computer studies students, grades 9 through 12, started creating the school’s first yearbook. We began by using my camera to take pictures of all the students and staff.
What I first thought would just be a very large teaching project for me was a publishing project that was to become a source of great pride for the entire school and community. Before I left Samoa to return to the Pacific Northwest we completed the publication with introductions by the head boy and head girl, principal and vice principal. We printed a pile of hard copies to hand out, and I hope a few copies are still floating around somewhere in Samoa.
I’m proud of Poka’s efforts in my computer classes, I believe that little camera helped me as a teacher and visitor in a country very different from my own. All because of a few pictures.
Poka is now Records Supervisor in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Western Samoa.
