The high cost of children books and the lack of reading material for toddlers was what prompted Bessie Kingdom, an education officer with the Ministry of Education’s Curriculum Development Unit, to write books for them.
The Fiji Times reported on December 1, 1984, Mrs Kingdom had just recently published a book for young children titled Qalo and was available at local book stores.
“I enjoy writing and set out to work on the book early this year, and I am glad now the task has been accomplished,” she said.
Bessie’s book, about a small Fijian boy in Raiwaqa, was intended for real beginners — children from the age of two. Bessie said a mother could hold a vividly illustrated book to attract the attention of toddlers.
Reading to them becomes the initial stages of education for listening, speaking and finally reading. Bessie was helping to organise a writer’s workshop at the Curriculum Development Unit that week.
“We are getting 25 schoolteachers and five others whom we thought would be interested or who have something to do with children, to come and attend the workshop.”
The main objective of the workshop was to encourage schoolteachers to write children’s stories in Fijian and English.
It was being organised by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Ministry of Educational and Institute of Education at the University of the South Pacific.
Margaret Mooney, known for many years for work in children’s literature, was arriving from New Zealand as a resource person to conduct the workshop.
“At the end of two weeks we will hold a display of participants work at CDU on December 14,” Bessie said
Bessie’s work in the Secondary English section at CDU mainly involved writing and revising materials used by students.
“We try to assist teachers with the school program. Right now we are helping to write English materials for our rural schools which find difficulty in obtaining textbooks.”
Whatever Bessie’s department produces for school student was published in the education gazette which was then distributed to all schools in Fiji.
“The gazette is published once a term (three times a year) to inform the schools in rural areas of the supplementary materials available for them. They should make sure to receive them and make use of them in their schools.”
That year, because of lack of money, the CDU officers did not travel anywhere.
“I used to be out twice a month visiting schools throughout Fiji. I toured almost all parts of Fiji running courses in different schools, from Gau, Levuka and Kadavu to Koro.”
Bessie hoped the monetary situation would improve soon and the CDU officers could be able to travel once again to run workshops and seminars. Bessie was born in Nausori, third in a family of six children.
As a child she moved with her family to Nasinu Teachers College where her father worked as a farm-manager.
“I started my education at Suva Grammar School in 1947 then moved to Sigatoka to Joan of Arc School, and from there to Loreto High School of Levuka.”
In 1963 she joined the Corpus Christ College in Suva and trained as a teacher. She started her teaching career at Stella Maris Primary School, and then taught at various Roman Catholic schools in Lami, Rakiraki and Korolevu.
“After 20 years of teaching in primary schools, I decided to enter the University of the South Pacific to study for personal fulfillment and professional advancement.”
Bessie entered USP in 1976, completed her Bachelor of Arts majoring in English and Geography, and afterwards found a position at CDU in the Primary English section in 1980.
Later, when a staff member of the Secondary English section was leaving, Bessie moved into fill the post.
She said CDU staff members worked with groups of schoolteachers in a particular subject to compile and review curriculum.
Apart from work Bessie served as a vice-president on the board of the Catholic Church Credit Union.
She also sang in her church choir and wrote children’s stories in the Catholic newspaper.
She said her surname, Kingdom, was derived from her father’s great-grandfather, an Englishman “blackbirder” who came to Fiji in the late 1840s, settled in Yasawa Island and married a local woman.
