I remember the first day we arrived at the village felt strange, off putting, quite literally the most unfamiliar situation I’ve been in all my life. Even though I’ve studied up on what to prepare for and been briefed on all the customs, nothing really does compare to actually experiencing it all myself. Meeting my nene and momo, being ushered into our home for the next several weeks, and being introduced to relatives whose names and faces I could hardly put together was certainly a shock to the system. The first week in particular was quite challenging. After all, I’d just met everyone and had difficulty overcoming the language barrier and fully embracing the different lifestyle.
But as time went on, I found myself really enjoying every new experience, being taught the meke (traditional dance), learning to make traditional crafts and getting to go on treks while learning about the farming and history of the village. I found myself becoming closer and more fond of my Fijian family as well as the other villagers, playing with the kids and sharing snacks with them whenever I had some to spare. We even watched a rugby game and went on the river safari together! I truly have not met a community more friendly than the one in Toga village and am very fortunate to have done the LiA there.
Community Build
The first half of the project was the build project where we were to build a health facility. The first week was rather rocky, with materials being delayed and a truck getting stuck in the mud that we had to pull out. It was mostly spent getting in the groove of things, with everyone working on the build together for its foundations. The following week, we were split into two teams, with one assigned to build and the other to culture class in the morning, and then swap in the afternoon. The system worked quite well and kept us all involved, working to build the framework and eventually start putting together the whole building step by step. The villagers also helped us a lot with the construction, and since they had much more experience with the tools, taught us and guided us whenever we looked like we were struggling. We had a few hurdles along the way, such as needing to extend the time for build due to material delays as well as some rough days where the workflow was a bit stunted. Even with those setbacks, we managed to complete the building and held a kava ceremony to commemorate handing off the building to the village.
Youth Empowerment
I’ve found the youth empowerment sessions conducted to be very informative and eye opening, especially in regards to the Pacific perspective when it comes to tackling climate change. Much of the workshops centred around this topic, and us, coming into it from a more Western perspective, were made more aware of the impact that climate change has and its direct consequences on the people in Fiji. In addition to that, I think the fact that we managed to bond with the youth over the previous weeks helped in the delivery, as they were all a bit hesitant and apprehensive about speaking up in open discussions, so members of our team would be more proactive to encourage them to take part. Our schedules also allowed for more free time towards the end, allowing us to do our own activities such as going to see our families’ farms, or strolling around the village without schedules bogging us down.
Reflections
Throughout the experience, I learned that leadership is not always explicit, sometimes it’s the incentive to try something out to reassure someone that an activity is fine, and sometimes it’s extending a helping hand when you see someone struggling. I’ve found that my soft skills were greatly honed throughout the course of the project, I’ve become more communicative, I’ve learned to really enjoy the little things as well as coming to terms that there is a learning curve to pretty much any new activity. More than anything, I’ve found that the most valuable skill I improved upon was simply having a positive mindset and forcing myself to overcome any sense of unfamiliarity by just going with the flow. I never expected to be able to do something like this, so I really am thankful for the opportunity to go through this once-in-a-lifetime experience!