Nanise Vosagaga is from Saivou Village in the heart of Fiji’s northern island of Vanua Levu. The community is surrounded by picturesque rainforest and seems like an idyllic setting for children but the reality can be much more complicated.

This village is more than 70 kilometers from the nearest town, making it hard for many in the area to access basic services like education. This realisation is what led the Saivou community and Nanise to work together to create a village preschool in one of its local houses. After operating in a temporary space the community then worked together and paid for building materials to establish a the centre in the heart of the village, then opened to students in 2012.

Originally Nanise had no formal training and was teaching the kids in what was deemed an ‘illegal school’ but in 2011, with the support of the New Zealand Government and Save the Children Fiji, a program was built to help these students continue being educated with proper support and recognition from the Ministry of Education.

Nanise is now a fully trained Early Childhood Educator who teaches 17 children in her classroom every morning.

For many attending, Saivou Kindergarten has given them the confidence to attend primary school and interact on the same level as children who have access to regular kindergartens in their local area.

She said, “without this centre the children in her community were being left behind but now they are just as smart as kids from town and they enjoy school.”

Nanise’s kindergarten is the picture of Fiji with teaching materials and resources developed from local products. Coconut shells and bamboo pieces replace regular stacking blocks and woven baskets align the walls holding toys and musical instruments made from bamboo and other local products.

Image: Nanise Vosagaga smong her creations and local products in her preschool

Note: This program is part of our Vuli Taumada Shishak programme funded by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) New Zealand, Save the Children New Zealand and Save the Children Fiji.  It operates in more than 50 vulnerable and marginalized communities across the country.

Comments from Children

Pryia Prasad is a community teacher at Qauia Preschool located on the outskirts of Suva’s capital city in central Fiji. The benefits her school has provided to the local community are immeasurable with 36 children graduating from preschool in 2013 and moving onto formal school. This centre ensures children in this area have the same access to education as other 4-5 year olds across the country.

The preschool is in the heart of a diverse community made up of children from diverse backgrounds and cultures and is classed as an informal settlement that is vulnerable and marginalized.

“In this community people have come here to live from all over Fiji. Places like Ra, Namosi, Loma Viti and Lau and we also have people of different faiths and religions such as Christians and Hindus. So through this kindergarten, children are playing together and learning each other’s language and communicating with each other for the first time.”

“Children are learning so much in this centre. We have noticed the children’s abilities to speak in English and talk to one another has increased… and the children’s interests in school have grown,” she said.

This centre brings iTaukei (indigenous) Fijians and Fijians of Indian descent together in one preschool so understanding and speaking with each other is a highly beneficial outcome.

Note: This preschool was established by the community through the Vuli Taumada Shishak Programme (VTS) funded by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) New Zealand and supported by Save the Children New Zealand.

“I became a teacher because I have two small children and I wanted to give them and other people in my community a good education.”

“Now I get to do that and students are being given a real chance at primary school.”

Vosa Maritina is from an informal settlement called Kalekana Community, which is on the outskirts Fiji’s capital city. No bus goes through this area as it sits atop a steep hill, which makes it hard for children to go to school and access basic health services.

This led Vosa and the Kalekana Community to get together in 2008 to establish an early childhood centre (preschool) and after running for a few years Safe the Children Fiji came on board to help support them under the Vuli Taumada Shisak (VTS) education programme.

The community now has a thriving kindergarten, 2 qualified teachers and Vosa is currently completing her Early Childhood Teaching qualifications. In 2013 alone, 28 children graduated from this centre and have now gone on to become aspiring young students in primary school. This is a credit to Vosa, her team and the entire community of Kalekana Kindergarten.

Note: The Vuli Taumada Shishak Programme (VTS) provided teacher training, teacher accreditation with the Ministry of Education. It is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) New Zealand and supported by Save the Children New Zealand.

13-year-old Sainamere loves to cook and spends her mornings in one of our local education centres doing just that.

Sainamere is a special needs student but getting access to a specialised school is too difficult due to the travelling distance between her village the local town.

The Kindergarten Centre in her community was established as part of Save the Children Fiji’s Vuli Taumada Shishak programme which has helped created more than 50 centres across Fiji in the last 3 years.

Sainamere’s kindergarten is a short walk from her home and her local teacher Filomena said her team helps by bringing her to the centre with them each day.

Sainamere loves playing and creating imaginary food with her classmates in the preschool and teachers say she is happier when she comes to the centre regularly.

Save the Children Fiji’s District Coordinator, Mere Krishna, said giving Sainamere education shows the commitment by the local community to break the barriers of access to education for every child.

“These circumstances aren’t ideal but they at least provide some form of education to a child that would be left without any, purely because of the area she was born in,” she said.

Monika Nabaro is a primary school teacher in one of the most picturesque schools in Fiji. Her Classroom sits atop a crest between a backdrop of the country’s luscious green foliage with a panoramic view of crystal blue waters.

This stunning location is where Mrs Nabaro teaches the future brains of the country that, according to her, are getting smarter every year.

“Actually this year I have been telling the children ‘you children have been giving me a lot of help and you are getting very fast’. They are coming up fast.”

“Like for co-ordination they are able to write their ABC which in past years when they haven’t been to preschool, I find it very difficult when it comes to writing. The recognition isn’t there but for these ones they have recognise and express it on paper”

Children who attend her class are from villages peppered along the coastline and Mrs Nabaro says since they have had access to attend preschool their capabilities in the classroom have improved dramatically.

“For me, as a teacher, I really am eager to teach and teach and teach and these children have already been prepared mentally and they really help me too for us to move together so they can build up to be a successful person in life.”

One of these communities is Kalokolevu Village and it is here where Save the Children Fiji worked with the community to establish an Early Childhood Centre (preschool). This centre provides children with the basic skills needed to succeed in formal schooling such as their ABC’s and coordination.

This year 10 of the 28 students in Mrs Nabaro’s classroom are from this community preschool centre and she said these children are showing they are cognitive and developed for class 1 students.

“These children pick up (things) very quickly and the development is very steady over the year and I also see as they move up they get a lot of concepts that we teach. They grasp it very fast and move on very fast with their learning inside and outside,” she said.

6-year-old Ateca is in her third term of Class 1 in Mrs Nabaro’s classroom and said moving up to the ‘big school’ was easy because she already had friends.

“My friends would always play together at that school (preschool) and now they do it here,” she said.

This interaction is really important as Mrs Nabaro said it has helped remove the fear children have for schooling.

“The impact of a child not going to preschool is the child has that fear. I see it. If they go to preschool that fear is not there so they learn freely and open up very fast for whatever is there for us to give them,” she said.

She explains children who don’t attend preschool are usually isolated at the start of school and find it harder to socialise.

“They sometimes get withdrawn and they find it very difficult to interact and mingle but after a while they begin to build up that trust,” she said.

Mrs Nabaro has no doubt early childhood education should be free and accessible to children no matter how remote their villages or community is. She said she still tries to convince parents on the need to send their children to preschool.

“I would tell them it must be compulsory for the child to go there (preschool) in order to learn these basic skills before they come into class one and I have been telling them and emphasising they must take their children, for them to develop before coming into my class.”

Image: Ateca, Leone and Ilisapeci with teacher Monika Nabaro

In Nabukadogo Village, more than 30 kilometers from Labasa Town on Fiji’s main northern island, a local mother’s group is providing hot meals for the local preschool to help improve their children’s health.

The women drove this idea after awareness training was held in the community about the impact of food on their children and the benefits for their learning and education.

Nabukadogo Early Childhood Centre’s teacher, Tomasi Silinabaravi, explained this commitment has made a real difference on the attendance numbers and general health of his students.

He said, “mothers had been moved by the results of the screenings on the health of children and after their meeting, this idea (of cooking) came up. Children are also given fresh fruits now at 10am everyday.”

These changes are helping re-shape the types of food children consume and this is being seen on the ground. This change came about after Save the Children Fiji conducted a baseline survey in 11 Vanua Levu communities in November last year.  These baseline survey’s were focused on understanding  food consumption in these areas. The results of the research identified concerns in consumption with a significant portion of children found to be consuming black tea with high levels of sugar while 86% of children were found to drink soft drinks or ‘ready-to-mix’ drinks regularly. There was also a very low consumption of fruit and vegetables in these areas.

Letila Didramica, is a local mother from Nabukadogo Village and she said her daughter gets sick less and is now more active since the cooking program began at school.

“Through the lunch program I have noticed my daughter is getting healthier, less running nose and very active. She loves to attend school every day. She eats a lot of fruits and vegetables now and she likes coboi tea (lemongrass) more than black tea. She even wants to take fruits to school,” she said.

This change to coboi tea (lemongrass) that Mrs Didramica’s daughter has made plus the increase in fruits and vegetables at school are early signs of real community-led action and the children themselves are also involved in this change.

5-year-old Ilisapeci Nasavu told us her favourite foods are now pawpaw and cabbage. “I like the fruit and fish been added to my lunch. My mum gives me different food now, not like before, always same food,” she said.

Teacher Silinbaravi says some families are also making changes at home as the cooking has helped develop the way food is prepared at meal times.

“The individual families and community are very happy about this move and really support the mothers group because they’ve noticed the difference in the children. The families are also learning from this and try to improve their meals in the home,” he said.

Note: The awareness training that led to these changes are part of Save the Children Fiji’s Community Child Nutrition Project. This project targets 22 informal communities across the Northern and Central Divisions of Fiji and works to strengthen health networks and create platforms for community driven change. This project will run for a total of 22-months and is funded by the Fiji Community Development Program (FCDP)

Preventable diseases like diabetes have become the biggest killer of people in the Pacific. In Fiji the rate of diabetes is among the highest in the world with statistics showing one in five people being affected by it. According to the International Diabetes Federation it’s estimated 33% of people in the surgical wards of Fiji are diabetes patients.

In children, the rates of malnutrition, which includes underweight and overweight children, are increasing and can be seen to lead to serious diseases in later life. Lack of access to nutritious and healthy food or balanced meals are common causes of these preventable illnesses but one local teacher is working to stop children in her community from becoming statistics.

Matelita Rauluni is the Head Teacher from Valenicina Preschool in an informal community settlement just outside Lami town in Fiji. In 2008, Matelita together with other community leaders established a preschool in the community after realising that many young children weren’t able to access formal schooling. This preschool was established through Save the Children’s Vuli Taumada Shisak (VTS) Project.

After becoming an accredited teacher and continuing to educate every child under the age of 5 in her community she realised the effect of unhealthy diets on her students learning.

Matelita was part of a community health training run by Save the Children Fiji that helped equip local teachers with an understanding of what food children needed to develop. She then set about teaching her classroom on what they need to be healthy and strong.

She has since made it her mission to combat the rising disease rates by establishing a ‘No Junk Food Policy’ in her classroom. This policy stops any child from bringing fatty or sugary food in their lunchboxes and she said the difference has been noticeable to children’s health.

“Before the Junk Food Policy was here the kids were very sick. They got sick quite often and were not really active during activities, so once I changed the food and got them used to eating healthy food and drinking water I really find (sic) good changes in them.

“They are healthy and active and they respond when you talk to them. They communicate well in their groups – so food is one of the contributing factors to the upbringing to a child,” she said.

Matelita has also spoken to the parents in her community on the benefits of healthy and nutritious meals. As many of her students are from poor backgrounds she has taught them the benefits of sharing by encouraging those that could afford to bring lunch, to bring a little extra to share with their classmates.

She said many students now ask their mothers to pack extra vegetables or fruit for their friends at school who are not able to afford lunch everyday. Since this community shift she explains the differences in the children’s ability to learn are much better with students being happier, more active and more engaged.

*The Community Child Nutrition Project supported this training and is run by Save the Children Fiji and funded by Australian Aid and Fiji Community Development Program. The establishment of local preschools across Fiji is part of the Vuli Taumada Shisak program of Save the Children Fiji funded by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT)

Assistant Health Minister, Hon. Veena Bhatnagar launched Save the Children Fiji’s annual Race for Survival event dedicated to improving the health of children across the country.

More than 500 school children from Labasa and surrounds were involved in the 1500m relay race focused on bringing awareness to the impact of dry weather on children’s health across the country.

The Assistant Health Minister, Hon. Veena Bhatnagar officially launched the event and congratulated Save the Children Fiji for recognising the important role of children in society in Fiji.

She said working with key partners like Save the Children Fiji brings awareness to important issues that children can also help create solutions for when it comes to health, especially in the dry weather being felt across the country.

“The collaborative approach is intended to raise awareness about the increased health risks connected to adverse dry weather conditions and showing the public how to stay healthy through cost effective solutions such as the Tippy Taps method which can be used when there is limited water available,” she said.

The race was of a global action with more than 60 countries taking part to give children a voice on their concerns surrounding their own health.

In Fiji, the race and exhibition held at Guru Nanak Primary School Oval showcased how children and the public can create cost-effective ways to protect health in dry weather.  This weather can increase water borne disease which heavily impact upon children in marginalized and vulnerable communities.

SC Fiji CEO, Raijeli Nicole, said this dry weather is proven to increase the risk of diarrhea and other illnesses which can be very harmful to young children and infants.

“In the previous drought in Fiji water was prioritized for cooking before it was used for hygiene and this is a concern for us as proper sanitation is proven to protect children from diarrhea and other illnesses.”

“The Race for Survival event is focused on this as we will be showing how communities and children can create cost-effective ways to both conserve water and protect their health as the dry conditions are expected to worsen in the coming months,” she said.

Image: Raijeli Nicole, CEO Save the Children Fiji with Assistant Health Minister, Hon. Veena Bhatnagar at 2014 Race for Survival at Guru Nanak Primary School in Labasa.

Save the Children Fiji has kicked off an innovative health strategy in Labasa today launching its ‘Save, Sip, Survive’ campaign designed to protect the health of communities impacted by dry weather conditions.

The campaign has been designed in partnership with Ministry of Health and supported by experts in Water and Sanitation, Public Health and the business sector.

The launch coincided with Save the Children Fiji’s biggest event for 2014 with more than 500 children participating in its Race for Survival Event dedicated to children’s health and ending preventable deaths of children under the age of 5.

Save the Children Fiji says this campaign is a way to give children a voice on issues affecting their health which focused on preventing water borne disease in the drought-like conditions being experienced across the country.

SC Fiji’s CEO, Raijeli Nicole, said “previous experiences from the 1997-1998 drought shows water is prioritised for cooking rather than hygiene in the home. This in turn increases the risk of diarrhea and water borne diseases like skin infections which commonly affect children here in Fiji,” she said.

“We are working closely with Ministry of Health with regards to preempting any outbreak of water-related illness. We are encouraging the country to save quality drinking water in sealed containers which are kept out of the sun whilst making sure everyone drinks 2 litres of clean or boiled water per day. We are also encouraging everyone to wash their hands with soap and seek early medical care if anyone becomes sick.”

Research by UNICEF makes the clear link between children and infants and their risks involved in disasters as they make up the most vulnerable group due to their dependency on others for their basic living needs.

To help create solutions and build the resilience of communities to drought Save the Children Fiji has already begun running workshops with children across the Central and Northern divisions to educate them on cost-effective ways to keep themselves safe while conserving water at the same time.

“More than 100 school children have already made Tippy Taps, which is a low cost but effective device so children can wash their hands with soap even if water shortages or cuts occur,” Ms Nicole said.

A Tippy Tap is made from regular 2 litre plastic bottle where the water is able to slowly drip out so children can ensure they have access to wash their hands without wasting water.

“Children are clearly aware of the impact the dry weather is having with many already saying people in their communities have become sick and some say they don’t have enough drinking water left by the end of the day,” she said.

12-year-old Tarusila who attended the workshops said “it is everyone’s job to protect water and is encouraging everyone to turn of the tap and fixing leaking pipes.

“I’m just asking everyone out there to help Fiji become a better place. If you see any open taps anywhere just close it. Even if it’s not yours, just close it…. Protect our water and make Fiji a better place.”

This ‘Save Sip Survive’ campaign will be expanded to areas that are at risk of dry conditions and Save the Children Fiji will continue to work with important partners to ensure cost-effective solutions to protecting health in dry weather continues to expand across the country into the future.

*Image: students with one of the launched posters at Race for Survival 2014. Save. Sip. Survive.

Save the Chilidren Fiji’s Ana Lotata Colati has been helping educate community teachers in Fiji for more than a decade and her work has become a little easier thanks to the Rotary Club of Suva and SOPAC’s Talanoa Club (SPC) after the donation of a new computer.

Ana’s work helps train community teachers whilst mentoring many of them as they develop new skills in Early Childhood Centres (preschools) based in communities across the Central Division.

Ana herself began as a community teacher in the Lau Group before being given the opportunity to formalise her training through the Ministry of Education. She then went on to start work with Save the Children’s Education Program and is a valuable member of our team.

Ana and the entire Save the Children team are thankful to both the Rotary Club of Suva and SOPAC’s Social Committee for their commitment to helping educate teachers in communities. This computer donation will allow Ana to continue her work in an efficient and timely manner.

We would like to formally thank the entire team that presented the computer on Saturday and hope to work again with these wonderful groups in the future.

*Image: (Front Row from left) Paul Drakford (Rotary), Manager of Heatlh at Save the Children Ashweeni Lata, Dorene Naidu (Rotary), Marie Bourrel (front – Rotary), Michael Petmon (Talanoa SOAC Committee), President of Rotary Club of Suva Alisi Tuqa.
Back row (from left) Digitaki Tuberi and Sachindra Singh (President of the Talanoa Social Committee – SOPAC).