In June 2018 I’ll be joining a Student Volunteer Project to work with children in some of the poorest rural villages of Fiji. I will be participating in the Cardiff 5k run in May to try and raise money for this charity and help provide for the children in the Fijian villages.

Many people are not aware that over 1/3 of children in rural Fiji live below the poverty line. Schools in remote areas of Fiji have a severe lack of teachers, teaching resources and many families struggle to meet their daily needs. A cyclone, which took place in Fiji recently left over 200 schools damaged or destroyed entirely. There is a severe lack of teaching resources and communities have also lost their farms and sustainable livelihoods. Over 75% of children currently do not have access to fresh water or proper sanitation.

After hearing about the needs of Fijian children and the great work set out by the ThinkPacific team I decided I wanted to spend my summer volunteering for this amazing cause. I feel that I can make a real difference on this project by teaching and delivering youth programmes, which are set out to lift these children out of poverty.

Think Pacific is a small charity, who are in partnership with the Fijian Ministries of Education, Youth and Sports and Health. They are providing resources for children, making a sustainable difference and helping to re-build communities and schools devastated by the cyclone.

I will be supporting Fijian children who are living in the poorest and most vulnerable areas, by teaching them subjects such as Maths, English and even Sports. Due to the severe lack of teachers and teaching resources, these subjects may not otherwise be available for these children. Think Pacific run kindergarten programmes, improve children’s literacy, increase access to fresher water, sanitation and access to health, build schools and use sport as a means to increase children’s social skills, confidence and self-esteem. They are recognised as a key partner for the Fijian Government in their task to provide opportunities for future generations of children living in the remotes villages and islands, and they achieve this through delivering university volunteer projects.

The aim: To spend one month living at the heart of a Fijian village as we deliver basic education lessons, create an early years programme and introduce sport for the first time to uplift children. We’ll be aiming to increase literary rates by at least 40% and provide fun and engaging activities for children who have been through so much during last years’ cyclone. I want to challenge myself, my skills and my abilities - to take on an experience that will be testing, cultural diverse and put me out of my comfort zone as I live at the heart of a Fijian village and see how people live in more fragile and remote environments.

Your kind support will help me achieve my target to volunteer with the charity and take part in training so we can deliver the project aims really effectively.

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