ON the eastern coast of Taveuni, local villagers are used to seeing tourists dropping in and walking past them as they delight in the waterfalls and walks. But rarely do they stay longer than a day or two.
But there is something special happening in Lavena Village this week, as 23 students and staff from Warrane College in Sydney have been welcomed and treated as family.
“We are so happy to have these boys here”, said Luke Naisuludriu, head teacher of Lavena Primary School.
“They are sleeping on the floor, eating only local food, sharing some bowls of kava at night and many of them are picking up our language.”
The group, based at The University of New South Wales, has been raising funds all year for upgrades to the primary school. They have published a Go Fund Me page as well as fundraising BBQs, silent auctions, and even a thrift shop in the college where residents donated unwanted clothes which were then sold on to other residents.
Altogether they made over $35,000 thanks also to the generosity of their parents and family members.
The group has been working on a large perimeter fence for the school as well as an extension to a dining hall so that the students can eat well and be under shelter when it rains.
Luke Naisuludriu said the school would otherwise never see this project happen.
“We can’t afford to have this kind of investment,” he said.
“We are a small school and the finance from the government is only enough for daily operations.”
“So having this done is a big boost for the school.”
Lavena Primary School was built in 2010, but destroyed by Cyclone Winston in 2016. Rotary and the Government officially reopened the school a year later.
“The whole community is fully involved in assisting with this,” said Mr Naisuludriu.
“It is both a blessing and an opportunity now to do things very well, like improving the meals for the students and to make sure they learn and grow in a safe environment.”
“We are always trying to improve in simple things like washing hands and eating healthy, and this will help us to focus more on this for the good of the children.”
“They usually take their food and go and sit on the school verandah, but now they can eat in the dining area which is covered. It directly helps them in their school day and to stay focused.”
“When this is done, I think it will be the best dining arrangement in a primary school in Taveuni.”
He also said the motive for the fence was one of security and safety.
“As the school is close to the community there is no way to protect the property from people walking through at night or drinking there,” he said.
“Unfortunately we have had some damaged windows. There was also an incident when someone came to the school to threaten the teachers. So now with the new fence and gate we can control who comes in and out. It will be more formal and people will have to get permission to enter the school.”
Mr Naisuludriu said he was grateful for the efforts and generosity of the volunteers.
“They really gave their heart in doing everything, and working hard,” he said.
“They are very good at socialising with the community and adapting to the local food and our way of doing things.”
Fr John-Paul Hinojosa is the chaplain of the group and a priest of Opus Dei, though the group comprises of many non-Catholics including Hindus, other Christians and non-believers.
Before becoming a priest he led many similar volunteer projects with students in places such as Naililili in Rewa and on Matacawalevu in the Yasawa Islands.
“Our approach is to include and welcome everyone,” he said.
“Just getting here and living in a village for two weeks is enough to see how happy you can be with very little material wealth”.
“In Australia everything seems very easy and affordable and comfortable yet somehow young people don’t seem to be very happy.”
“They are missing something and Fijians can teach us what that is.”
The local Catholic community is happy to have Fr John-Paul celebrating Mass in Santo Mikaele church as they usually have a priest visit once a month at best.
“It has been very enriching to pray and sing with the people of Lavena,” said Fr John-Paul.
“This weekend we will have three babies baptised and one of them is John-Paul!”
Seresio Qetequete is school manager and has been co-ordinating all the family groups to cook for the volunteers. The five groups have been sharing local cuisine and a favourite staple is the fried taro leaves in lolo.
“We didn’t know if they would want to eat Fijian food every day, but they seem to love it,” he said.
Patrick Chandrasegaran is from Albury in NSW and co-ordinated the Bunnings Fundraiser in Sydney which raised $2500 on a recent Sunday.
“It’s an amazing village and we love the food,” he said.
As a second-year Civil Engineering student at UNSW, he has been passing on his wisdom to the group when the water runs out and the toilet cisterns need to be refilled. Many of the group from Sydney haven’t had the experience of losing running water.
Spending time with the local school children on holiday, he is also learning the words to Bula Maleya, and the kids are only too happy to help, and to have a good laugh when he doesn’t quite get the pronunciation right.
“They are great company,” he said. “They have so much energy and have been helping us on the worksite”.
“They have taught us a lot of things about getting along with each other and staying positive.”
Nic Derlacki is the Assistant Dean of Warrane College and co-ordinating the work projects.
He says the group is also learning a lot from the local builders and even the young villagers about the basics of labouring.
“We might be studying higher degrees in Sydney, but few of us have had any real experience on work sites,” he said.
“It’s really impressive to see how these students find quick solutions for things. Just simple but very handy things like fixing a broken hammer, or finding a way to bend a pitchfork back into place when out of shape.”
“It’s also nice to see everyone get behind this project,” he said.
“We even had some of the mothers and grandmothers with little kids bringing the wheelbarrows and bags full of dirt for the foundation of the new flooring for the dining hall.”
“Everyone seems to want to be a part of it and we’ve realised we are just a part of something much bigger here.”
The Warrane College volunteers will be in Lavena until next Wednesday when they fly back to Nadi and on to Sydney. They have also been helped by Fijians who are former residents of Warrane, such as Kirit Patel of the Motibhai Group, Michael Yee-Joy from Suva and Josefa Wivou in Nadi.
Mr Naisuludriu said he would love to welcome the group back again.
“Hopefully in the future we can construct a covered walkway from the new dining hall to the school,” he said.
“That way the students can get to and fro and stay dry when it’s raining.”
Patrick Chandrasegaran said he would love to come back.
“In a very short time Fiji has become our home,” he said.
“We feel like part of the family and I hope we can keep in touch.”
n ALEX PERROTTET is the Dean of Warrane College and co-ordinating the project. He is a former reporter for Radio New Zealand and reported from Lavena village after Cyclone Winston.
