Abigail the humble social media star

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Abigail Serenity Radrodro. Pictures: SUPPLIED

A video that went viral on Facebook last month of Abigail Serenity Radrodro shows us what life is like for a young girl who is home schooled at Bucalevu Village in Nakorotubu, Ra.

The video that grasped over 24,000 reactions, 831 comments, 2,500 shares and 544,000 plays on Facebook simply showed the usual day to day activity that Abigail Radrodro does with her family.

The seven-year-old who has paternal links to Mua Village in Batiki with maternal links to Saioko Village in Nakorotubu, Ra unlike most children learns her lessons at home.

Not only has home schooling allowed her to learn naturally she has also had the chance to learn more about her family’s way of life and how they thrive in their community.

From gathering firewood, to harvesting crops, farming, cooking, ploughing and weeding these activities are interwoven with a bit of modern day learning too.

Her daily activity starts with getting out of bed, saying a prayer, tidying up her bed, brushing her teeth and hair and putting on church clothes for morning devotion.

After the daily family devotion, she has a cup of tasty lemongrass tea with breakfast and her home schooling begins.

As her lessons end, she quickly takes a break with her pet and toys before she gets ready for her second half of learning.

Its after the first session that the lessons or activities get inspirational for Radrodro as it includes the whole family – her parents and grandparents.

She says that she carries out her activities during the week because it’s part of her school curriculum or learning.

When asked how she felt about helping her family, she said she felt happy to be able to help and to learn at the same time.

Her mum, Livia Adi Tukana Tamani said being home school keeps her daughter healthy.

“Its a much healthier alternative as she is not surrounded by unhealthy things. Home school also teaches her that life can be enjoyed without money and most importantly she learns to experience God’s presence in nature,” she said.

Mrs Tamani added her daughter enjoys doing her daily chores coupled with lessons.

“Home school program is focused more on character development so she can learn values that motivates and help her in life,” she said.

She said she feels content knowing that her daughter knows about survival skills and day to day responsibilities.

“I am happy to see her curiosity and eagerness to learn and I am proud knowing that she is my daughter.”

On sharing the video on social media, Mrs Tamani said she wanted to put a smile on people’s faces and to encourage and remind them of the Fijian way of life, which is simple, inexpensive and so much healthier.