Friends of Fiji is supporting a portfolio of projects submitted by Peace Corps Volunteers in Fiji. Friends of Fiji raises through contributions and a biennial fundraiser.
Projects are normally submitted via the Peace Corps Partnership Program (PCPP). General guidelines are outlined in FoFFundingGuidelines-7-19-06.doc
Friends of Fiji Funds Peace Corps Partnership Projects 2009
Friends of Fiji continues to support development projects in Fiji with contributed funds and the proceeds of our biennial fundraiser. The following projects, all proposed by current PCVs through the Peace Corps Partnership Program, have been funded since the fall of 2008. Note that the Peace Corps no longer identifies the geographic location of volunteer assignments as a security precaution.
Compost Toilets
The Great Sea Reef near Mali Island is home to 12 species listed on the IUCN red list of threatened species. One of the easiest ways to help preserve this habitat is to construct dry compost toilets that eliminate the sewage runoff into the sea that cripples the reef ecosystem and reduces the fish population. This project will introduce the first two ecologically-smart, functioning compost toilets to the island, as well as be an instructional tool for the dramatic benefits of having compost toilets, likely expanding future latrine construction. The broader goal is to reduce the impact of the expanding population on the reef so that fish stocks, which these villagers rely on for subsistence, remain for future generations.
Pictures of the Mali project by Peace Corps Volunteer Joe Otts:
Rain Catchment
This project will construct a rain catchment system at a local school, replacing severely damaged and unsanitary cement tanks with four 5,000-liter plastic tanks. The new tanks will provide potable water, improve overall health and help to prevent and treat diseases. The water will be used by children, teachers and teachers’ families living on the compound as well as by all community members who do not have rain catchment systems or water tanks at their homes. This village receives very little rain and is often ignored by the government due to its remote location.
Kindergarten Building
A community, realizing the importance of early-childhood learning, started a kindergarten seven years ago, but the program lacks a proper structure to allow consistent education. The kindergarten now meets in the school hall and is often cancelled due to primary school events, group meetings, and other school functions that take precedence. This project will construct a separate building and a consistent daily meeting place for the kindergarten class. The project will also teach unemployed village youth basic carpentry skills and those with basic skills more advanced techniques. The project will also increase community participation in education goals and planning. All labor will be supplied by villagers of the community, including carpenters, plumbers, and laborers.
Compost Toilets for Primary School
A primary school in Fiji that lies on sandy coastal flats with limited fresh water wants to replace toilet facilities which have fallen into disrepair and are leaking raw sewage with a set of six composting toilets to solve water and sanitation issues at the school and to provide valuable materials for soil improvement and farming. Because the compost toilets don’t use water, they will reduce the strain on an already limited resource. The design also includes a new water tank for rainwater collection. The school can provide timber and cement supplies but needs funds for materials to build a foundation and housing for these new toilets. Construction will be carried out by a volunteer community carpenter with support from school families. Many of the workers will be local youth who have left school early and who will learn valuable masonry and carpentry skills applicable to maintenance or future employment.
Posters of 2006-2008 Friends of Fiji Projects
2008: Narere Squatter Community Sewing Skills Training Project
The UNDP Fiji Poverty Report found that 25 per cent of households could not afford a basic standard of living and that the poorest households usually include people who have little education or skills and have difficulty getting jobs. They often do not have land or permission to use it, live in very poor houses, are often left alone by the extended family and have difficulty keeping their children in school. Such is the plight of residents of the Narere squatter settlement a few miles from Suva.
The Sewing Skills Training Project is aimed at providing sewing skills and training that empowers women and to give them self-sufficiency and reliance. Trainers Betty May and Elisabeth Banda teach sewing skills. Women in the area are taught to sew pot holders, patchwork quilts and other wares that they can then sell to supplement household income or to provide for the basic needs of their families. They have 4 machines that are used for between 11-13 women with a growing need for more.
This project was suggested by Larry and Cheryl Irava, who have returned to Fiji after years of service at the Embassy of Fiji in Washington, DC. At their farewell party, Friends of Fiji presented them with a check for $1000 to purchase five sewing machines.
2008: Footpath in Korotubu, Vanua Levu (Peace Corps Partnership Project 411-026)
Korotubu is a coastal village on the rural island of Vanua Levu in Fiji. Korotubu’s location on the coast, at the base of a ridge means that it is prone to flooding during the rainy season. The community depends on subsistence farming and fishing for income. Korotubu is an active participant in the Qoliqoli Cokovata which is a network of Marine Protected Areas in a globally significant region of the Pacific Ocean.
In response to an expressed community need, the Korotubu village council set a goal to complete a footpath throughout the village. The footpath will provide increased accessibility and address health concerns during the rainy season. The Korotubu village council requests funding in the amount of 4,914.02USD to purchase cement and wire mesh for footpath reinforcement.
Friends of Fiji contributed $1,000 to partially fund this Peace Corps Partnership Project.
2008: Drum Oven in Nauouo, Ovalau (Peace Corps Partnership Project 411-027)
Nauouo Village is located on the island of Ovalau about 7 km from the town of Levuka. Due to the distance from town and the lack of transportation, the women’s group would like to construct a drum oven, so that they may be able to bake goods for their village as well as use it as a source of income generation by selling their goods to neighboring villages. Not only would this project be income generating, but it would allow mothers to send their children to school with a variety in their diet.
Friends of Fiji contributed $206.80 to complete the funding of this Peace Corps Partnership Project.
2008: Cadranasiga Eco-Drama Project
Cadranasiga District School is situated next to the coastal village of Naividamu on the island of Vanua Levu in Fiji. Due to its rural location on a separate island than the capital of Suva, where the tourist and domestic economies thrive, access to resources is relatively limited.
This unique program aims to address environmental issues in an entertaining and creative manner and integrate the needs of the school with those of local communities, creating hundreds of indirect beneficiaries. For the school community, it aims to build capacity to (1) manage waste properly (2) broaden community networks, (3) utilize non-formal education techniques, and (4) provide valuable life skills for the students. For local communities, this program works towards (1) raising environmental awareness, and (2) improving waste management knowledge.
The school staff will contribute to the program by providing their time and labor as program managers and working as counterparts to the Peace Corps Volunteer in implementing non-formal education practices. Student contribution will be provided by the students of classes (grades) 7 and 8 with two projects, which develop several important life skills and integrate local communities by raising environmental awareness. The Cadranasiga Drama Troupe will learn about and perform environmentally themed plays at local schools. The students will collect waste from their communities to be disposed of properly or reused by the Cadranasiga Artisans, who will create and sell crafts locally to support the program.
Friends of Fiji contributed $1,000 to this Peace Corps Partnership Project.
Pictures of the Cadranasiga Environmental Arts Club provided by Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Rhiannon Carrasco:
2008: Flouride Varnish Program
Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease of childhood in Fiji. According to the National Oral Health Survey Report completed in 2004 data showed 88.3% of 6 year olds, and 52.3% of 12 year olds have dental caries. Fluoride varnish has been used in Europe and Canada for more than 30 years. It has been proven to be effective in preventing tooth decay in both primary and permanent teeth. It is applied 2 times per year or more if the child is at higher risk of developing cavities.
The fluoride varnish program has 3 components: (1) Fiji School of Medicine personnel will train a small group of United States Peace Corps volunteers on fluoride varnish application protocol (2) Eighteen training of trainers workshops will be held for local health personnel in different districts nationwide (3) Fluoride varnish will be applied to the target group of children in selected schools nationwide.
Friends of Fiji contributed $1,000 to this Peace Corps Partnership Project.
2007: Vatulele Compost Latrine Facility
The Friends of Fiji contributed $1,000 to a Peace Corps Partnership Project in Fiji for a compost latrine facility in Vatulele.
”Vatulele is well known for being a rural outer island with no sustainable electricity (occasional generators), and no running water (hand drawn wells only). Water scarcity is the most pressing problem. The villagers of Vatulele are suffering from poor sanitation, dehydration, and other health problems associated with personal hygiene and the cleanliness of the villages. Vatulele Primary School suffers more than any other place on Vatulele because there are no functioning latrines on the school compound.
”The main population to directly benefit from this new compost latrine facility project will be the 194 children that attend Vatulele Primary School. Under the current conditions, the children are forced to use broken flush latrines, which drives many of them to go into the surrounding bushes creating a school environment with dangerous health hazards. The local Health Inspector has threatened two times to shut the school down due to sick children and the current unhygienic latrine facility.
”The new compost latrine facility will include four latrines above ground with collection tanks for the solid waste and an isolated wetland for liquid waste. The facility uses a safe and simple process that the children can understand how their waste can be decomposed within six months and then used as a fertilizer on their school gardens. Through workshops and continuing education, they will begin at the primary level to grasp the importance of environmental education and conservation in the Fiji Islands by managing their own waste at their school.” http://www.fofiji.org/FoFNewsletter9-30-07.doc
2006: Camp GLOW
Friends of Fiji donated $1000 to a Peace Corps Partnership Project to support attendance of young girls and their leaders at Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World). The thee-day camp provided health education, leadership development, self-esteem promotion, decision making, creative thinking, and communications skills. http://www.fofiji.org/FoFNewsSummer2006v4.pdf
2006: Composting Toilet Project in Nadolodolo
Friends of Fiji donated $1000 to a Peace Corps Partnership Project to support construction of a composting toilet t in Nadolodolo, Tavua. Compost toilets are an environmentally friendly alternative to septic tanks and pit toilets. They are ideal for the dry region of Fiji because they did not need water. http://www.fofiji.org/FoFNewsSummer2006v4.pdf
2006: Bee Keeping for Naiserelagi Women’s Group
Friends of Fiji donated $900 in support of this Peace Corps Partnership Project.
2005: Colonial War Memorial Project Clinic
Friends of Fiji donated $1000 to the Peace Corps Partnership Project for establishing a counseling center at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva, Fiji. The donation supports the renovation of a small building for use with inpatients and outpatients who need ongoing educational supportive counseling. The donation also helps to send one local staff to become a certified counselor. Read more about this project at http://www.fofiji.org/FoFNewsWinter2005.pdf
2005: Ro Camaisala Computer Lab
Friends of Fiji donated $2,600 to the Peace Corps Partnership Project at Ro Camaisala Memorial School in Nabukavesi, Fiji. The funds were used to complete a new concrete classroom for the computers. The project’s main source of funding was a grant from the Fiji Ministry of Education. Construction labor was provided by villagers. Read more about this project and the Peace Corps Volunteers at http://www.fofiji.org/FoFNewsWinter2005.pdf
Earlier projects supported by Friends of Fiji:
2002 – Raised $7,000 for Pedals for Progress which was used to pay for the shipment to Fiji of about 400 bicycles, 200 tires, 200 tubes, 100 pumps, 300 locks, and assorted other pare parts which the Fiji Amateur Cycling Association used to train youth in bicycle repair and to help these youth establish small bicycle businesses within their small communities to help generate income and promote the use of bicycles
2000 – Raised $5,400 for Habitat for Humanity for construction of the first two homes of the millennium
1997 – Established a $6,600 fund for a nursing student scholarship in memory of Peace Corps Medical Officer Adi Ratu Wainiu Kilimo Caginiliwalala.
1995 – Donated $3,000 to KANA, a Fijian organization working with 78 of the 130 boarding schools to improve the nutrition in student diets through the education of preparers and the development of fish ponds and gardens at the schools.
1993 – Raised $2,500 for Fiji’s Housing Assistance and Relief Trust (HART) which develops small, basic communities (houses, meeting hall, kindergarten) for destitute and near destitute families, mostly single women with children, who fall through the cracks in government social services. http://www.fofiji.org/FoF_News_Spring_2004__v5.pdf