University Engineering Expedition - in Fiji - NCP
- Student Engineering Expedition in the Fiji Islands, in Partnership with Ministry of Health
- Develop Leadership, Teamwork & Professional skills
- Make Life-long friends & Challenge Yourself on a Real Adventure
- Homestay – Live with a Traditional Fijian family
- Weekend Excursions to Explore your Rural Surroundings e.g. Jungle treks
- Project Fees include; food, accommodation, 24/7 in country support, domestic travel, weekend excursions, charity donation (flights not included)
- Expedition Costs From $2950 for 3-Weeks in Fiji
- Expedition Dates – Project run anytime of year
Learn from our talented Fijian Building Managers and collaborate with Fijian engineering students from FNU and unemployed Fijian youths as you achieve the entire construction of a village facility for a remote island community.
Projects are based solely in rural areas and overseen by the Fijian Ministry of Health’s ‘Towards a Fijian Islands Initiative’. Projects include creating toilet and sanitation blocks, health clinics and community centres. Students live in a remote Fijian village, where the building project takes place. This a challenging immersion project and students gain huge personal development and real cultural insight into daily Fijian life.
Our projects are delivered out of our Fiji headquarters in Suva, Fiji and guided by our experienced in-country staff, plus local volunteers from Fiji National University, University of South Pacific, local youth group leaders, and local community leaders.
We see huge personal growth of students, as they achieve our targets, increase their skills, expand their comfort zone and gain a unique global perspective which helps to prepare them for life beyond the academic world. Harry Thorpe was a volunteer in 2015, who has now gone on to create his own volunteer project after his experience in Fiji. In this video, he reflects on how his project with Think Pacific enhanced his academic learning experience.
- Expanding MOH building aims and Holistic Health programmes for rural communities.
- Funding projects that wouldn’t otherwise be achieved without grants and funding by Think Pacific Foundation (Fiji)
- Funding and facilitating the training of unemployed Fijian youths to gain their first work-based skills and experience
- Job creation in areas of building, carpentry and construction for local people
- Facilitating global and cross-cultural understanding for rural villagers
- Increasing personal development and leadership abilities of Fijian staff, trainees and village youths.
Since 2014, Think Pacific has been working in partnership with UK Universities to provide student outward mobility projects. Today, we are incredible proud to be working with 36+ UK Universities, guiding over 1000+ students per year.
In 2020, we have set ourselves a strategic goal to engage Australian students and universities to diversify our support for the Fijian communities and continue our support of the ‘Healthy Islands’ initiative, in new areas of the Fiji Islands.
You will land at Nadi Airport and meet your Expedition Leaders for the first time.
Every expedition starts with an all inclusive 3 day briefing at a beautiful tropical beach resort. This is time for you to get to know your team mates and engage in training seminars.
Leaving the briefing paradise, you will travel to your remote traditional Fijian community. Depending on your village, this could be a truck to deep jungle or ferry to an outer island.
Arriving into your Fijian village is an exciting and nervous moment! Every door is open in a Fijian community and the generosity and genuine excitement of the local people is profound. By the end of the project our volunteers feel as though they are leaving a second home in the South Pacific.
Some of your greatest experiences will be the simple activities of daily Fijian life; learning how to weave palm leaves, cooking Fijian food in underground earth ovens, drinking ceremonial Kava with the chief, husking coconuts or fishing ‘Fiji-style’.
We focus upon developing holistic health in rural communities. You will build a structure that leaves a physical legacy, whilst also engaging in youth, sports and community activities.
Explore your incredible surroundings as we organise guided excursion days. Which depending on your locations could be treks, waterfall visits or beach days.
Leaving your Fijian village is an emotional experience; such are the close bonds that are formed between our volunteers and the local community. Farewell dinners, tearful goodbyes and the pride in your achievements will sum up your final days.
We finish the project by enjoying our final few days relaxing at Fiji’s glorious beach resorts. During the ‘R&R days’ we ask for your all-important feedback during a final de-brief as we review the project in detail.
Day 1 – Day 3 = Team Briefing @ Uprising Beach Resort
- Purpose = Establish understanding & set goals.
- Key Activities = Ministry of Health Seminar, Culture seminar, Village life seminar, Team building activities.
Day 4 – Day 19 = Project Delivery @ Rural Fijian Village, Viti Levu Island, Fiji
- Purpose = Practical experience, delivery of MoH development aims, community engagement.
- Key Activities = Team live in rural and traditional Fijian village, whilst building; community hall, health centre, toilet block or women’s centre. (80 hours practical experience.
Day 19 – Day 20 = Team Rest & Reflection @ Beachouse Resort
- Purpose; Deepen the learning experience through reflection.
- Key Activities = Rest at beach resorts, conduct debrief and create reflective journal.
Day 21 = Team Rest @ Beachouse Resort
- Purpose; Team relax close to Nadi Airport.
Note; Think Pacific has scope to include bespoke elements into the project, as per university requirements.
- 8.45am – Health Clinic
- 9am – Team Briefing
- 9.30am – 12pm – Building
- 12pm – 1pm – Lunch
- 1pm – 3pm – Building
- 3.15pm – Team Debrief
- 3.30pm = 4.30pm – Community sports with villagers & children
- 4.30pm – 6.30pm – Free time
- 6.30pm – Dinner with family
- 7.30pm – Cultural & Traditional Skills evening or Team Activities
Weekends = Saturday’s – Excursion / Sunday – Rest & relax.
- Planning and delivery of an entire construction project for a remote community to MOH standards.
- First hand methods of traditional building techniques and effective utilization of local materials.
- Understand the challenges and complexities faced by local people living a subsistence island life in Fiji.
- Explore solutions that the Fijian Ministry of Health are implementing through small scale construction to ensure traditional communities improve their standard of living that promote holistic health across the remoteness of Fiji’s 330 islands.
- Understand how building projects can promote enterprise, health, education and gender empowerment in rural communities.
- See how building needs in Fiji are changing to withstand rising sea levels, tropical storms and environmental change in communities living at the forefront of climate change.
- 80+ Practical experience in an international professional context.
- Demonstrate professional engagement and peer-based learning with Fijian youths, fellow team members and the wider community.
- Develop professional skills related to prospective careers, critically reflect on professional learning and professional accountability.
- Positively contribute to daily team feedback sessions during briefings and debriefs. Engage in team assessment and conflict resolution.
- Identify own and others strengths and weaknesses and how they can be used to contribute to team outcomes.
- Demonstrate cultural awareness and sensitivity when in a remote traditional Fijian village. Gain an increased understanding and knowledge of working in Fiji, including Fijian language, cross-cultural collaboration, cultural sensitivity and engagement.
- Engage with villagers, youth group leaders and local stakeholders to enable positive outcomes.
- Students will understand key characteristics (historical, ecological, political, economic, social, and cultural) – of their host community, including connections to their home communities and to the broader global community.
Registration Fee = $200
+
Project Fee = $2,800
Our philosophy is to provide a high quality and exceptionally well structured volunteer project. Our expeditions are packed full of adventure and cultural insight, whilst having safety and support at their core. Think Pacific is not the cheapest volunteer organisation around, but this is for all the right reasons.
All Our Expeditions Include:
- Airport welcome by Think Pacific Expedition leaders (or resort meet and greet if you arrive early).
- All in-country expedition travel
- All project accommodation
- All-inclusive briefing and orientation from a beautiful beach resort.
- All meals during your briefing, all meals for 3 and a half weeks staying with your Fijian village family and breakfast and evening meals during your final days of R&R at glorious beach resorts.
- Guided weekend excursions such as rainforest treks, waterfall visits or island and snorkelling trips.
- Organised evening Fijian activities including kava cereonies, lovo feasts, mat weaving,
- Think Pacific Leaders and Fijian Matanivanua guides living with you 24/7.
- In-country Director, Fiji based Project Managers and UK team providing planning, risk assessment and 24-hour back up support.
- Comprehensive pre-departure information & personal volunteer project planning.
- Fiji expedition de-brief at a selection of beach resorts or castaway islands.
- Your project donation towards the youth development goals in Fiji (which is used to purchase educational and sports equipment, fund scholarships and training for local people and build village facilities and school classrooms).
- International flights (Approx $600-$1000)
- Spending money (budget $500)
- Visa ($100)
Head to the Think Pacific Vimeo page to watch ALL of our student testimonials.
