Think Pacific Gap Year Volunteer Blog

Volunteer blogs – First impressions of Batiki Island

simon — Sat, 05 May 2012 10:30:01 +0000

Rachel & Fiona

Looking out of class 3&4 across the sports field and through the towering palm trees, the crystal blue sea appears never ending. It couldn’t be any more different from home. The children’s singing echo’s through the village and I can’t stop smiling; they are genuinely ecstatic that we are finally here. Just along the beach in Yavu village, Kindi is full of giggles and laughter. There we spend mornings building lego houses, drawing pictures and brushing teeth after snack time. The days are long and the work is hard but heading back to our families after dinner, looking up at the millions of stars, you can understand why we truly appreciate this once in a lifetime experience.

Hannah Cornish

The first couple of weeks in Fiji have been amazing. Although the weather wasn’t great to start off, we have had a few sunny days and there’s been plenty to do when its raining. Spending the first few days on Caqalai was awesome to get to know the team more and have fun, but the best part was arriving on Batiki. After 2 and a half hours on rough seas we were greeted by the beautiful scenery and amazing people. Meeting my Fijian family was weird at first, but they made me feel at home with lots of lemon cake and tea. I’m on the build for the first two weeks and even though its hard work, seeing the progress of it every day is so rewarding. It means so much to the people of Mua. My first few weeks have been so good I can’t put it all into words, but I would recommend to book yourself a place on Think Pacific if your thinking about it as I’ve already learnt so much with 8 weeks still to go. Anyway it was just a little blog to let everyone at home know I’m enjoying myself and doing fine and miss you all. See you in 8 weeks.

Natalie & Harriette

Imagine a beautiful postcard, we are there! We arrived here in Mua village, Batiki after a 4 hour boat ride on Monday to the whole village singing, clapping and making the most incredible welcoming sound. Next day was started unloading all the materials for the community centre onto the island, in preparation for our big build. The house Natalie and I are staying in is the ‘villa’ of the village and unlike any other Fijian home. We feel so honoured to stay here. We both started the project as teaching assistants, Natalie in classes 5&6 and Harriette in classes 1&2. It is a privilege to work with kids who are so eager to learn. Our afternoons so far have been spent on the build. All we can say is it is going to feel amazing when it is completed. A few have been ill since being in this different climate, but hopefully this will not take a toll on our experience and we will get used to the hot temperatures. All in all Mua village and the people living here is more than we could imagine. We could not have asked for a better team to work with. Everyone is getting on so well and the leaders are ones to look up to. Lets get going!

Here’s a few more photos from our expedition team on Batiki Island, and a few comments from our volunteers who wanted to update friends and family back home too!

Rachel & Fiona;

Hannah Cornish;

Natalie & Harriette;

Volunteer Blog – Linn’s Fiji experience

simon — Sat, 05 May 2012 10:00:22 +0000

Blog entry – Linn – 29 April 2012

Bula van der Zandens, Macdougallies, and my dear Kiddo!

An unexpected opportunity arose to greet you in writing, so here comes a short account of my adventure so far…

The first three weeks have flown by, a very mellow few days during orientation with campfire and guitars on the beach and an awesome volleyball competition during which I gained the nickname ‘The Flying Dutchman’ were followed by very busy and tiring days in the village but incredibly rewarding and full of fun and learning!

The kids are the highlight: little balls of energy bouncing around the village, high fiving you, bowing for you as you walk past, grabbing your hand, calling you ‘madam’  I have loved the teaching, both in kindergarten and school, from reading ‘Sleeping Beauty’ to 4 year olds to teaching Maths to 13 year olds. They are very eager to learn which makes it all the more enjoyable.

All the locals are very friendly too, inviting you to come in and have lunch every time you pass a house even though they know you’ve already eaten! I haven’t been hungry once! My Fijian family is very caring and look after me well, a couple of days ago my Fijian mum spoke to me in English for the first time, which was great.

Other favourite moments include: playing ‘Guess Who’ with an old Fijian man, the beautiful school assembly singing by the kids, my little Fijian brother opening his gifts and showing all the kids in the village, a trek through 4 villages, a bunch of the kindi kids hanging out the window shouting my name on my way to school, our Fijian team leader’s laugh, drama games outside on the pitch, visiting the plantation, being welcomed by singing and flowers in our hair on our first visit to the island, drinking milk from coconuts, playing sardines in the dark, watching sunrise on Caqalai.

Surprisingly, another highlight has been the sport! The coaching was great fun, me who has never played hockey or netball before showing the school kids how it’s done!

As you can see, I’m a lucky girl and loving life!

Love to all, you are in my thoughts every day. See you soon, Linny x

Blog entry – Linn – 29 April 2012

Bula van der Zandens, Macdougallies, and my dear Kiddo! An unexpected opportunity arose to greet you in writing, so here comes a short account of my adventure so far…The first three weeks have flown by, a very mellow few days during orientation with campfire and guitars on the beach and an awesome volleyball competition during which I gained the nickname ‘The Flying Dutchman’ were followed by very busy and tiring days in the village but incredibly rewarding and full of fun and learning!

The kids are the highlight: little balls of energy bouncing around the village, high fiving you, bowing for you as you walk past, grabbing your hand, calling you ‘madam’. I have loved the teaching, both in kindergarten and school, from reading ‘Sleeping Beauty’ to 4 year olds to teaching Maths to 13 year olds. They are very eager to learn which makes it all the more enjoyable.

The grog and hophop (non alcoholic drinking and dancing) are good fun, it’s like the school disco all over again with the Fijian women laughing and pointing and the men dancing some hilarious moves! Other favourite moments include: playing ‘Guess Who’ with an old Fijian man, the beautiful school assembly singing by the kids, my little Fijian brother opening his gifts and showing all the kids in the village, a trek through 4 villages, a bunch of the kindi kids hanging out the window shouting my name on my way to school, our Fijian team leader’s laugh, drama games outside on the pitch, visiting the plantation, being welcomed by singing and flowers in our hair on our first visit to the island, drinking milk from coconuts, playing sardines in the dark, watching sunrise on Caqalai. Surprisingly, another highlight has been the sport! The coaching was great fun, me who has never played hockey or netball before showing the school kids how it’s done! As you can see, I’m a lucky girl and loving life! Love to all, you are in my thoughts every day. See you soon, Linny x

Batiki Island update – Week one from our ten week Fiji volunteers!

simon — Sat, 05 May 2012 00:38:43 +0000

After a slight delay getting into the village due to some rough weather conditions our Batiki April 2012 team finally arrived in Mua on Monday afternoon. As always the villagers put on an awesome welcome with everyone on the beach to greet the team, singing and dancing as the boats arrived. Everyone was then taken off by their families to what will be their home for the next 8 weeks. Dried off and changed into their jumba dresses, pocket sulu’s and bula shirts the team then gathered in the purpose built shed where they will eat together for the duration of their stay here in Mua. Once everyone had ate their fill it was then on to another shed that has been built for the many grog and hop hop sessions to come, to present their sevu sevu to the village. In true Fijian style the guitars were then brought out and the singing could be heard through the whole village. It truly is an awesome sound when a group of Fijians, no matter what age, get together and belt out some songs. A treat our team have come to appreciate already and will experience on many occasions.

Their day of project was spent unloading all the materials needed to build the huge community hall, which everyone got stuck into and had completed around lunch time. It was then time to visit Batiki District school and meet the kids and teachers they will work alongside. It was clear to see the delight on everyone’s faces as our team walked through the school grounds and they were greeted by a few songs from classes 3&4. It was then time to visit Yavu where the kindi is held and present a sevu sevu there. It seemed like the whole village gathered in the hall and another great hop hop session followed soon after.

Wednesday saw all elements of project start with Sam, Katilyn, Grace and Emily going across to kindi. Harriette had classes 1&2, Fiona classes 3&4, Natalie classes 5&6 and James was teaching classes 7&8. That still left us a massive team of 12 on the build to start digging whole for the posts that will carry the community hall. Everyone got stuck in from the off on all elements of project and showed Mua a sign of what they can expect from this team over the next 2 months.

Another huge part of the teams experience here in Fiji is learning some of the traditional crafts and skills which Fijians possess. One of these is the ability to weave baskets, fans and mats from huge dried banana leaves. It can only be truly appreciated by sitting there and watching it happen and when it comes to showing our volunteers how to do it we have to try and slow the Fijians down as their hands are a blur until they have completed whatever they are making. Some of the team made an excellent effort and will no doubt have it mastered during their stay in Mua.

Fijian kids not only have a great willingness to learn but they are also full of energy which is clear to see when we gather for sports in the afternoon. Netball and rugby are clearly the main sports here in Fiji but give these kids a hockey stick or a football and they will still run around for hours on end. With such a huge variety of sporting skills among this team the kids of Batiki really are in for a treat. Not only do our team get to coach sports they also get a chance to play alongside the Fijians when we play some community games between the villages. As those of you at home can see it has been a hectic first few days for your loved ones here on the other side of the world but be in no doubt that everyone is having the time of their lives and we’ll do our best to jkeep you updated as much as possible.

After a slight delay getting into the village due to some rainy weather conditions our Batiki April 2012 team finally arrived in Mua on Monday afternoon. As always the villagers put on an awesome welcome with everyone on the beach to greet the team, singing and dancing as the boats arrived!

Everyone was then taken off by their families to what will be their home for the next 8 weeks. Dried off and changed into their jumba dresses, pocket sulu’s and bula shirts the team then gathered in the purpose built shed where they will eat together for the duration of their stay here in Mua. Once everyone had enjoyed their first village feast, it was then on to another shed that has been built for the many grog and hop hop sessions to come, to present their sevu sevu to the village. In true Fijian style the guitars were then brought out and the singing could be heard through the whole village. It truly is an awesome sound when a group of Fijians, no matter what age, get together and belt out some songs. A treat our team have come to appreciate already and will experience on many occasions.

Their first day of the volunteer project was spent unloading all the materials needed to build the huge community hall, which will be created from start to finish during the busy eight weeks ahead! Everyone got thoroughly stuck in and we had this big first task completed by lunch time.

It was then time to visit Batiki District school and meet the kids and teachers they will work alongside. It was clear to see the delight on everyone’s faces as our team walked through the school grounds and they were greeted by a few songs from classes 3&4. It was then time to visit Yavu where the kindi is held and present a sevu sevu there. It seemed like the whole village gathered in the hall and another great hop hop session followed soon after!

Wednesday saw all elements of project start completely with Sam, Katilyn, Grace and Emily going across to kindi. Harriette had classes 1&2, Fiona classes 3&4, Natalie classes 5&6 and James was teaching classes 7&8. That still left us a massive team of 12 on the build to start digging whole for the posts that will carry the community hall. Everyone got stuck in from the off on all elements of project and showed Mua a sign of what they can expect from this team over the next 2 months.

As those of you at home can see it has been a hectic first few days for your loved ones here on the other side of the world but be in no doubt that everyone is having the time of their lives and we’ll do our best to keep you updated as much as possible in the coming weeks.

Moturiki team photo gallery!

simon — Sat, 05 May 2012 00:37:16 +0000

Here’s loads more photos from the last couple of weeks on Moturiki Island, including the teaching and youth clubs, the building project, the recent jungle treks and village visits and the big inter island netball and rugby games!

Moturiki Island; volunteer diary from our five week team in Fiji

simon — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:32:53 +0000

The first couple days were spent with the team getting to know their families and the village, they were shown around Moturiki district school, which is where they will be teaching and finally where the building site will be. The second day on the island was a Sunday so the team participated in the village Sunday service where for the first time, they managed to hear the Fijian men and women’s incredible singing voices. After which the team decided what it was they wanted to do for the first week of project out of school, kindergarten or the building project and which sports they would like to coach at the school in the afternoon. With the volunteer rota all planned and ready, the team drank some kava with the community and listened to some more of their hymns in the community hall before heading to bed ready for the first week on project.

The first week of project in Nasauvuki saw the team in full swing and raring to go from day one. The building has flown up in such a short space of time, with the posts for the entire floor soon cemented in, and the outside frame up in place as well. Our volunteers found some parts of the building project challenging, especially as they had to trek a mile to collect sand for the cement and then carry it back to the site, but with the team singing and laughing away and with some help from the local Fijian men, the work was done with great team spirit.

With our volunteers starting their lessons in school it was a chance for them to help the Fijian children with their chosen subjects, thankfully we have a vast set of knowledge in our team, with students of geography, maths, English, latin and even sign language! The children in school had some fabulous assistance with their studies and some of our volunteers even joined in with a Fijian class as the students practised a meke, a tribal Fijian dance, which the team will also soon be learning for the end of their project!

The remainder of the team were in the kindergarten with the younger of the children from the village, which includes a lot of singing, games and learning through play. Our volunteers slotted straight in, laughing and playing with the kids, and after a full week of madness, everyone was ready for a couple days rest!

Early on in the week the volunteers participated in a mat, basket and fan weaving lesson with their Fijian families with most of them leaving the community hall with a fabulous range of souvenirs. At the end of the week the team trekked to the neighbouring village of Neicabecabe to present a sevu sevu to the chief, after which they stayed and had dinner with the village and then in the community hall they drank kava and danced with the villagers until the early hours of the morning, before then trekking back home again.

The volunteers have also taken the opportunity to go with their families to the plantations to see where the Fijians grow their vegetables and fruit. With the weather being a bit wet the volunteers were slipping and sliding all over the place, but they all had a great time and most managed to bring back fruit and vegetables for the families to eat that day.

On Saturday night some of the team trekked across to another village called Niubssaga where they met up with the other team who are about to head off to Batiki, once again the team stayed until late at night drinking kava with the villagers, dancing and then trekked the half an hour walk back to Nasauvuki. With Sunday around already it was time once again for the team to head to church with their families and afterwards have a relaxing afternoon preparing themselves for the second week of project.

Week two of their project continued very well, and for the team on the build it has really come on; The entire frame has been completed with the beams for the roofing attached and the roof itself nailed on. The weather has been really hot this week which was nice for the team, however after many hours working in the sun, we were thankful when the roof finally went on so we could grab a little shade. Once the final nail was nailed into the roof the women of nasauvuki brought cakes and tea for the team to celebrate the completion. A well earned rest for the team, which they were very grateful for.

Our volunteers in kindergarten helped the kids to make banners and posters for a fundraising event, which the team arranged for Wednesday night. The event itself had face painting, nail painting, bracelets, games and sweets and drinks to buy as well, the event was a great success with the team raising over $110 for the kindergarten.

In school this week, the team moved on to taking full classes themselves. For the second half of the week, the teachers had parents evening and whilst they chatted over progress with the children’s parents, our volunteers were given full control over the school timetable. Our volunteers used the time to lead school singing and school speaking competitions, and they were able to spend long periods of the day practicing with the school kids. The final day of the week was spent with all of our volunteers in school for a big summer youth festival, where our volunteers in their different school teams, held house speaking and house singing competitions with the kids as well as house sports, with the winning team receiving the hotly anticipated house cup!

After the children’s sports it was time for our volunteers to participate in an island netball match themeslves, between nasauvuki and navuti and an island rugby game between nasauvuki and nasasara. Unfortunately for our volunteers, they lost both the netball and the rugby, but both games were so very close with either team having a chance to win the cup.

Early on in the week the team participated in some bilo making where you cut a coconut in half, sand it down thouroughly and then use it as a drinking bowl, another great souvenir for the team. After a busy week on project the group had Saturday off, so the leaders arranged a trek for the volunteers to a few of the villages in Moturiki. They started off by visiting navuti, then to nasasara, then the smallest village on Moturiki, which is wawa and finally to niubasaga where they relaxed and had some dinner and grog, before then heading back to nasauvuki. Once again Sunday was a relaxing time with their families, before meeting up and going through the volunteer plans all ready for the final big week on the volunteer project!

More photos from Moturiki Island

simon — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:36:00 +0000

Rachel & Fiona

Hannah Cornish

Natalie & Harriette

Here are a few more photos from our five week team on Moturiki Island. We’ll be posting lots more in the next couple of days along with a diary of their first two weeks volunteering in Nasauvuki;