Archive for the Fiji Category

I Now Call Fiji Home - Abbey Paterson

Lattitude volunteer Abbey Paterson has recently extended her 8 month placement for another 4 months, because of of the attachment and commitment she has developed for her placement; calling it her new home. Read all about her experience below:

I have spent a wonderful 8 months living in Fiji as a Lattitude Global Volunteering volunteer. This year has shown me things I never expected to see and thrown challenges at me which I would have never expected to be able to deal with. Fiji is now somewhere I call my home and I am very excited to inform you that it will be my home for a further 4 months, as I have extended my stay as a volunteer to include the third school term.

I was originally placed in Bureta Village on Ovalau, where I spent 9 weeks volunteering at the Kindergarten and the primary school. I fell in love with the people in Bureta, most of all the children I spent time with. I have many life long memories from my time there and I made some very close friends during the short time I lived in Bureta. Unfortunately my host family were experiencing family issues and it was decided by Lattitude that I, along with my volunteering partner, would be removed from the placement. On return home, I hope to arrange to work with the charity ‘Children of Fiji’ to provide a box of resources for the Kindergarten in Bureta, as it is where I spent the majority of my time while volunteering in Bureta.

Bureta Kindergarten

One of the benefits of volunteering overseas with an organisation such as Lattitude, is that they support you in the unlikely event that your placement doesn’t work out. My country manager Joanne Rymell arranged for us to stay in accommodation close to her home on Ovalau. After two weeks, Joanne had a new placement arranged. My volunteering partner and I would be moving to Lovoni village, situated in the interior crater of Ovalau. Lovoni is a hardcore traditional village, where life is centred on farming, house duties and church activities. There is no running water to this village and we are a one hour carrier ride away from shops in the town of Levuka. I arranged to extend my stay to include third term as I have always felt that a long term placement is important when volunteering abroad. This is very much true for a Fijian village as you really do become a member of your village during your stay. With one term in Lovoni complete and another to go, I will return to my village ready to embrace my final term as a volunteer in Fiji. During the first term in Lovoni I was able to redecorate the library, which I will be taking charge of for the remainder of my time in Lovoni. It was clear that the school needed a library which the children were excited to use and somebody willing to spend the time organising the books. In addition to that I have been teaching classes when teachers are away and found the children respond so well to an English speaking teacher in the class room. In only one term I have seen the conversational English of the students advance a great deal from when I arrived. The children of Lovoni have not had a volunteer in 5 years, so it has been a challenge to get them to use their English, as it is common for a teacher to use their mother tongue of Fijian. I have been able to integrate with the staff well, even starting up a tea and coffee club every day at recess, as teachers didn’t spend much time together previously.

My Accommodation in Lovoni Village

One of my biggest challenges in Lovoni village is the issue of running water. The school has running water at most times, however the village does not. As I am accommodated in the village I bathe and wash my clothes in the river which runs through Lovoni village. I learnt to wash my clothes on a ‘papa’(a plank of wood) to scrub my clothes on, while sitting in the river. This was a challenge, not only because it was completely new to me, but also because the amount of time I had to spend after school washing in the river. I spent the first 3 months of washing my clothes in the river every day after school, often the sun would set and I would still be scrubbing away down at the river. Luckily the teachers offered for us to use their water up at their school accommodation, allowing us to spend less time at the river and more time with our host family. Every day I still bathe at a small pool in the river just outside my village, usually with the company of my school students. Some days this is the last thing you want to do, especially when you are sick. However, most of the time I find myself laughing with some of my students while we all take a bath in the river. I must be one of the few lucky volunteer teachers in the world who bath with their students to join them!

Lovoni Kindergarten

Embracing village life has been the most enjoyable part of my stay so far. I can honestly say I feel part of my community. As a volunteer living in the village my experience is so full of culture. Life is simple, but that has allowed me to view life through new eyes. I have seen how Fijians can enjoy life with all their heart, inspiring me to follow suit.

Fijian Landscape

With each village event my eyes are opened to the wonders of Fijian culture. I was lucky enough to take part in the preparations for a funeral in my host family, where days are spent preparing for the feast after the burial. I joined my host family for all of the preparations for the funeral, where I learnt to appreciate why maintaining our traditions can add so much value to our lives.

My First Host Na Cooking on the Open Fire

Being lucky enough to be placed in Lovoni village, the original village of Ovalau, I have learned a lot about the history of Ovlalau and Fiji before the country came to be a British colony. The story of how Chief Cakabau came to be the king of Fiji, involves Lovoni being the only village in all of Fiji not to be conquered by Chief Cakabau.

My aims for the third term include branching out to teach more classes throughout the school. Also to become Lovoni schools first librarian, so that the children can spend time with me in the library enjoying the books they have while strengthening their reading abilities. As my host mother is the head of the Lovoni Women’s Club, I have involved myself in helping her to arrange for the funding of a new hall with kitchen for the women of Lovoni. Currently the women do not have a hall to teach each other skills such as weaving and sewing, which is an important way for the women to earn money and maintain their traditional skills. Furthermore there is no place for the women’s club to keep their cooking utensils and sewing machine, meaning women must keep them in their own homes where they are not used appropriately nor kept safe. To add to this, it falls upon the women of Lovoni to cook for any event in the village, and as it stands there is no place for them to do this. Therefore it is vital that a kitchen is added to the hall where the women can work together to cook for the village. There is a long term benefit to a hall and kitchen owned by the Women’s club, as it can be rented out for family events and the money gained can be put back into the Women’s club.

At current we are awaiting a quote for the costs of the building. When this is received I will begin enquiring to organisations which may be able to assist in the costs of building a hall for the Women’s Club. I already have produced a list of organisations within Fiji and in the UK which I can write to, but any additional contacts you may be aware of that would be interested in supporting this project, please let me know via email.

How Volunteering Helps: Emma Sutton, Fiji

One of our volunteers Emma Sutton recently returned from her Lattitude placement at Lautoka School for Special Education in Fiji. We caught up with her to ask a few questions about her experience:

What roles and duties did you have?

I took the role of IT teacher as the school had recently had an IT suite donated. Despite the new IT suite, not many of the teachers knew how to use the computers so not only did I teach the students about the computers, I also taught the teachers. I taught every class in the school once per week for half an hour. The lessons varied depending on the age and ability of the class. Some of the younger classes just learnt how to use the mouse through paint, while others learnt about Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. The teachers counted on me to try and fix anything technical as well as teaching IT, setting up projectors and using the internet to find information.

I also taught Art and Craft. I saw each class once a week again for Art lessons. These we just fun lessons for the children. All of the children loved this lesson as it was relaxing and enjoyable for them, a break from the intensity of their other lessons. Each week I taught the classes how to make something different.

In addition to teaching IT and Art and Craft I assisted with Sports lessons. I took the role of Sports teacher for a few weeks while the teacher was off sick where I taught netball and athletics. I also assisted with the swimming lessons each Friday, going into the pool with the children, supervising them and teaching the younger children how to swim. I was also given the responsibility of assembly one week where I had to speak on the subject of perseverance and determination.

In addition to this, I assisted children with their homework in the hostel in the evenings. I mainly assisted with basic maths and the alphabet. I also participated in activities with the whole school such as the celebrations of Autism Day, Holi, Easter and the visit of the Attorney General to officially open the school’s IT suite. I was given the responsibility, as the IT teacher, to speak to the Attorney General about the school’s IT programme and how it could be improved.

What were your goals and did you achieve them?

In my application form I listed my main goal as gaining valuable insight into the cultures and lives of people in other countries in order to improve my knowledge and perspective of the world before going on to study International Politics in University in September. I feel this goal was achieved with my voluntary work in Fiji because I learnt about the culture there, not just that, it also taught me how two completely different cultures are now intertwined. Being in Lautoka city, I saw a lot of both the iTaukei and Indian cultures, how they have both been accepted and have now created a unique Fijian culture. I was made aware of the tensions, political and social, Fiji has dealt with in the past, and this insight can only be beneficial for my course.

Another of my goals was to gain greater independence in preparation for the future and University life. I feel I achieved this goal as I managed to find my way around a completely new place. I lived in a country with people I’d never met before arriving there, for three and a half months, which is a great achievement in my eyes as before volunteering in Fiji I found it very difficult to hold conversations with people I didn’t know. This has definitely prepared me for university as I hoped, as I will be meeting many new people there. I also believe I gained greater independence from the fact that my volunteering partner, Becky was visually impaired and needed extra assistance to find her way around, which I managed to provide. I managed to find my way around the town and work out where we had to go for the both of us as it was not possible for Becky to do this.

I also hoped my experience in Fiji would help my personal development and lead to a better understanding of myself, which it did. I now have a better understanding of what I want to gain from life, and what career I wish to follow.

My final goal was to give something back to the world. I know I am very fortunate to have had a good education that is ongoing, where many children in developing countries don’t have that same chance. My goal was to help at least one child with their education. I knew that even if just one child learned something from me that it would be worthwhile. I know very well that I achieved this goal, because I managed to teach every child how to use a computer. Before I started teaching there some of the children could not use a computer or even know what to use it for, however, when I left, every child in the school could use a computer for basic tasks.

One of my pupils in particular showed great improvements while I was volunteering there. A girl named Kaye with Down’s syndrome was unable to use a computer before I got there; in fact she found it very difficult to communicate and show any kind of emotion with people. However, I was able to show her how to use mouse and a computer. She can now use paint on the computer and also work out how to set it up. She even started showing emotion and smiling more after she learnt about the computers. Her class teacher said she had shown more improvement in the three and a half months I was there than in the whole of the previous school year! I definitely feel that I made a difference to the education of the students of Lautoka School for Special education through my IT lessons.

Would you volunteer overseas again?

I would absolutely love to volunteer with Lattitude again in the future; I had so much fun, a brilliant experience that I will never forget! I also feel quite content that I have actually made a difference to people’s lives and education. I couldn’t thank Lattitude more for the wonderful experience and support provided; I really hope to volunteer again someday!

Being A Lattitude Volunteer In Fiji: Laurel’s Story

So my placement in Fiji is a teaching placement, at a primary school called Marist Convent in Ovalau. Myself and another Lattitude volunteer Ashlee are here for 2 school terms and the first school term we were teaching.

During our first term, we found the library which had been neglected and needed a lot of organising and tidying so we asked our head teacher if we could change our role to librarians when we began term 2. The first four or five weeks we worked hard to organise, clean and decorate the library and then we had a donation of a few hundred books from an Australian charity called Bula Books, so we added these fantastic aids to the collection of books and organised a timetable for classes to come in and have the opportunity to read and borrow books.

We spoke to teachers about students who need help with their reading and began a 40 minute reading programme twice a day every weekday inviting a few of those students who need extra help from each class for one on one sessions. It’s been fantastic to watch the students grow in confidence when they read and very rewarding.

We decided that the children would benefit more if they could come to the library more than once a week and outside of class time too so we began staying in at recess and lunchtimes and made a timetable for different activities, quiet reading, storytelling sessions, colour and crafts and fun and games. The quiet reading sessions have been really popular, we have almost 50 children lined up outside the library, the response has been fantastic. The children come in and pick books to read and sit with their friends or by themselves and it’s wonderful to see them so interested. They eat their lunch and then come straight to the library to spend as much time as possible reading the new books; it’s really wonderful to see.

I really am having such a wonderful time here, I’ll be sad to say goodbye and go home at the end of next month!

Laurel Dunne

Fiji, placement visit to Vunidawa Distrct School

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Fiji, placement visit to Sigatoka

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A focus on Fiji

Another paradise that Lattitude offers its volunteers is Fiji, home to just under a million people and often the holiday of choice for many celebrities due to its lush landscapes, tropical climate and clear blue water.

It’s made up of 333 islands, so it’s an ideal tourist destination – for those who can afford it, that is. Only 110 islands are actually inhabited, but the main island Viti Levu and the smaller communities of Ovalau and Moturiki are where our volunteers are placed, often as community teachers. And that comes with an experience that no price tag can afford!

Viti Levu is where the populous capital, Suva, is located. It’s referred to as the ‘mainland’ and where the cultural and financial hub of Fiji lies. There aren’t as many beaches as there are on other islands, but there is still a wealth of stunning scenery to keep you mesmerised, such as waterfalls, mountains and national parks, as well as the vibrant Fijian culture.

Ovalau is the sixth largest island in Fiji, located 60km north of the capital Suva. It boasts a volcanic crater complete with lagoon and mountains despite being just over six miles wide. As it’s located a bit of a way off, there’s an airport which can take you to the capital, as well as a ferry service to take you across the many islands.

Moturiki has a population of 2000 and is made up of 10 villages, about 25 miles away from Suva – but even though it’s near, it’s a far cry from the capital city. The oldest human remains (from about 10,000 BC) were found on this island so there’s a lot of history to be found as well as the usual volcanoes and waterfalls!

In terms of the actual country, it’s a former British colony (hence the St. George Cross on their flag) so unsurprisingly one of the island’s official languages is English, making it easy for potential volunteers to communicate in their work. They’re also very passionate about rugby, and boast one of the best teams on the planet, so come match day, you’ll probably notice a similar atmosphere to one at home even though it’s over 10,000 miles away!

If you were to volunteer here, then you’d be interacting with the local community on a daily basis. Being a community teacher is by no means a simple job – you might be placed in a rural kindergarten one week and the next in a primary school in the heart of the city. If English is your native language then you’re sure to do well in a job where communication is key, and if you’re willing to get stuck in then you will no doubt fit into the warm communities as if you’d lived there all your life.

Check out some photos from our volunteers that volunteered in Fiji.