Volunteering in Tuvalu

Hello,

I'm new to this place, just finished reading 7 pages of forum posts about Tuvalu now..
Tons of info - thanks!

I'm doing a backpackers trip on November, which is probably going to last 7-8 months or so, I'm quite flexible on the return date (I don't expect to be back later than July though).

I'll be doing the route of:

Tel Aviv(Israel) - New York(USA) - Auckland (NZ) - Suva (Fiji) - Funafuti (Tuvalu) - Suva(Fiji) - Manila (Philippines) - Bangkok (Thailand) [I'm also planning to visit Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, so flights may change for this part of South East Asia] - Tel Aviv (Israel).

1) My plans for Tuvalu are actually putting aside the backpacking sack and do a bit of volunteering, for a short term of 1-2 months.
I realize this might not be the best place to ask about volunteering, but please try to bear with me :) -

Have anyone here tried volunteering on-site in any of the Pacific islands?
I'm neither an agriculture-expert nor mariner, so I'm not sure if other fields of expertise are helpful (for one, I've got instruction skills and I can teach a lot about computers, but that probably doesn't help them too much, amirite?)..
Tried emailing a dozen organizations but the answer is usually "sorry - we aren't sure what's the right way to go about it" (or "you don't have a UK / Australian citizenship..").
I finally got an advice from a nice lady who volunteer in Tuvalu or a yearly basis, and she encouraged me to take the chance, but after reading Andy's blog , I'd like to be more prepared.

So if anybody has done this before, I'd be happy if you can share your experience about this.
How did you get it started, did you do it on site, what to expect if the budget is on me, etc.

2) About getting there - I tried looking for a fitting RTW-ticket combo, but OneWorld is the only one that involves Air Pacific and I'm not sure it actually pays off (the flight from Suva to Funafuti and back is still around $700 or so).

So I thought about a second option - of buying a RTW ticket for all the locations mentioned above, excluding Funafuti.
I know most people won't recommend taking the goverment boats from Suva to Funafuti, but since I'm in no hurry I don't mind doing sight-seeing in Fiji until the boat arrives. Worst case scenario - I could always buy a ticket via Air Pacific if I'm tired of waiting. Looks like the price is the same whether it's part of the RTW ticket or not and no matter when you book your flight..
Have I miscalculated this? I'd be glad to hear your opinion about that transportation method under those terms (or the RTW ticket including Funafuti in general)..

3) I read some posts claiming Funafuti is very crowded up to the point that it's "not recommended to visitors compared to other Pacific islands" (one guy even quoted David Stanley on that..).
Now, I'm not looking for a pleasure trip during my stay in Funafuti (otherwise I'd have gone to French Polynesia :) ), but I guess I WOULD like to know how do you see it compared to other Islands.
If they're that crowded, maybe volunteers are not that wanted there as in other Pacific islands (and if that's the case, that calls for a change of plans and I'm open for suggestions).

Thanks in advance..

I can't answer your questions regarding Tuvalu/Funafuti but I'd like to make a comment about this part of your route:

Auckland (NZ) - Suva (Fiji) - Funafuti (Tuvalu) - Suva(Fiji) - Manila (Philippines)

Although flights from Fiji to Tuvalu depart from Suva and although Suva is the Capital City of Fiji, the main international airport in Fiji is Nadi so I suggest you to look for fares to Manila out of Nadi (instead of Suva). You can go from Suva to Nadi overland. Although there are flights from Auckland to Suva, it wouldn't hurt to see if it's cheaper to fly from Auckland to Nadi.

Thanks for the input!

Funafuti didn't seem particularly overcrowded to me. It's densely populated, sure, and they have a problem with refuse collection but somewhere like Suva felt more crowded. 1-2 months is a long time to stay there if you don't have anything particular to do. Best sort out your volunteering before you get there! The visible charitable efforts I saw were sanitation-related and of Australian origin, so you probably need to look for an Australian-based charity to take you on.

Getting there: you're probably right that it doesn't make sense to add it into a RTW ticket. We bought separate tickets to get there as it wasn't included on Air Pacific's Bula Pass.

I thought with Oneworld's Global Explorer RTW ticket you could include Air Pacific flights (eg to both Suva and Funafuti) for no extra cost other than the mileage it takes to fly there?

No idea about volunteering.
In general, Tuvaluans are quite well-educated and their economy quite stable, so probably they aren't in dire need of volunteers, actually.

Funafuti is very crowded, but not in a way Westerners are used to that.
There are no highrise buildings, but in certain areas lots of people live crowded into tiny shacks with minimal, or rather non-existing, sanitation facilities. There are still lots of trees and beaches so it still looks nice enough overall. The motus away from the main island are downright idyllic.

Check out www.swapsamoa.com and www.wwoofsamoa.com. Volunteering in Samoa is well established and gives an amazing experience for people who can photograph, blog and appreciate the power of the Internet!

Greetings
TANGO (Tuvalu Association of Non Governmental Organizations) is your best bet for volunteering. Best contact is
aahomasi@gmail.com. Do not expect to get paid - Public service etc is well educated with IT skill on par with developed world however if you have computer skills there is potential for outreach programs etc. Sport development is another area that is embraced if you have the skills. Three or four options for accommodation (Hotel/Guest House/Home stay). Hotel and Guest house are around $80-$130 per night incl breakfast, home stay cheaper. Evening Meals around $7 - $10. Shops sell most goods, all imported, small Taiwanese agricultural farm produces veges, fish plentiful. Funafuti is about 15 klm long and widest part is 400 metres, population about 5000. It does not feel crowded, lots of motor scooters etc. Local ships from Fiji to Funafuti are intermittent. Shipping to outer islands from Funafuti is once per month at present (was twice). No ATM's you need to take Aussie dollars which is the national currency. People are great, friendly and there is very little crime. Go for it.

Cheers
Greg

Thanks a lot for your replies guys and girls!
I've mailed TANGO, and will look into the Samoan volunteer program.

Hope it works out! :)

About the OneWorld Global Explorer - I think it doesn't list Funafuti as one of the destinations (at least in their web-site, and they don't answer my emails..) butttt I could be wrong about that.