Think Pacific testimony: Beatrice Herman
Think Pacific is a volunteer organisation that works with local Fijjian communities and the Ministry in an ethical and personal way for sustainable community-led outcomes. The University of St Andrews has had many students take part in the Think Pacific Summer Programme for a few years now and they encourage anyone who is interested in filling up their long summers! Read below for a testimony from Beatrice who took part in the project in 2019……
“My name is Beatrice and I was a Project Team Leader for Think Pacific in July 2019. Graduating from St Andrews last summer, I was keen to engage in a meaningful and eye-opening volunteer project. Think Pacific offered me exactly what I was looking for and more, with its clear aims and initiatives as well as its focus on the sustainability of its projects.
My project was based in the province of Tailevu in the rural village of Vatukarasa. The experience of living in an extremely remote location, as a member of a Fijian family was incredible. The warmth and kindness of the village community made Vatukarasa feel like a home away from home and taught me so much about living off the land around you. One of the things that I loved most about being in Fiji was the astounding friendliness of the Fijian people. Whilst some of the cultural differences such as eating on the floor and drinking cava took some adjustment, it was the Fijians’ willingness to open their homes and share their lives with us that helped us feel quickly at ease. Being invited into different peoples’ homes for tea or breakfast became a daily occurrence and being waved goodbye for school each morning made the whole team quickly feel a part of the community. Some of my favourite parts of project were the weekend excursions which included visiting a local waterfall and making Fijian rafts on the river. These outings as well as our evening sessions of mat making, meke learning and team quiz nights enabled us to bond as a team and to cement friendships with the villagers.
As a team, our time at school was both challenging and rewarding. Each day we would conduct individual and small group sessions with the slower learners of the different year groups. We were faced with some initial language barriers and the need to adapt our teaching techniques to meet each child’s strengths and weaknesses. Whilst this proved difficult at times, it made each small breakthrough feel all the more rewarding. After classes finished each day we would conduct sports sessions and house-cup workshops. House-cup involved arts and crafts, drama as well as song and dance. One of my highlights during these sessions was watching the children’s reaction upon first discovering glitter; practically the whole class went home that day with it sprinkled all over their faces and sparkling in their hair.
My time in Fiji was a time of immense self-growth. It required me to be open minded, flexible and to push myself out of my comfort zone. I came away from project not only with an immense sense of pride at what the team had achieved but also with a sense of enormous self-achievement and purpose. I would without a doubt recommend volunteering with Think Pacific to St Andrews students looking for an experience that is both completely different and highly rewarding.”
