A LIFE devoted to faith and service has given Daiana Baravi a deep sense of fulfillment, as she brings women and children together through church work.
From Korolevu Village in the district of Noikoro, Navosa, Baravi has devoted almost four years to looking after the Navosa Seventh-day Adventist Church Dorcas Society.
She is proud of the work and the opportunity it gives her to connect women across the province.
“There are seven churches that are part of Navosa,” she said.
“Women from the province or district always come together for fellowship and I also enjoy bringing women together to share the word of God.”
The women’s fellowship is open beyond the Seventh-day Adventist community.
Baravi reaches out to women from other denominations, inviting them to take part in camps and weekend programs.
At times, she invites women from the Fiji Mission or the Pacific Union Mission to speak to the women of Navosa.
“They (women in the district) always love it,” she said.
Her work with the church also extends to children.
Today she lives in Vatubalavu Village in Noikoro, a village where her husband has maternal links to.
For the past three years Baravi has guided the Vatubalavu Pathfinders, a church program for children aged 10 to 15.
More than 30 children from the village take part in the pathfinders’ program.
Every night, the children come together to learn crafts, Bible study, knot tying, marching, cooking and how to use a compass and understand directions.
For Baravi, the lessons are about preparing children for life.
“This teaches them life lessons that when their parents are not around, they can take care of themselves,” she said.
She also looks after Vacation Bible School, or VBS, during the school holidays.
The program brings children together for Bible studies, with children from different denominations encouraged to participate.
“We want them to know how to pray and to hear the stories of Jesus from their teachers,” she said.
Baravi said the program also responds to a need she has observed among young children – learning the basics of prayer and becoming spiritually equipped.
Away from her church commitments, Baravi is a mother of four – two girls and two boys and a grandmother of four.
Both her daughters are married.
For Baravi, her work with women and children remains a source of pride and a way of strengthening faith and fellowship within her community.
More in The Sunday Times
