Building projects
A main aim of all our projects is to make a positive contribution to immediate needs and improve local resources and infrastructure in rural Fijian communities, through financial support from Think Pacific and hands on assistance from our volunteers. Every team is involved in some kind of building project which is driven by local ideas and controlled by local decision making. These are initiatives which have been highlighted by the communities and assessed by the National Health Promotion Council.
The projects you work on are vital for the health, wellbeing and basic standard of living of the whole community. These building projects make a tangible and lasting difference to the lives of the local people, from installing the first fresh water pipes to remote communities, to renovating schools and creating community centres.
More than one third of the population in the Fiji islands live in poverty and many more live on or just above the poverty line. Fijian communities, especially those in rural areas suffer the most extreme consequences of this hardship. Many schools and kindergartens are in poor condition and devoid of basic materials. Health care is either non-existent or not easily accessible. There is an absence of effective sea wall defences which, compounded with rising sea levels, leads to frequent flooding of coastal communities. Simple projects such as creating suitable bridges or proper access paths can relieve children of the arduous and often dangerous trek to school. Most distressingly, only 50% of the population in Fiji has access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation.
What will I do?You will work as a team alongside our Fijian building managers and the whole community. You will help to dig foundations, cut timber, lay piping, carry materials, construct frames, erect walls clear jungle paths, paint, plaster and weave to name but a few tasks! What ever your level of strength or building skill, there is a role you can assist with! Each expedition team starts and finishes a specific building aim during your timeframe. The projects are directed by the Fijian Ministry and include building entire school classrooms, kindergarten schools and community centres. Some of our most rewarding projects involve installing fresh water and clean sanitation facilities to remote communities.
Enthusiam and team work
The vast majority of our volunteers don’t have any experience of building. What they do have is an unfaltering enthusiasm and desire to get stuck in wherever they can. It’s this attitude, and the clear timeframe that a team project brings which gets things done, creating the motivator and the 'make it happen' factor. Each project is supervised by our qualified building team, but ultimately it is up to the commitment of our volunteers and the local community to achieve the aims together, from heavyweight rugby players to little old Fijian ladies in long flowery dresses! We all lift, carry, paint and assist where we can.
Locally directed aims
Each project is based on long term profiles and need assessments conducted by the National Health Promotion Council and the Lomaiviti Provincial Council. It is only after the needs have been highlighted by the villagers themselves and the reasons, background and initiative driven forward by the community that Think Pacific are asked to provide input to realise each goal. This process is a key factor. It ensures that the projects are worthwhile and necessary but also wholly locally managed.
Long Term Impact
Think Pacific is committed to achieving local development targets through financial aid and hands on assistance by our volunteers. Your expedition fee pays for all the materials and tools needed to achieve the building project, whether we are creating a new school or installing piping to provide fresh water to a village. Just by arriving in Fiji, you have already funded all of these amazing aims and throughout your expedition, you will see with your own eyes how your expedition fee is used to make a vital impact.
Central to our action plans, we assist local people to set up small scale businesses. These projects provide families with their first ever stable income, from pig or chicken farming to the sale of village handicrafts. These are initiatives which you may play a direct role in getting off the ground, from helping to build a village store to transporting pigs from the mainland by cargo ship! Village business projects are the future of these villages and we assist the young and dynamic Fijian youths to push forward their ideas and create a sustainable future for their island communities.
Lucy Price, ShrewsburyIt was the best experience of my life. I feel like I've come away with some of the closest friends you can ever make.
