A few of our projects

Our team has done an incredible job of getting projects off the ground. Project setup is always an arduous task, especially in a new culture with different concepts of time. However, the volunteers have managed to get things rolling and the last couple weeks have been really exciting.

Stoves: We built our 2nd stove in the Nabuna Village. This one went MUCH more smoothly than the first. We met with a group of about 15 women and talked with them about the advantages of cooking with an enclosed stove with a chimney. Then, we built the stove together. Luckily, Nabuna has a pond surrounded by clay, so the women had all of the clay ready before we arrived. These women are motivated and proactive, and consistently asked us questions to ensure they understood the construction process. In particular, the wife to the speaker of the village, Calara, was incredibly enthusiastic. She explained that this project was so important to her and her friends, because they can build the stoves on their own, and need not rely on their husbands.

We planned to start our 3rd stove with a women’s group in Tavua Levu this Monday. However, when we showed up we discovered that the clay they had gathered was actually dirt (the word for clay in Fijian is the same word as dirt). I spent most of that day on a treasure hunt for clay around the river, the train tracks, and the site where they used to make bricks. All searching was in vain. Finally, we visited Nabuna Village and asked to use some of their clay. They agreed and we built the stove on Tuesday in about 2 hours.

Business: We are working with small groups of individuals in the villages and in town to start small businesses or improve the small businesses they may have. We have quickly discovered that a major need in Fiji is learning saving and personal finance. Because people are so communal and generous, they often give money as soon as they accumulate it. Therefore, they don’t keep savings in case of hard-times or to invest in the future. Volunteers mold lessons around the participants and then mentor them individually to implement concepts that are taught.
Being in this culture has made me rethink the traditional model of business training. In America, we emphasize self-reliance and individual initiative. However, here those values seem anti-social and greedy. And, I have to agree that the Western model encourages self-interest often at the expense of social values. I am starting to favor more cooperative models that might better fit this culture, where village members would have a stake in the business and the profits could benefit the whole.

Gardening: Nate, Bryce, and Jacob have really become excited about teaching basic gardening techniques. They have done some gardens with the men in Rukuruku Village, who have been really proactive about duplicating the gardens throughout the village and incorporating traditional methods with the new techniques. Nico, an outgoing and fun-loving man, has agreed to come with us to other villages and teach the method.

Health: A lot of our volunteers are majoring in public health and have been able to use their knowledge. People here have been extremely excited about learning different aspects of health (First Aid, family planning, nutrition). Volunteers have been creating lessons based on the participants.

Schools: Maria, Libbie, and Piper are three young girls who have just finished their first year of university. They have absolutely astounded me at how proactive they have been about getting tutoring programs in the schools setup. We work one-on-one with struggling kids, mostly on reading comprehension. They are also talking about implementing short lessons on life-skills (relationships, drug abuse, sex, anger management, goal-setting etc)