Christmas gifts for kids in Fiji

Hello everyone!

My name is Balint and I have been backpacking around the world for 15 months now. Throughout my travels my first priority has always been to meet locals, experience the way they live, and explore their traditions and cultures. After travelling to more than 50 countries in my life, I have been deeply touched and surprised about how welcoming and kind hearted fijians were. Although it wasn’t originally meant to be part of my journey, I spent about a month in Fiji this past August. My travels led me to Koro Island, a little island that was destroyed by Cyclone Winston a couple of years ago. The island`s infrastructure is still recovering from this disastrous event. People had to leave everything behind and flee to a mountain to protect themselves from the huge waves that crashed over the island. This event changed life forever for the people of Koro… but one thing that stayed the same was the smile on people's face and their unprecedented kindness. Travelling there, families shared their homes and food with me, I attended a traditional fijian wedding, participated in local rituals and visited schools.

One morning when a little girl with a big smile came to me and proudly presented a coconut she’d grabbed for me from a tree, I realised how much I want to give something back to these people whose hospitality is beyond anything I’ve encountered in my travels so far.

I came up with the idea for this foundation. The goal is to support local schools with items local kids need most. I have spent hours talking with community leaders about how we can best use the funds, and a plan is now in place. My mission it to make fijian children as happy as I was when the little girl gave me that perfect coconut she’d found just for me. As a backpacker, I started to wonder if these kids even have backpacks to go to school with? Of course, they do not. In most of the villages there is not even electricity. They carry their school supplies in their hands through rain and wind while walking long distances. Together, we can surprise these kids with a Christmas present (school bags for about 450 kids in need) that will mean so much to them. A gift that is useful and helps them in their everyday life.

Balint for Fiji Foundation is an idea to support 3 different schools on 3 different islands by putting a nice gift under the Christmas trees of families in need! Please help me to achieve my goal!