Reaching out..Beyond Keiyasi...

Panoramic view of the School

Last thursday we visited yet another beautiful and pristine village called Navosa beyond Keiyasi! Atul with his team were visiting the village school to set up the solar light system (his French funded project) and I decided to make use of the opportunity! About 2 hours drive from Sigatoka in the interior of Viti levu is this magnificent group of people who are blessed with pure water and air surrounding them. However, there is no electricity which makes it a little difficult for children to study at night - they study as long as there is daylight!

We reached the village school after 2 hours of drive along the gravel road and finally wading through the river which was an experience on its own! It is amazing how people live in this part of the Fiji with everything natural. It was an eventful day with children singing, parents catching fresh fish and cooking from the same river and most importantly parents, teachers and children all gathering up to learn how to set up solar lights which of course was the highlight - the sparkle in children, teachers and parents eyes expressed it all. I can only imagine what goes on in Atul's mind each time he accomplishes one group of community! This project has indeed lit up a good number of lives in Fiji. And I am thankful to Atul for this humbling experience. Here are some photos that have captured the essence of the trip.

Look at the sparkle and curiosity of these young future scientists and leaders!

Gender is at the forefront - Ensuring females are trained too!

Learning the wiring - Who says girls are not interested in science and engineering!

Coming together for the training and learning and to ensure We have the light!

Aha there is light!

Fresh food and hospitality is part of the culture and we enjoyed a lovely meal with children serenading! The teacher explained since visitors rarely come by, they want to ensure children also learn to talk and present in front of strangers. Indeed the teachers are thinking ahead and preparing them to face the outside world, thank you for that.

Fresh catch from the river!

Fresh catch freshly cooked and served

Pre Easter Celebration with a lovely meal

Before I hit the journey back home photos, here is something that captured my attention, firstly, the bure! Children love to come here and play.

The bure - Children's play room

Secondly, the computers!!! While Atul and his team were busy with training and setting the solar light system, I visited the library where I found 6-7 very old computers (with option for floppy drive!) lying idle. I decided to set up one and give a quick demo of some things they could do to integrate it in their learning and teaching. The school has one small diesel generator which is used occasionally for teachers to use their laptops (two teachers have a laptop each and like to use it sometimes). I wish people would not donate such old computers, you never know when they would stop working! Until these computers do stop working, I hope teachers would use them in their lesson occasionally.

All set and lets start!

And here we go!

Finally it was time to say goodbyes and we left with memories of smiling faces and melodious singing echoing through....

Thats right, that's the river we will drive through!

We are going to wade through the river

Leaving the village school behind and moving forward with sweet memories!