1963-64 assigned to teach at the Teacher’s Training College  in Bikenibeu Tarawa

An unforgettable experience of life on a tiny atoll

After a month’s wait in Fiji we boarded a small ship delivering and collecting goods at many of the islands in the Gilbert and Ellice Island chain. Seven days later we were at our destination Tarawa.The capital what is now is Kiribati .

As a recent school leaver all of the students at the TTC were several years my senior

Their generosity and kindness knew no bounds

I shared a house with 5 other volunteers, 3 school leavers and 2 graduates.  Three taught at the local high school and the fourth built the new landing strip!

Our house was adjacent to the  beach and thus evenings and weekends were often spent in the water, canoeing, surfing or catching fish

In our time there we built a youth club, a runway for the first land planes, organized the first inter-island sports competition, and ran film nights at the local TB clinic.

A very sad for all of us in the summer of 64 when we flew back to Fiji and on to the UK