Boys’ and Girls’ Schools and Preschool Service Trip to Fiji
Boys’ and Girls’ Schools and Preschool Service Trip to Fiji
July 26, 2016 at 3:34 PM
The second annual Fiji Service Trip for Saint Kentigern Boys’ and Girls’ Schools and Preschool strengthened our relationship with the Nawaka District as we donated time and resources working on its facilities and with the villagers. Twenty-three students, along with parents and staff travelled to Nadi, Fiji during the term break. A considerable amount of preparation had gone into this trip, including fundraising over two terms. The group was established last November following an information evening, and meetings were held fortnightly to establish a team dynamic and to keep all participants informed of plans and prepare the students for the trip.
As with the inaugural trip in 2015, there were specific jobs that were planned for the village and school community of the Nawaka District. These included upkeep of the Nawaka Medical Dispensary (which had been the focus of the 2015 trip) as well as the installation of playground equipment for the Preschool and the creation of raised garden beds for both the school and community to benefit from. As with 2015, a container of donated goods had been arranged to be shipped to coincide with our visit with a focus on clothing, footwear and stationery to be distributed amongst the village.
After transferring to the accommodation, the group made the journey to Nawaka for the first time. This was so the group could be officially welcomed into the village and enable work to begin immediately the next morning. The welcome ceremony took place with the Headmaster of Nawaka District School and the village spokesperson speaking and the Saint Kentigern community responding in kind.
Customs issues meant that the container arrived a couple of days late, but this did not deter the group in any way. Supplies were purchased that enabled work to begin on cleaning, painting and digging gardens. The groups operated on a rotation system whereby some spent time in the school undertaking reading, sports and technology-based activities with the Fijian children, while others were working in the gardens and on the dispensary.
When the container finally arrived, it meant that all hands were on deck to unload and allocate items to the appropriate places. Clothing, shoes and some furniture were laid out in the community hall before the villagers oversaw the distribution of the items amongst members of the community. Boxes of books, stationery, educational resources and shelving units were taken to the school for dispersal by the teaching staff at a later date.
The students were involved in this process and then taken to the local rugby stadium where the Nawaka age group sides were playing. Saint Kentigern cheered Nawaka on and many of those playing had been interacting with our students on the days prior. This was a fantastic way for Saint Kentigern to show support of this community outside of the donated goods and time.
Other major building jobs that were completed once the container arrived were the installation of a swing set and fort at Nawaka Preschool, and installing a gutter system at the medical dispensary. This was completed just in time for some rain to test out the integrity of what had been done! Also in the container was a supply of donated tiles from The Tile Warehouse. These were allocated for use inside the dispensary though the late arrival of the container meant this work wasn’t able to be completed. Provision was made for local tilers to do this after we had left.
Three raised gardens were also created complete with an irrigation system. Again, this was hard manual labour that all of the group could take part in and something that the Fijian people were very keen to see in use. There were even crops planted in these garden beds before the group left. Our group was also able to undertake some arts and crafts with the Fijian children, which was hugely successful.
On the final evening in the village, the group returned after arguably the most physical day of the tour to be part of a farewell ceremony and share a meal (a lovo) which the locals had prepared. The group took part in the formalities of the farewell ceremony and the message came back very clearly that the community felt a debt of gratitude for what we had achieved in a very small space of time. After the meal, the Nawaka community sang and performed a haka for us and in turn Saint Kentigern responded with our national anthem and a rendition of ‘Tutira Mai Nga Iwi’. This was an amazing end to our ‘official’ time in the village.
The next day was spent having some deserved rest and relaxation with a trip to an island for the morning, followed by a cruise back to the mainland in the afternoon. The next morning saw the group return to the village one last time where the final piece of the swing set was attached at the Preschool and the group could say their final farewells. Again, thanks and gratitude was offered to the group and the school sang ‘Isa Lei’, a traditional Fijian song of farewell. After we had left Fiji, the chief and leaders of the village had a meeting to discuss the visit and the feedback was very positive about the impact we had had.
