The Rising Tides of Beru

These are the memories of Jackie and Roger Bunyan who spent from 1976 until 1978 on the small atoll island of Beru in the Pacific Ocean.

The first section of the book tells the story of this newly married couple when they worked for Voluntary Service Overseas. Barely in their twenties, they worked in an outer island boarding school teaching a variety of subjects to local pupils. The book describes the many delights and also the challenges during their time on the island. Over their two years, the couple developed an affection for these unique islands and their inhabitants.

The second part of this book leaps forward four decades after leaving. It outlines the threat that rising tides are having on the island of Beru along with the other islands of Kiribati. Of the 33 islands of this Pacific nation, only one island stands more than two or three metres above the ever rising water! With global warming creating higher and higher tides, what is the future for Kiribati?