Kadavu island trip part 2 – Pacific Outreach

posted July 5th 2019

Goundar shipping Lomaiviti Princess ferry arrival

Next step was to consult with the Ministry of Education to get their input: we were thinking to start with schools that had no library books at all, but the chief education officer in charge of Kadavu had other ideas: he told us that every school had been advised to construct bookshelves but that not all schools had followed this directive. He went on to say that if we gave to schools without bookshelves, our books wouldn’t be treated well and would only have a short life. Better to give to schools that at least have a small, basic library! Good advice. He drew up a list of 15 suitable schools scattered around the large island, further dividing them into 2 categories: those that could be reached by 4×4 truck and those that had no access road whatsoever and therefore could only be reached by speedboat…

distribution by pickup

As soon as the ship arrived, it was a non-stop adventure taking the books over rough terrain to the schools, sometimes involving some additional hiking through the jungle or braving rough seas in the speedboat! Both children and teachers were extremely grateful for the donated books and their happy smiles made it worth it all. Altogether we gave to 3 secondary schools, 15 primary schools and 7 preschools, along with plenty of donated toothpaste, clothes and shoes.

Nabukelevuira Primary School

Nabukelevu Primary School