Fijian Village Library
Donation protected
My name is Jessica and I’ve been living in a small village in Fiji for the last two months, working with the “World’s Toughest Race: EcoChallenge 2019” documentary project. The people of this village have taken me in like I am family. They have nothing and they want to give me everything. It’s the truest and deepest hospitality I have ever felt.
I recently met an incredible woman named Sisi Lia Nailevu, known as Nai, who is the village library coordinator and has a background in education and social services. In 2017, she was able to arrange to use a small, dilapidated house as a temporary library. The roof is leaking and the floor and walls are falling apart, but it houses a small collection of books which the village children cherish. Everyday after school, Nai and the women of the village open this library and help the children with their homework and reading. Since the opening of this humble library, the children have shown notable improvements on their standardized examinations. Nai has arranged with the primary Fijian library to donate more books, but the library will not send
books until the state of the library is deemed functional.
Nai has a dream for the education and future of the children of her village. She wants to build a new library with the potential for the installation of internet equipment in the future (right now there is barely cell service in this village, but the future is coming quick!). She sees this library as a place where the children and adults of her village can gather and read, learn, study and dream.
Nai has prepared a quote of costs for me that includes the purchase of materials, the transportation of these materials to the remote village and the hiring of local villagers for construction labour. They have a build site within the village already arranged.
The EcoChallenge Race and Production has numerous give back projects to provide support and financing for local Fijian projects and programs. Raising funds to build this library is one more opportunity for us to help the children of Fiji access educational materials and support and encourage their passion for learning and reading.
The children of this village have truly captured my heart with their interest in education and seemingly endless curiosity. I will be leaving this village at the end of the month and I want to leave a meaningful gift to show the gratitude that I have for their hospitality and acceptance. I can’t think of anything better that I could do for the people of this village than facilitate a fundraiser to build them a new library. Any donation, big or small, will be so appreciated by this community for generations to come.
Vanaka!
-Jessica
I recently met an incredible woman named Sisi Lia Nailevu, known as Nai, who is the village library coordinator and has a background in education and social services. In 2017, she was able to arrange to use a small, dilapidated house as a temporary library. The roof is leaking and the floor and walls are falling apart, but it houses a small collection of books which the village children cherish. Everyday after school, Nai and the women of the village open this library and help the children with their homework and reading. Since the opening of this humble library, the children have shown notable improvements on their standardized examinations. Nai has arranged with the primary Fijian library to donate more books, but the library will not send
books until the state of the library is deemed functional.
Nai has a dream for the education and future of the children of her village. She wants to build a new library with the potential for the installation of internet equipment in the future (right now there is barely cell service in this village, but the future is coming quick!). She sees this library as a place where the children and adults of her village can gather and read, learn, study and dream.
Nai has prepared a quote of costs for me that includes the purchase of materials, the transportation of these materials to the remote village and the hiring of local villagers for construction labour. They have a build site within the village already arranged.
The EcoChallenge Race and Production has numerous give back projects to provide support and financing for local Fijian projects and programs. Raising funds to build this library is one more opportunity for us to help the children of Fiji access educational materials and support and encourage their passion for learning and reading.
The children of this village have truly captured my heart with their interest in education and seemingly endless curiosity. I will be leaving this village at the end of the month and I want to leave a meaningful gift to show the gratitude that I have for their hospitality and acceptance. I can’t think of anything better that I could do for the people of this village than facilitate a fundraiser to build them a new library. Any donation, big or small, will be so appreciated by this community for generations to come.
Vanaka!
-Jessica
Organizer
Jessica Taylor
Organizer
Golden, BC
