Category Archives: 2011

2011: Day 19 @ Naidovi – Time to go home

Times does fly when you are well tuned into whatever you are doing. We fly out tomorrow. Entering a classroom in Fiji almost 25 years later has been a unique experience. The last three weeks have been most rewarding – … Continue reading

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2011: Day 18@Naidovi

Earlier in the week we travelled to Suva (the capital of Fiji) and met some officials from the Ministry of Education. The meeting gave me some ideas on where their ICT agenda was heading.  Today, we got a chance to … Continue reading

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2011: Day 17 @ Naidovi

The library is almost setup. Given that there are only about 400 books on the shelves for borrowing, one week on – one week off strategy can work. So children can borrow books every second week. For our “one book … Continue reading

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2011: Day 12@ Naidovi

Another very busy day. The presentation for the principals and head teachers went very well. The feedback received from them made it obvious that our initiatives were valuable and important to enhancing the quality of education in Fiji. For me … Continue reading

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2011: Day 11 @ Naidovi

We have been very busy. Getting the activities underway and preparing for tomorrow’s principals and head teachers “conference”. There were two highlights of the day. Firstly, the staff organised a special lunch for us. They called it the “thanksgiving lunch”. … Continue reading

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2011: Day 10 @ Naidovi

Wednesday morning about 7 AM. I am reflecting on my thoughts in the bure house at the resort. Yesterday was a good day. We took the children around to Voua village and took lots of photos.  The children were very … Continue reading

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2011: Day 9 @ Naidovi

Tuesday morning…Got back to our routine after our short trip to Nadi. Yesterday was quite eventful. The building the robots has continued. In the afternoon we talked to the teachers about how libraries need to be set up and managed. … Continue reading

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2011: Day 6 @ Naidovi

Today is Saturday and we have come to unwind at a resort in Nadi. We will be here for the next 2 nights. It is 10.30 in the morning. There are people going past me on this footpath – some … Continue reading

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2011: Day 5 @ Naidovi

It is about 7 AM at the resort. It is Friday and I must admit the last 4 days have been very productive. It is almost like a new dawn for the school to see the new library take shape. … Continue reading

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2011: Day 3 @ Naidovi

It is 7.30 in the evening and I’m reflecting on my thoughts in a Fijian Bure. At this motel the bure is built in the centre of the complex. A bure is a traditional Fijian house. It is very nice … Continue reading

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2011: Day 2 @ Naidovi

We arrived at the school at 9 AM and got stuck into the work. Our main focus was to identify usable books from the existing stock that they had at school. We had some year six students come and help … Continue reading

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2011: Day 1 @ Naidovi

5/9/11 We arrived in Fiji last night on an Air Pacific flight from Brisbane. After a 45 min taxi driver from Nadi International airport, we got to our hotel it was almost 9 PM. This morning we had to the … Continue reading

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2011: The journey

The posts from here on tells the story of our engagement at Naidovi Primary School. Since my last visit in 2009, a new library block has been built. This was made possible through the support provided by the Japanese Embassy … Continue reading

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2011: Getting ready for Fiji – the LEGO robotic kits

We were most grateful to our good friend Eugene in Hong Kong who was very generous with his donation of a class set of robotic kits for our project.  He was able to do this  through his company which distributes … Continue reading

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2011: Getting ready for Fiji – the laptops

The laptops were our next priority. We opted for laptops because they do not need a permanent room in a school. They are also lighter – therefore transportation costs are lower. Our strategy here was to secure a class set … Continue reading

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2011: Getting ready for Fiji – the library books

In order to get this project underway, we needed library books. The strategy was to gather secondhand library books that was suitable for primary school students. One of the TAFE libraries was weeding out its collection – we were able … Continue reading

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What was the motivation behind this project?

A visit to my old primary school in Fiji some years ago was the motivation behind this project.  I had gone to take some photos of places within the school that had become etched in my memory – like the classroom where … Continue reading

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What is the Fiji Project?

Every child should have the opportunity to dream and aim high irrespective of where they are born. Sadly, some children are deprived of educational opportunities. Access to resources such as books and technology that many of us consider to be … Continue reading

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