Feeding a crew of 34 can be quite a daunting task for one person. So, here on the Esperanza we have two crew members working hard in the galley to make sure the crew does not go hungry. Assisting Pato, our Argentinian cook, in preparing our delicious meals is one of our Pacific Activists, Ana Jitoko.
Ana is the ´salad master´, making sure that we have our daily serving of fresh veggies in every meal. Her garlicky avocado salad is a bestseller. If someone comes even just 10 minutes late for dinner that person would have to scrape the bottom of the avocado bowl!
Ana comes from Fiji and is actively involved with the Greenpeace Suva office. She helps in maintaining and monitoring the media database across the region as well as giving support for other campaigns. Her involvement with Greenpeace has given her the opportunity to work as an assistant cook on Greenpeace ships.
´My work can be stressful, exciting and tiring but it is also awesome when you have passion for the work you do. And this passion has brought me this far, to work with the Greenpeace ships once again.´ Ana reveals that she has a Diploma in Accounting, ´At times it can be very challenging when what you do is totally different from you studied in college. However, that did not deter me from pursuing other skills.´
Despite her culinary duties, Ana still finds time to join Greenpeace actions. Just two days ago, she and her fellow Pacific Activist, Josefa Nasegui, unfurled a protest banner ´No return from Overfishing´ against a Japanese purse seiner. Being part of the campaign against illegal fishing in the Pacific has a special meaning for Ana, ´It has been an eye opener for me to witness the harvesting of our tuna in the Pacific. The Pacific Fisheries, like in most of Pacific Island Countries, are our main source of income. I would like to see that our tuna are fished at a sustainable level so there will be tuna for our future generations.´
