Borne out of a need for a primary school in the area, Buruwa Youth Memorial Primary School was established in 1992.
From very humble beginnings, the education facility developed and became a prominent school in the interior of Nadi.
The school first opened with two wooden blocks and students were enrolled in Year 1 to Year 4.
Headteacher Jeremaia Tuwai said the idea of establishing a school was to cater for students in the four villages of Nawaqadamu, Uto, Vunamoli and Vaqadra.
“Today we have 211 students enrolled at Buruwa Youth Memorial Primary School,” he said.
“From Year 1 to Year 8.
“Our elders would travel as far as Valley Rd in Sigatoka to attend school, or going to Nawaicoba, Dratabu and Nawaka.
“And they saw the struggles of staying with relatives and would not succeed with their education.
“So, they thought of establishing a school in the village of Nawaqadamu, and their children would not go and stay with relatives in the town area.
“The students would then take part in logging and sugarcane farming and that is why the school is named as Buruwa Youth.
“Because it was the children who had assisted in the construction of the building of the school.
“Until they saw that after finishing Year 8, they had to go to the town area to attend secondary education and had to forego the idea of the establishment of the school which was meant for them to stay and get educated in the village.
“And they thought of establishing a secondary school as well, which was constructed in 2016 and named as Nasesevia Secondary School.”
Mr Tuwai said the construction of the primary school was from the pine farming done by the youths in the village.
Today, notable alumni of the school have excelled in their field of work and those who have migrated overseas to pursue their rugby career.
“One of them is a bank manager in Nadi today, and another two are members of the Fijian Drua women rugby team, Mereoni Nakesa and Merewai Cumu,” Mr Tuwai said.
“And another ex-scholar is Jone Naikabula who is playing rugby in Japan and has represented the Japan national 7s and 15s team.
“These are all those students who went through Buruwa Youth Memorial Primary School and have excelled in their career.”
He said when the school was established, students had to struggle attending school without electricity.
“The four villages decided donate $1200 each to construct a power line in the school compound.
“Today we are thankful that we have Starlink, and we no longer have connectivity issues.
“However, we still face difficulties with road access during rainy weather and cannot travel to the supermarkets in the urban areas.
“And whenever our students get sick, I would have to take them right to the hospital in Nadi.
“Ever since the government was formed many years ago, these four villages would have to travel right to Nadi to get medical treatment.
“We are urging this government for the establishment of a nursing station in our community so that the villagers do not have to travel far and receive medical services nearby.
“Because we would travel at night as well and it depends on the weather because of our road condition.
“For the school we were using a yellow bus, and it is no longer working because we did not have the parts for the vehicle to get it fixed.
“So, we are using our own vehicle to take the students to school.”
Mr Tuwai acknowledged the Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro for availing himself to be the chief guest at the Buruwa Youth Memorial Primary School 35th Year Anniversary.
“I believe the reason we had invited him is for him to see first-hand the initiatives done by the villagers in supporting the education of our children.
“The construction of the teachers’ quarters were funded by the villagers of Nawaqadamu, and another two houses is about to be constructed and funded by Vunamoli and Uto.
“They did this on their own so teachers could get proper housing and be able to teach our children.
“This year government donated two water tanks for the primary school because we would face water issues and depend on rain water as well.”
He said the primary school achieved a 78 per cent pass rate during the Fiji Eighth Year Examinations (FEYE) in 2024.
“Before we would be listed under the HOPE category — for schools who did not achieve a 50 per cent pass rate.
“I was really happy that last year we were no longer in that category.
“And some of our former students who are good at athletics are enrolled at Natabua High School, Suva Grammar School, Adi Cakobau School and Mahatma Ghandi Memorial School on scholarships.”
A view of Buruwa Youth Memorial Primary School. Picture: BALJEET SINGH