Hannah Bigley
Raising Funds to help lift children out of poverty in rural Fiji
Fundraising for Think Pacific Foundation
Story
In March, I’ll be joining a Student Volunteer Project to work with children in some of the poorest rural villages of Fiji
Why Fiji?
- 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 in February 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.
Why I wish to contribute:
After hearing about the needs of Fijian children and the great work set out by theThink Pacific Foundation I decided to take part by raising awareness, vital funds and 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 February’s cyclone.
What will I be doing?
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.
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.
My Fundraising Target:
My Fundraising Target:
I am aiming to raise £1295, which goes directly to the Think Pacific Foundation.
PLEASE NOTE: This Just Giving page does not fund my flights, insurance, injections or travel. All donations made here go directly to the Think Pacific Foundation.
PLEASE NOTE: This Just Giving page does not fund my flights, insurance, injections or travel. All donations made here go directly to the Think Pacific Foundation.
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.
Over 1/3 of the money I raise will be used directly to provide long term support to children, from purchasing books, stationary and school resources to sports equipment and helping the charity fund teacher training for locals, and achieving building projects in areas most badly impact by the cyclone.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
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