In June 2019, I will be travelling to rural Fiji to undertake a youth and sports development volunteer project to assist the local children. My project supports a small charity, Think Pacific Foundation (1162190) who work in remote villages, where over one third of children grow up in poverty and over 200 schools were damaged during Cyclone Winston in February 2016. Think Pacific is a government backed project, which aims to replenish school resources, provide teacher training, rebuild essential facilities, and increase standards of education, extracurricular activities and sports.

During my one month project I will be living with a Fijian family, and will work in a local school during the week. Specifically, I will be helping to educate them on basic maths, literacy and science, before moving to arts and sports in the afternoon. As a team, we will also donate vital school and sports resources to enable our good work to continue long term. Through the project my aim is to gain a deeper insight into life in the developing world and use skills gained through my education and extracurricular interests to make a personal difference to these children. I hope to immerse myself into the local culture, challenge myself and contribute globally. 

As a fundraising activity, I will be running the Simply Health Great Bristol 10K in May, which will require a lot of training and commitment as I have never ran anything near this distance. I will also be saving as much as I can from a part-time catering job and online tutoring. To achieve my goal of volunteering and supporting this project in Fiji, I am aiming to raise £1000 towards the charity. Over one third of this funding will be used directly to support the children in Fiji by supplying resources, and supporting long term educational initiatives for children and local teachers. Any extra funding will go towards flights, insurance and injections, which I will be paying for separately.

This experience will be difficult and challenging - but definitely rewarding and exciting. Any contribution large or small will be greatly appreciated, and will go a long way in Fiji. Thank you for your support, and please donate if you can!

Think Pacific Website