Thursday

Today started off with lots more painting, which was followed by lots of rain creating a big mess! We had to give up on a half painted playground and leave the local boys to complete the job over the next week or so.

We finalised construction, including the additional pieces in the kindy area. Class 5,6,7 and 8 worked together to develop playground rules. A sign writer was enlisted (a lady from the parent's committee) but she will need to wait for a dry day to write up the rules. The school requested that we develop a name for the playground and our kids decided on Wallaby Park (in reference to the wallabies of St Andrews).

Tarli, Kiarra and Jess got lots of school work done and then did an awesome job teaching their classmates in class 3/4 to make woollen mandalas and finger knitting - it was very chaotic with 23 children all very excited and needing assistance. The girls had groups of 6 students each and all explored different styles of teaching and demonstrating. Although children speak some English the girls really had to work to teach the children, but they did really well and all children happily produced at least 1 mandala and some did finger knitting. The teachers teach so differently to Australia with rote learning and very few resources.

Children in the team have all had moments of shining (amazing to see what they are capable of) and moments of utter meltdown!

We had a village tour and learnt about the local way of life - cooking, crab fishing, farming etc. Very colourful, different to our way of life: no fences, very active, people in every house, a lot of dogs. Kids loved looking at all of the scattering crabs in the mud and it was very hard to pull them away from the mud and crabs to continue the tour. Rubbish gets piled and burnt next to the river - not ideal. The highlights for the kids were all the dogs and cats. Everyone getting a better appetite each day and learning to enjoy the local food. More river fish today (maybe that will be enough after seeing the rubbish system).

Preparations are underway for tomorrow's celebration with students practicing songs and the catering ladies planning the meal.

A beautiful finish to the day with a break in the rain and some of the kids (and adults) trying out the playground with lots of laughter especially when "Spooky" the dog chased all of the kids up the climbing frame (and could even climb 3 rungs!). It has been a great group of kids and workers on the playground - so much laughter and fun.

Wednesday

Today was a quiet day off for little boys and Emma. They visited the supermarket, the market, found some thongs for Noah, and spent the rest of the day swimming, playing lego and watching movies. Noah and Tane noted how stinky the fish at the market was, the limping cat by the pool and all the cane toads hopping around. Emma caught up on some project administration and homework correcting.

The workers reported it as being "bloody hot" today. Lots of construction work completed -  grinding, drilling and more drilling! Painting commenced. Sharing of resources was a challenge  - only 2 drills, 1 grinder, 2 "tookies" (hammers) and other tools, it was sometimes hard to keep track of where all of the tools were.

Byron and Riley walked to a cane field and Riley introduced Byron to sugar cane chewing. A man with a cane knife prepared it for Byron who was pretty impressed. This was followed by volleyball with some young people - its incredible how much fun can be had with laughter even when not using a lot of words. The girls practiced making God's eye wool mandalas as a craft activity to demonstrate to the class tomorrow and gots a good chunk of homework done.

We had a debrief over pancakes, followed by dinner and a movie night, complete with popcorn, while the adults enjoyed a few G&T's outdoors. The kids felt it was a really long day - perhaps reflective of the late night beforehand!

Tuesday

Lunch today was cassava, curries, Fijian donuts in syrup, coconuts, rotis and more. The kids loved the donuts!

A big day on site this morning preparing for the arrival of the concrete truck which managed to drive through power-lines in haste when the villagers had a chance to use excess concrete - luckily no one was hurt!

Tarli did a super job coordinating a game of very noisy charades with class 3 and 4. Riley and Byron, with help from Tane and Noah, played games with kinder kids (Whats the time Mr Wolf, Pirates Treasure, Duck Duck Goose) and footy with the bigger kids. The girls continued in their classroom.

Matt had a local haircut and visited the hardware store en route to work today. He also gave the men a chainsaw lesson - teaching them basic chainsaw maintenance and safety. We are not sure if he remembered to advise on steel caps and safety glasses!

After digging 3 great holes in the kinder ground we found out they were in the proposed garden area and had to fill them in and dig some more - all in good spirits.

The team had a great time at the Radisson Blu Hotel on Tuesday afternoon. The kids were famished and exhausted after a day at school and then hours on the waterslide. This resulted in a scramble for delicious spring rolls and pad thai at the Radisson's new Thai restaurant. All slightly delirious laughing at the small sizes of the meals in comparison to the generous Fijian lunches

The afternoon was actually a great opportunity for the team to see the contrasting worlds within Fiji and the kids all commented on the differences observed.

Noah's bedtime quote - "Can I have a sleep day all day tomorrow. The days are soooo long and the nights are just too short", we had to wake him up in the morning by standing him up and walking him around.

Monday

A great start to the week with Matt and Sophie appearing to be super organised when they had their family ready to depart 30 minutes early (7am!) because their room clocks were 30 minutes fast. In contrast the local volunteers were slow to arrive but eventually we had 6 strong men ready to dig holes.

And dig we did! The sand under the top clay layer made for easy digging but it was still hot hard work. Sophie enjoyed comparing the work site to her role at home writing Safe Work Method Statements. Here we have kids, dogs, grinders, bare feet, thongs, power cords, chainsaws all in the mix.

The team kids spent the day in various classrooms after having to sit at the front of assembly (99 students) and introduce themselves. The children sing so loudly that our kids would have blocked their ears if they thought it wasn't rude. Byron didn't enjoy the classroom (class 7-8) as it was so hard to concentrate on his own work and the classroom work "was way too easy". Tarli, Jess and Kiarra were all in the same classroom (class 3-4) with plenty of Australian worksheets to tackle, but faced some challenges with the noisy environment. Noah attended class 1-2 and did a great job playing with his class mates at recess. Tane went to kinder and taught them thumb war games. They were all straight in with no fuss - well done kids!!

The hardware deliveries arrived, but were incorrect - three visits later all materials on-site and ready for construction.

Morning tea and lunch was fantastic traditional Fijian food - dalo, bush bananas, roti parcels, fruit, coconuts, cake, curries. Byron and Riley played rugby with class 2,3 and 4.

Sunday

Induction day went very smoothly. A quick run through of project details and the plan for the day after a lazy breakfast and early morning swim. Then John, Matt, Byron and Riley headed off to peg out the site. Matt and Byron were introduced to Fiji with a ride on the public bus to the Namaka fresh produce and fish market for some fruit before heading to Moala Village to peg out. They were pleased to see the poles had been delivered, but dismayed to see it was incorrect. The tyres that the villagers had committed to sourcing are yet to arrive so fingers crossed they arrive on Monday as locating poles accurately is determined by the exact size of the used tyres.

While the big boys of the team were out, Sophie, Emma, Jess, Tarli, Kiarra, Tane and Noah checked out the pool and the kids explored the hotel grounds. Sophie did a run for supermarket supplies as we have the option to self cater.

All went to schedule and the reward was a team visit to the Sleeping Giant Zip Line. Located 20 minutes into the interior in rainforest, the drive there gave the team an opportunity to view typical Fijian rural countryside - fields full of sugarcane, cassava and more, tethered horses and cattle, wandering dogs, and locals enjoying a quiet Sunday.

Byron started off on the zipline with confidence and zest but was stung by a hornet as he landed. Recovered well and was off again with the gang ziplining through the forest. Kids enjoyed patting skinny cats.

Dinner at Raffles Hotel next door - a great waterslide but huge meltdown from Noah who decided to leave on his own and head out to the main road to walk back to our resort!!

Applications open for 2015 Project

Have you ever thought about spending a few days volunteering while on an overseas holidays with the kids? Imagine how it feels to see 200 children swarm over a playground they never even dreamed of, knowing that your family helped create it!

Here is an opportunity to have a brief taste of international volunteering with like-minded families working together to construct a playground in a disadvantaged school in Fiji.

Team size is strictly limited and applications close 25 February 2015.

Outcomes for your family include: -
·     A unique travel experience – 5 days immersed in rural school and village culture;
·     A tangible contribution to a disadvantaged community - sturdy play equipment at the village school;
·     An opportunity to demonstrate social responsibility and teamwork to your children; and
·     A fantastic family adventure to reflect on into the future.

When: Sunday 31 May - Friday 5th June, 2015 inclusive. Most families extend their stay in Fiji and hit the islands afterwards.

Where: Comfortable self-contained accommodation (most likely Tokatoka Resort) in Nadi – a place with a pool, bar, restaurant and air-con to come home to each day. The project site will be a rural school within easy commute from Nadi.

Cost: The project contribution of approximately $A1000 per family covers materials, tools, safe local transport to/from project site, traditional morning tea and lunch (provided by the local community) and some project management. The number of families participating determines the final cost. Some families choose to engage their children, school or workplace in local fundraising for this contribution.

More Information: If you are interested, please email us for further information. We are happy to answer any questions and welcome your expression of interest to participate.

If know of any other families that may be keen, please forward them this information.

Regards


Emma & John 
E: FamilyVolunteerFiji@gmail.com                                                 
http://familyvolunteeringfiji.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/familyvolunteeringfiji

Testimonial:

“The whole experience was absolutely brilliant.  Yes, we built a playground and watching the children enjoy it on the last day was the ultimate reward, but every day we spent at the school was rewarding in so many different ways - meeting the students & the community, learning from them, introducing them to Australian songs & games, reading with them, enjoying their food & culture and so much more! It was amazing to watch children from two such different ways of life just fit and get along together.
It’s called a volunteering project - you are a doing a good deed for others, but in fact it is the opposite.  We are the ones that benefitted.  What our family learnt and experienced from the project was unbelievable. Listening to our children six months on still telling others about their interactions and experiences is remarkable.”
Megan, Tim & kids (2014)

Day Five

Today we got a well deserved sleep-in – or at least a slower start to the morning. The team dressed in their Fijian best and headed off to the school for the much anticipated celebration. We arrived to all see students quietly sitting waiting, village elders, men, and women dressed in sulu chandras, bula shirts and dress sulus. The kava bowl was waiting for the official ceremony and the sign was completed.

The Class 7 gang did a great job completing the sign unsupervised and so the boys erected it and the celebrations began. We were treated to music and dancing by kindy and school kids, a tradition war dance (the meke) by Class 7/8 boys and a local band played music while we enjoyed a lovo – a tradition Fijian roast cooked in a pit covered in banana leaves. It was a feast fit for a king – with chicken, fish, salads, vegetables and more.

The team presented packages of donated educational resources to each teacher for use in the classroom. The team kids cut the ribbon and the playground was declared officially opened. A number of speeches were made and lots of dancing followed.

200 kids clambered over the playground for the rest of the afternoon – it was an amazing sight of colour, smiles and action, complimented by a soundscape of laughter and excited chatter. A noisy, happy farewell stirred up emotions for some as the bus drove through a sea of happy smiley kids wishing up happy long lives!  

  

We shared a team dinner back at base and packed for the islands.