My First Day at School...

Today was my first day at Ratu Meli Memorial School. I was so excited last night that I woke up before sunrise this morning and sat on the beach watching the bright sun rise on the red horizon I began to think about the day I had ahead of me. After an exciting boat ride where we weaved in and out of the tropical waters of the Blue Lagoon we got to our school setting. I was greeted by a chorus of voices, all in tune to the same beautiful song, and rising up in unison from one of the eight classrooms on site. Our group of volunteers gathered at assembly and the students greeted us one by one as we greeted them as well. After the mornings announcements were read lessons began and everyone split into their respective classrooms with their respective teachers. As I got myself settled at school I noticed that the teachers were especially forthcoming with information and teaching ressources. The students seemed excited to be back at school and were smiling and replying the customary, "Bula" that is chorused everywhere. 
 
After lessons in the morning everyone broke off for lunch and shouts of children filled the fields as they played sports and enjoyed their free time. All the volunteers gathered and we debriefed talking about what everyone had been busy with all morning. There was a great feeling of companionship as everyone shared similar emotions brought about by the mornings lessons. When the bell rang again it was time to head back to class. The afternoon was, again, divided by class but a portion saw the classes combined when working in the vegetale gardens GVI had recently installed. These patches were designed to teach the students trust, leadership, and responsability while giving them concrete ideals of nutrition and growth. The patches also serve conveniently for the student lunches provided on the grounds. This particular afternoon in the garden saw two classes devoted to weeding, watering, and clearing the area for another patch to be put in. Everyone was enthusiastic and worked hard until the very last bell sending both volunteers and students home from a successful day at school. Overall, the day was busy and exciting and although I don't think I've ever said this about school; I truly cannot wait until I can return tomorrow!

Hayley - Community Scholar

My First Day at School...

A week on the Construction Project

After a frustratingly stormy last week, this week has been a busy one for the construction team. We started bright and early on a beautiful Fijian Monday morning with heading over to Matacawalevu to install a water tank and attach a down pipe to the guttering previous GVI volunteers had installed. Finished in time for cookies and tea, we headed back to Enedala to fix the guttering on Grandma’s house. Although lots of hard work and with boiling hot weather, the spectacular views from the top of the hill certainly made up for it!

On Tuesday it was time to install another water tank, this time further from Base in the gorgeous village of Navotua. After a long and slightly precarious boat journey carrying the tank, we installed the tank by the head teacher’s house and fixed the guttering on it that had been ripped off by the cyclone. We also completed a concrete base by the prep school; all ready for another water tank to be installed soon. More guttering happened on Wednesday, this time in Vuaki village, to the eerie sound of loudly mooing cows. This guttering was on the village hall and we connected it up to an enormous, government-installed water tank.

After a busy beginning to the week, on Thursday we made shelves for the base office and did some weeding and planting of eggplants and pumpkins in the vegetable garden on base – hot and tiring work that left us covered in mosquito bites – definitely time for a swim! For Friday we went to work with the education team, painting the newly constructed composting toilets and building some more vegetable gardens to teach the students about agriculture and a healthy diet. Although hot, it has been a fun and constructive week on the construction team!

Sophie - 8 week Expedition Volunteer

A week on the Construction Project

Sam's diary from GVI's new Babale Base

It’s now the end of my second week at Babale base, which is the home of GVI Fiji’s mainland education project. Upon arrival to Silana village (the community Babale base is in), a group of men came out to greet us along with many children. Considering the only Fijian word I had learnt up to this point was ‘bula’, meaning hello, I shyly said it as I walked through the small crowd towards what would be my home for the next few weeks. Nothing could have prepared me for the site we arrived on; we walked right up to the sea front to find a large bamboo bure with a thatched roof. That night we were told that we were going to be part of a sevusevu; a Fijian ceremony where new people are welcomed into the village. Wearing my sarong, I embarked on the walk through the village to the community hall, trying to avoid stepping on frogs at all cost! During the ceremony the other volunteers and I sat in front of the village headman and other community members, while they mixed kava, a murky brown liquid in a large wooden bowl.

 The first taste was somewhat daunting as we had to clap, say ‘bula’ and drink the kava from a small coconut bowl as the rest of the village looked on. After the coconut bowl of kava had been passed around and the volunteers and I were accepted into the community, the vibe picked up within the hall. One of the men started playing an acoustic guitar while others started singing traditional Fijian songs. The women also joined in and encouraged the group to start dancing. However, it had been a long day of traveling and we soon had to head back to the bure for our first night’s sleep at Babale base.

The following day, the GVI girls, Lauren and Katie, made us all breakfast and we discussed what it was that we would be involved in over the next few weeks. As it was still two weeks before the start of the school term we would be helping the Silana village youth with the construction of the new Babale base kitchen and communal room. When I say youth I’m not talking about children’s youth club style, in Fiji, village youth can be up to 35 years old. In Silana, the youth are lead by a man called Meli and the GVI base is one of their income generating projects to fund members who attend the University of the South Pacific.

 On Monday, we began our work with the youth. Meli introduced me to the work crew, which consisted of uncle Si, Ben, Eddie, Samu, Sia and many others. The first bit of handy work was to saw timber for the kitchen walls. This required Cacique, another volunteer, to hold the wood whilst I attempted to saw through the wood with my weedy arms. After much effort, I was able to slowly get a knack for it. Once we had cut the wood to size, we began nailing it into the framework. Though it wasn’t as easy as it sounds, the nails often bent and there was many a time when Ben stepped in to lend a strong Fijian hand. Although it was hard work, Ben and I got a chance to know each other and the conversation made the day go faster. I learnt that we had things in common; he also goes to university and is the same age as me. Ben also offered to take me snorkeling and fishing in the small reef just off the shore of Silana, which we did that afternoon when we’d finished work for the day. The other volunteers and I continued working on the kitchen and communal area for the rest of the week and most of the following week, getting to know all the locals who came

to lend a hand. The building is now complete and last night we cooked our first meal in the new kitchen, a special treat of cheeseburgers!

Sam's diary from GVI's new Babale Base

The start of a new term at RMMS

The first week of a new term at Ratu Meli Memorial School (RMMS) can be somewhat hectic as teachers and students get back into the school routine. The teachers have a lot to organize and the children are full of energy. For GVI, it’s also a busy week. For many of the volunteers on the education project, this is their first week of school so there is a lot to get acquainted with. The various tasks expected of the volunteers each week as well as the new environment of a remote Fijian school can make the first week quite stressful.

However, all our new volunteers have risen to the challenge and have helped the school get ready for the new term. Every class has a volunteer who assists the teacher and helps with the successful one-on-one program that GVI has been running for almost eighteen months. The new volunteers have also completed a series of project specific training session to help them get the most out of their time on the project.

The teachers and children have been excited to see all the work done by the construction and education teams during the school holiday. The new vegetable gardens and the composting toilets are a welcome addition to the school compound and volunteers and teachers will be working hard to ensure that they are used properly over the coming weeks. With our 2013 goal of having Ratu Meli recognized as a “Blue School” by the International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance, having composting toilets and vegetable gardens will go a long way in helping us meet the criteria for recognition.

Next week, we look forward to the school’s community outreach program resuming in the villages. This will give teachers, GVI staff and volunteers the opportunity to visit the four villages that the children who attend RMMS are from. The community outreach enables GVI to explain to parents and other community members the work that we are doing and give them advice on how best they can help their children at home.

On a final note, our Assistant Head Teach Mrs. Sophie Matai will be returning to the school next week after taking her maternity leave. Having been at the school for almost a decade, her experience and knowledge will be a great help in the coming months and we are all keen to meet the newest addition to her family.

The start of a new term at RMMS

Marine volunteer diary

Upon waking up to another awe-inspiring Yasawan sunrise, a perfect way to great the morning, I realised we had been blessed with near perfect diving conditions; the sea was flat calm, more like a millpond than open sea and with no wind at all! The unanimous decision was that we simply had to go for a fun dive (something we usually save for Friday mornings) to one of our favourite dive sites called Bonzai. A spectacular dive site that has captured all our hearts, 8km boat ride straight out to sea, spotting two manta rays breaching on the way, Bonzai is a sheer reef wall populated with all manner of exciting marine creatures. After descending 29/30metres (our maximum depth we can go as recreational divers) below the seas’ surface with breathtakingly crisp visibility (approx 22m), we spent a very happy (if slightly narked) 30 mins swimming and exploring along the reef wall, sighting  4 humphead parrotfish,  a white tip reef shark and a green turtle! Without a doubt the best dive in Fiji yet, as I was able to face my fear of sharks and it’s been an all time dream of mine to see a turtle in its natural habitat!

 In the afternoon we were taken to visit a trial Seaweed farm a couple of islands away, off Namatayalevu, the seaweed farm was developed for the communities of Vuaki & Namatayalevu  as an alternative source of income for them, as they can sell the seaweed to Asia where they use it in the manufacture of beauty products among other things. After a spectacular boat ride viewing another side of the islands we hadn’t seen before, we arrived at the seaweed farm, donned our snorkel masks and jumped in (once the marine research coordinator had taken the photos she needs for her records, used to estimate size and growth), our job was to help cleans the lines/ropes that the seaweed grows on of all the algal growth that builds up, a job that needs to be done regularly otherwise the seaweed crop will become smothered and ultimately die. Of course we were able to have a nice swim around and explore the idyllic turquoise waters of the bay once we were finished.

On our way back to base we even spotted a whole bunch of rubbish floating in the water so a couple of us jumped in to fish it out, leaving us all with a nice warm satisfied glow and a good feeling that today we had definitely done our bit for Yasawan marine conservation.

Rowena Johnson (Marine Volunteer 8 weeks)

Marine volunteer diary

Building composting toilets at RMMS

Seeing a fully erect and functioning composting toilet was, quite possibly, the most satisfying moment of my GVI experience.

From day one this proved to be a challenging project. Our first choice of location had to be abandoned as we struck rock and then a layer of corrugated iron. The next four holes rapidly began filling with water as we tunneled down into the water table, as it conveniently poured with rain. But, still we persevered.

Sawing, nailing and more sawing followed in the next couple of days. Over a period of 72 hours a pile of planks was transformed into a meter-by-meter toilet on stilts surrounded by a scattering of bent nails, splintered wood, and a great deal of blood, sweat, and tears (mostly mine).

But, as we all stood gazing out onto ‘The Throne Room”, it all felt worthwhile.

A compost toilet is simply a wooden bench with a sizeable hole in its center, upon which people can excrete into the unsuspecting barrel bellow. Those barrels are then stored for about two years until the waste inside has decomposed sufficiently enough to be used as compost for fruit-trees. The fruit trees are able to filter out any residual bacteria through their stems leaving only the nutrient-filled goodness of human faeces.

So, not only did we provide a toilet to a school, which was definitely in need of a new one (any volunteer who had to use the old loos at the school can testify to that!), but we are now, indirectly, helping the local Fijians grow their own food using the recycled waste.

As volunteers I think we gained a lot from the experience: knowledge, muddy boots and not an inconsiderable amount of blisters. We all learned a lot about woodwork during those few days- how to hold a saw, where not to put your thumb when hammering nails, and not to turn too quickly when carrying a 14ft plank of wood. But, luckily, Jon’s upbeat and positive attitude, experience and patience more than made up for our general lack of coordination, and after a lot of laughs and hard work we got the job done.

All in all, a #winning day for GVI and the community!

Hal Sherrington

Building composting toilets at RMMS

End of Term 1 at RMMS

This week marks the end of the first term of the 2013 academic year at Ratu Meli Memorial School. In a few months time we will have been at the school for two years and, as such, we have started to reflect on the achievements that we have made.

In the short term, we have used the first term to assess the effectiveness of our one-on-one program. In the early weeks of the term, we wrote a test for the one-on-one students based on what learning aims the teachers were expecting them to have met by the end of the first term. Volunteers sat with the students as they took the test and the results and comments on areas for improvement were logged. In week 13 we repeated the tests with the students to see what progress had been made.

The results were very encouraging. Every student on the program made an improvement. The only exception was for some of the advanced students who our volunteers unfortunately did not have enough time to see during the term. However, the students who were struggling the most have shown clear improvements. For some, these improvements have been fundamental areas. For example, students in class one who could not recognize letters of the alphabet can now do so and students in class two who could not do addition and subtraction now can.

These results have served several purposes. They have shown us that our program is effective and it has justified our decision to take students out of regular lessons to work with volunteers. It has also allowed us to make the decision as to whether some students should stay on the program next term or whether they have made enough of an improvement to leave the program. Finally, by testing the students in English and Mathematics, it has allowed us to see exactly what the students struggle with and what they have now learned. Looking ahead to the new term, we will repeat these tests and evaluate if any students need to join the program and who can leave. It’s been great for both volunteers and staff to see hard evidence of the success and the impact that they have made in terms of these children’s education.

Aside from these tests, it has been another successful term at the school. Volunteers have continued the good work carried out by their predecessors and our relationship with the school is as strong as ever. Considering the damage caused by Cyclone Evan, to see the school up and running and with attendance high, big congratulations should go out to the community, teachers and GVI for working together to repair and replenish the school so that the children of Nacula Island could receive the quality education that they deserve.

End of Term 1 at RMMS