PRESENT / FUTURE PROJECTS

Rakiraki Primary School    
Over 250 children are suffering from a lack of fresh water and inadequate sanitation facilities at this school. Many of the children are showing symptoms of trachoma- a condition which, if left untreated, can lead to blindness.

The main cause of trachoma is through not washing the face often enough - in this case as a result of the shortage of fresh clean water. Eye secretions not washed away build up and attract flies. These flies carry the bacteria that lead to trachoma.

It is our intention to provide an adequate supply of clean water, to provide adequate sanitation facilities and to introduce a programme of hygiene awareness.

We also intend to provide medication to treat the existing cases of trachoma

  
 

Rakiraki School - Present facilities

  

 

Further fresh water      
We have identified and prioritised two further schools in need of fresh water. These schools are Lomaivuna District Primary School in the Nausori area and Joan of Arc School in Sigatoka. In the case of the Lomaivuna school, this is a joint project between 'Children of Fiji' and the government.

      Lomaivuna School

  

Joan of Arc School

Pupils at Joan of Arc School
     
Surgery    
  We are currently in negotiation with a UK charity to try and arrange surgery for a young girl in Fiji who suffers from a severe facial disfigurement due to a rare genetic disorder. At this stage, we do not know whether surgery is a viable option, but we hope that something can be done for her. We have arranged medical reports and CT scans. The decision now rests with the surgeons.

UPDATE DEC 2007

The surgeons have said YES. The medical staff are giving all of their services for free. A UK charity 'Facing the World' will pay the return flights for the girl and her mum to come to the UK and give them accommodation. We are currently organising passports, visas etc. It is envisaged that the initial reconstructive surgery will take around 6 to 8 months. We are so pleased for the girl and her family to have this opportunity. They are 'over the moon'!

We will keep you updated. Meanwhile, any help in funding the family's day to day expenses would be appreciated. Please contact us or donate on line.

  

 

School Fees    
Except in exceptional circumstances we do not pay individual school fees as it is hard to pick any particular student in preference to another. However, there are circumstances when we can carry out a particular fund-raising activity and use the funds for a school where there are a number of students struggling to meet the school fees. Money would be spread amongst a large number of students, bringing all of the fees down to a manageable level for the parents/guardians to be able to cope with. For a primary school, fees are in the region of £8 to £10 per year. We continue to use this approach and have recently been able to donate £700 to DAV Girls School    

 

 

Easing the problems of getting to school    
It never ceases to amaze us what incredible journeys children have to make to get to school. Many walk for hours barefoot across mountain tracks (often in the dark), or they have to scramble through creeks, wade through rivers and even swim across bays. So far, we have had two bridges built at two separate locations. We have also provided two boats with outboard motors (and life-jackets) : One of these (Navitilevu) means that children no longer have to swim across a wide bay to get to school and that, in the case of an emergency, they can be ferried to medical aid. The other one is used in the wide Rewa River delta and collects children from a variety of small islands to get them safely to school on the big island in the river (primary and secondary school sites). We hope to continue to provide these (the cost of a half-cabin fibre-glass boat (carrying around 25 children) plus out-board motor and life-jackets is around £5,000)