I have just got back from spending four weeks on a remote island in Fiji called Yanuya. The place is absolutely beautiful, as I hope you will be able to see in some of my photos, and this also goes for the kindness and friendliness of all the islanders. I was volunteering and staying in Namamanuca Primary School, which takes children from not only Yanuya but also another nearby island called Tavua. I spent the majority of my time teaching the Year 6 students, a class of 18 eleven year-olds, in preparation for their upcoming public exams.

I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to spend time with all the children, getting to know them and understanding what it's like to grow up here. In this small village, there are 800 people living within one square kilometre and as a result there is a very strong sense of community.

I have many, many photos to share and even more stories to tell of my time there and I was incredibly sad to leave after my month's stay. However, despite the novelty of this experience for me, I was also able to see what makes life here so hard.

One of the biggest challenges that the community faces is getting access to potable water in the dry season. There is a well and a bore hole on the island, however these provide limited resources and are unsafe for anything other than bathing and washing clothes. Treated water for cooking and drinking has to be brought by the government from the mainland in a barge that comes every month. Besides this, there are many things such as food and appliances that these families cannot afford, such as meat, ovens or even shoes.

The same goes for the school, Namamanuca Primary School, as each year it has very few resources to supply the children and teachers with the supplies they need. I set up this page before I left with the intention of buying stationary supplies for the children, and now I have been to the school I have a better idea of what items they require. For instance, in the Year 6 class there was only one protractor to be shared among all 18 of them in their maths exam. I have no decided to leave it up to Mr Beci, the headmaster of the school, to make the final decision in how the money is used, as that seems only right. We have yet to finalise our plans, but I can assure you that the money will be distributed among funds for stationary, textbooks and new whiteboards for the school.

Cordelia x