Empowering Lautoka School Children and Teachers

We will cooperate with Involvement Volunteers International, which has 27 years of global volunteering experience, in supporting children, teachers and villagers in a community that is relying on the limited resources from the government to keep it sustainable. They will partner us up with their staff and a local community that needs our support to enliven the community and empower the villagers. This will be a two-week project and it will be in a village community in Lautoka. Our project is designed to support with building classrooms (collaborated project with NGO) and greenhouse, and provide various health workshops and activities to help the villagers acquire some basic health knowledge to protect themselves and to be more independent and capable of helping other villagers.

Problems we try to resolve

Preventive measures for diabetes and obesities, and dental problems

Diabetes and obesities are major health issues in Fiji, especially in poor villages. Dental problems are also serious health problems in Fiji (Davies, Hedrick, Luveni, Singh 1992; Valentin, Bocherens, Gratuze, Sand, 2006). Dental caries and periodontal disease in Fiji. Australian dental journal, 37(5), 386-393.Due to the changes in eating patterns of abandoning their traditional diet to imported and processed food, the Fijian are consuming more energy dense food and less intake of fruits and vegetables. This is due to the The most recent study done by Fiji National Nutrition Survey have shown that 14.5% of children and 32.3% of adults (over 18) are overweight, and 23.9% of the adults are obese. The number one cause of mortality in 2012 and 2013 is also diabetes, with 21.5% and 19.4% respectively. The number two cause of mortality is ischemic heart disease, and one of the risk factors of this disease is also diabetes and obesity. The poor villagers are the most vulnerable group of people to have these diseases because they imported and processed food (white flour, sugar, canned meat and fish, carbonated beverages, cookies and candies) are the cheapest and the most convenient food to obtain. What’s worse is the lack of good educational resources and knowledge dedicated to poor village schools. We intend to educate the children, teachers and adults in a village school of the Lautoka community through workshops and interactive activities. The teachers can continue to run the workshop even after we leave.

Lack of stable learning environment in Lautoka community villages

The village schools usually lack in good infrastructures from cyclones as cyclones are common natural disasters that hit Fiji during the cyclone season between November and April. Without having a stable and safe school infrastructure, the children in Fiji have not been able to learn in a stable, clean and safe environment. They often need to share the Lautoka community hall when their school is under renovation after cyclone destruction. Classroom construction at the village schools is an ongoing project the local NGOs have been working on. As we are collaborating with them to work with the local community, apart from our own initiative, we will assist them in classroom construction.

Ethnic conflict and social stability

Ethnic conflict has been an ongoing issue in Fiji. It is especially evident in the political structure and unequal access to resources under the political influence. The population of Fiji, just over 785,000, is an amalgam of Indians (46.2%), Fijians (49.9%), ‘part-Europeans’ or half-castes (1.7%), Europeans (0.7%), Rotumans (1.2%), Chinese (0.7%) and other Pacific Islanders (1%). The most serious ethnic conflict is caused between the Indians and Fijians which represents the majority of the population. As a result, there had been four coup d’etat in the past thirty years (two in 1987, one in 2000 and one is 2006). Despite the fact that the Fijian government has tried to reform its laws, constitution and educational system to promote a peace and harmonious Fijian society, the resources and teacher’s quality in the Lautoka village have only been able to provide book knowledge to the children. The local NGOs told us that the village teachers really welcome

Our Work

1. Leadership and teambuilding – children (Indian and Fijian)
   a. ice-breaking activities
   b. challenging brainstorming exercises and interactive games
   c. after the activities → homework: writing and drawing in their reflective journal, which includes brainstorming questions on leadership and teamwork for reflection
2. Greenhouse making
   a. teach the NGO supervisor, teachers and children about how to set up greenhouses
   b. assist the NGO supervisor, teachers and children in doing initial plantation work
3. Health workshop
   1. dental hygiene
      1. Pre-test and check answers→ to test the children’s knowledge on their teeth
      2. Interactive lecture and class teaching (e.g. how to brush well – have kids look into a mirror and brush their teeth in the way we teach)
      3. HomeworkIn-class quiz and wrap up
   2. diabetes and obesity knowledge
      1. Pre-test and check answers → to test the children’s knowledge on diabetes and obesity
      2. Interactive lecture and class teaching
      3. Learning through experience: take children to the supermarket and have them mark down the sugar content of targeted foods onto the worksheets
      4. Teach about healthier choices of food to lower the risks of getting diabetes or becoming obese