15-Day Public Health Project in Fiji
In Partnership with the Ministry of Health
Our Public Health project is a purposeful team adventure jam-packed with culture, new perspectives and self-developing experience.
Expand your skills through experience, work in a Fijian village, collaborate as a team on locally driven project aims and experience authentic cultural immersion. This will be achieved by working with Diabetes Fiji in a rural community to support public health advocacy in a country with the highest rates of deaths related to NCDs in the world; assisting in the promotion of healthy behaviours, wellness strategies and lifestyle change in communities struggling with a growing NCD crisis.
- Meaningful 15-day project in the Fiji Islands.
- In Partnership with the Fijian Government.
- Work in a traditional Fijian village
- Stay in nearby hotel accommodation
- Public Health workshops alongside our partners, Diabetes Fiji
- Learn a new culture
- Develop skills, meet like-minded people and make a contribution.
- Project includes; flights, food, accommodation, 24/7 in-country support, weekend adventures, domestic travel, charity donation
- Experience; Gain hands-on work placement experience.
- Contribution; Make an impact on sustainable development goals.
- Challenge; Expand your comfort zone and throw yourself into South Pacific life.
- Learn; Learn a new culture by experiencing the ‘Kaiviti’ lifestyle.
- Skills; Develop ‘soft skills’ such as teamwork, communication & leadership.
- Memories; Create memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.
Team Challenge + Cultural Immersion + Contribution = Huge Personal Growth
Say goodbye to everyday life and arrive in the tropical South Seas. You will land at Nadi Airport where you will meet your team and begin preparing for your project ahead
Every expedition starts with a 3 day briefing at a resort. This is time for you to get to know your team mates, acclimatise, prepare for life in the village and meet our Fijian partners.
Each day you will travel to a traditional village and work delivering workshops alongside our partners, Diabetes Fiji in the mornings and collaborate with Fijian youth in the Pacific Skills ‘Culture Course’ in the afternoons.
‘Vakavanua‘ translates to ‘in the way of the land.’ After village orientation, some of your greatest experiences will be the simple activities of experiencing Fijian life.
Enjoy trips to local sites of cultural interest or relevance to your project and exciting weekend adventures to local rock pools or beaches.
We finish the project by enjoying your final 1 night of de-brief. This is time to rest, relax and reflect as a group as we discuss the project goals and celebrate project achievements.
All our focus is on Fiji.
Go where only we can take you.
Teams of up to 25 students.
Targeted sustainable development.
Facilitating Fijian Government objectives
Our projects offer you the opportunity to experience a traditional village, whilst staying in nearby hotel accommodation. You will travel each day with your team to contribute to a community development initiative that supports the achievement of the Fiji National Development Plan and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Take part in and assist in the delivery of activity based workshops that promote health awareness and advocacy. These sessions are active, fun and engaging and crucially open up a cross-cultural discussion on across a range of subjects, on behalf of our local partners. These sessions take place in the mornings of your project weekdays.
50% of the project’s aims and objectives, you will be on the receiving end of an initiative in partnership with the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs (Arts, Heritage and Culture). You will learn about Fiji’s culture from those who know it best, the youth in your village, as they deliver an interactive cultural education course that boosts their own skills and cultural competency. Appreciating and celebrate traditional Fijian lifestyle specific to each village.
Supporting the Fiji National Development Plan & UN Sustainable Development Goals
“For us, empowerment comes organically when we collaborate, appreciating the perspectives and strengths of others and finding encouragement ourselves.”
The Health Workshops on a Public Health Project aim to stimulate conversation on important topics at a grassroots level, in a country with the highest rates deaths related to NCDs in the world.
You will be joining this initiative which is in collaboration with and on behalf of Diabetes Fiji, striving to achieve a healthier environment and education for people with or at risk with diabetes. The vision for the project is that people living with or at risk of Diabetes are empowered to take ownership of their health and adapt a healthy lifestyle.
The activities themselves are taking place on behalf of our partners who are utilising international participants as a fantastic opportunity for these discussions to take place whilst also using the project itself as an outreach for existing initiatives, tailored to guide everyone involved to reflect on important topics and become leaders within their communities.
The focus of the project covers 6 main areas:
This aspect focuses particularly on encouraging a diverse range of engaging physical activity sessions. From sharing ideas for team sports and warm ups with Fijian youth groups, to introducing yoga and Zumba for community members to inspiring kids with fun sports and games. Physical activity being a major strategy in rural areas for the preventions of NCDs.
Each day, there will be a thematic focus and together with your team and youth group you shall support activities to promote learning, understanding and long-term action to promote awareness of and internalising of a healthy lifestyle.
Assist in implementing strategies from Diabetes Fiji, we create enabling spaces where young people feel able to open up and discuss aspects of physical health without judgement. Encourage peer-to-peer discussions and empower youths to be role models and support each other and their younger siblings in facilitating conversations and spreading positive messages and reducing stigma.
Engage in team building and group challenges in areas of communication, decision making, self-leadership, time management, presentation skills, positive mindset and empathy which encompass effective leadership cross-culturally, advancing employability skills and boosting confidence.
Establish and demonstrate self-care and well-being activities within rural villages. This may include organising community walks, women’s aerobics, dance, music, art, drama, swimming, nature walks, hiking, family time, journal writing, blogs or community talks. These are activities that can be replicated and innovated by Fijian Youths.
Help promote healthy habits within the communities and support advice from our government partners, including distributing messages about nutrition, diet, smoking, drugs and NCD awareness. We work alongside Fiji’s National Wellness Centre and facilitate the Towards a Health Fiji Islands Initiative by distributing government information.
The purpose of these health workshops is to stimulate grassroots discussions on topics that are relevant and important to all young people today, often not regularly openly discussed in community settings and sometimes misunderstood. The themes that have been identified by our program partners were chosen as being directly relevant to youth in Fiji now. The workshops are a fantastic opportunity to facilitate an opportunity that is unique and exciting, through cultural exchange allowing for the development of all involved. No one needs to be an expert… positive participation is all we ask for to ensure tangible outcomes for all involved.
The initiative also comes with the overriding purpose of encouraging attributes and awareness amongst young people in rural areas of Fiji, the leaders of tomorrow, where future change is made real in the next generation.
Funding from your participation also not only funds the initiative itself but contributes to year-round support the Think Pacific Foundation provides to our local partners and the community you visit.
For You
- Developing inter-cultural competence and ability to successfully communicate within a foreign cultural environment.
- Adaptability to changes in your own and foreign cultures.
- Tolerance: while working in teams, learn to listen more attentively, to respect each other’s opinion, team-work and team-spirit.
- Personal Skills: personability and set-up of sessions allows you to grow in confidence and communication.
- Appreciation of diversity: appreciation of the opinions and values of others, sensitivity to cultural diversity, and becoming more aware of your own context.
- Broader Perspective: Reconsider the cultural framework you have been brought up in and acquire skills that will enable you to observe and analyse encounters with diversity and to extend these beyond the framework of your own culture.
- Critical thinking.
- Soft skills: Presentation skills, time management, resilience, communication.
For Community Youth Members
- Engaging in topics that may be taboo subjects and coming to reflect on how they may be responded to on a community level.
- To encourage personal growth in the form of a boost in confidence, communication skills, team working, leadership, time management and presentation skills.
- Financial support for those involved and the youth group of the community.
- Any outstanding individuals can be highlighted for scholarship / employment opportunities.
- Appreciation of diversity: appreciation of the opinions and values of others, sensitivity to cultural diversity, and becoming more aware of their culture.
- Broader Perspective: Reconsider the cultural framework they have been brought up in and to acquire skills that will enable them to observe and analyse encounters with diversity and to extend these beyond the framework of their culture.
- Critical thinking.
- Greater awareness of NCD prevention and healthy lifestyle choices
The official definition of ‘Youth’ in Fiji according to the Ministry of Youth and Sports is anyone between the ages of 18-35. Villages in rural locations in Fiji more often than not have a registered ‘Youth Group’ that is made up of members of the village of that age. The extent to which that group is utilised within the village varies due to member commitments and their re-ignition is a real focus for the current Ministry of Youth.
18-35 year olds in the village often come with a variety of backgrounds and life stories: some may have dropped out of school as early as the age of 14 who engage in farming within the village’s subsistence lifestyle, others may be returning university students or school finishers, but all will be gain from the interactions that the project facilitates. Due to a variety of reasons, rural communities in Fiji have a significantly lower access to opportunity to urban areas and the ‘Youth’ are the primary demographic to be affected by that. This means that fundamentally out projects are outreach initiatives.
Hear from Viliame, general manager of Diabetes Fiji. This is where the project originates and where all the aims are objectives are aligned.
We aim to be the epitome of purposeful, responsible and empowering international projects and experiential learning programmes. Central to this is the depth of our association with local communities, government departments and organisations within Fiji, which is unique and unrivalled.
Every project is planned in collaboration and at the request of rural communities and directed and monitored by Fijian Ministries to ensure our projects have real purpose and long term sustainability. We are respected for working within the framework of the government, adding benefit to long term strategies and the advancement of education, access and opportunity for youths and children living in rural areas.
We work alongside many leading international universities and hold many partnerships to support the formal delivery of global mobility. Through our structured projects, we guide hundreds of students annually who develop leadership, transferable skills and expand their cultural understanding, whilst contributing to the aims and initiatives of our Fijian partners.
The Culture Course is an experiential learning programme as standard with any rural Think Pacific project. You will be immersed in rural Fijian culture throughout your project but this course intentionally goes deeper! Through immersion, the course aims to educate project participants about the nuances of indigenous Fijian culture through structured sessions delivered by members of the community youth group themselves and Think Pacific leaders.
For You:
- Learn in-depth about the lifestyle, culture and traditional skills that make up rural Fiji and importantly understand how they all relate and why.
- Develop inter-cultural competency and the ability to successfully communicate within a foreign cultural environment.
- Adaptability to changes in your own and foreign cultures.
- Tolerance: while working in teams, learn to listen more attentively, to respect each other’s opinion, team-work and team-spirit.
- Personal Skills: personability and set-up of sessions allows you to grow in confidence and communication.
- Appreciation of diversity: appreciation of the opinions and values of others, sensitivity to cultural diversity, and becoming more aware of your own culture.
- Broader Perspective: Reconsider the cultural framework you have been brought up in and acquire skills that will enable you to observe and analyse encounters with diversity and to extend these beyond the framework of your culture.
- Critical thinking.
For Community Youth Members
- Pride in their culture and upbringing and the practicing of traditional skills and knowledge.
- To encourage personal growth in the form of a boost in confidence, communication skills, team working, leadership, time management and presentation skills.
- Financial support for those involved and the youth group of the community.
- Any outstanding individuals can be highlighted for scholarship / employment opportunities
- Appreciation of diversity: appreciation of the opinions and values of others, sensitivity to cultural diversity, and becoming more aware of their culture.
- Broader Perspective: Reconsider the cultural framework they have been brought up in and to acquire skills that will enable them to observe and analyse encounters with diversity and to extend these beyond the framework of their culture.
- Critical thinking.
Central to any rural Think Pacific experience, the course has an agreed and consistent structure that is delivered across all projects. This ‘syllabus’ allows room for local variation of skills and knowledge but also remains consistent across villages. This syllabus therefore is made up of ‘themes’ rather than specific universal sessions.
Four themes explored:
- Identity and Custom
- Perspective
- Art
- Food
These categories are not mutually exclusive as almost all of them will relate to at least another one of those categories. (Eg. Meke would come under the category ‘art’ but can easily also relate to identity and language, even food.)
What they can be used for, however, is structuring each week consistently with other projects whilst allowing for local variations on each category. If x2 sessions from all categories are hit and delivered, that will make up the successful completion of the course.
x5 key youth members are highlighted by the community prior to your project beginning. These will be consistent members who would be leading delivery. Community youth will lead the sessions based on what they feel comfortable delivering and facilitating within the community and Think Pacific leaders are there to support. They can have free creative license to teach about any aspect of culture they feel passionate about (there may be a unique tradition that they wish to include), and there are a variety of interactive actives that come under the four themes of culture we’re exploring. Every village is unique and therefore every project has its own flavour.
As we have said, every village is different and the youth may wish to teach you skills and knowledge entirely different from what is mentioned below! But if you were interested in the sorts of things that you may get involved with, here are some activities and topics that have been covered in the past:
Identity and Custom
- Fijian Family (family tree and unique relationships)
- Origin stories and local history
- Yaqona (Fiji’s ceremonial drink)
Food
- Farming
- Lovo (traditional method of cooking)
- Cooking at Home
- Fishing / Gathering
Art
- Meke (traditional dance)
- Vucu (traditional song)
- Handicraft (local designs)
- Bilibili (traditional raft building)
- Pottery
Perspective
- The Effects of Globalisation
- Youth Perspective
- Gender Perspectives
- Religious Perspective
Our aim is to provide a fully inclusive programme from start to finish. Each programme is inclusive of all accommodation, transport and logistical aspects and activities within Fiji and all meals.
The programme is also guided 24/7 by our in-country team, with the full and comprehensive backup of our Fiji HQ and extensive management team.
Think Pacific has over a decade of experience working with local suppliers and only uses resorts and providers, which are approved by Directors, meet our high standards and have received great previous university feedback
Full inclusions list:
- All Accommodation for 14 nights/15 days
- All in-country transportation by private mini bus using approved suppliers
- All meals as per itinerary
- 2x Think Pacific leaders living alongside the group 24/7.
- 24 hour emergency support from Fiji HQ and UK office
- Site visits, workshops and activities as per itinerary
- Airport welcome by Think Pacific Expedition leaders
- Cultural orientation, project briefing and workshops by highly experienced local staff
- Guest speakers from Think Pacific’s influential local partner network including government representatives, academics or local business and charity leaders.
- Guided weekend activities
- Organised cultural activities such as including kava ceremonies, lovo feasts, mat weaving, meke dancing.
- Outstanding pastoral support and daily health and wellness check ins.
- Daily briefing and de-brief
- In-country branch managers, project managers and UK team providing planning, risk assessment and 24-hour backup support.
- Comprehensive online portal & personal volunteer project planning resources
- Programme debrief at beach resort
The following costs are not inclusive of the programme fee. However, Think Pacific provides comprehensive and personalised support to assist:
- Flights (falls within 12,000 Km / £1300 budget for Turing, which should be achievable)
- Travel insurance
- UK transfers to and from home or college to Airport
- Additional spending money (snacks, drinks, souvenirs or activities)
- Vaccinations: These can be free from the NHS for most students but can also cost approximately £35. The recommended vaccinations include Typhoid and Hepatitis A.
Throughout the itinerary students will stay in shared rooms within popular, clean and approved beach resorts and hotels (twin-share or max 6 per room). Resorts and accommodations have been used by Think Pacific groups successfully since 2009.
Think Pacific provides comprehensive support to universities as required. Universities are provided with a dedicated and experienced director to oversee the entire program from start to return with specific areas of responsibility designated from the outset. Our services with the programme fee include
- Full Promotion of programme including webinars or presentations and content
- Management of all applications and creation of custom application pages
- Careful communication with all enquiries
- Pre-departure support and live zoom sessions
- Visa paperwork support
- Pre-departure Portal – A comprehensive portal for all travel essentials and latest advice for flights, insurance and kit list, vaccinations and more.
- Pre-Departure Hub – Our own pre-departure group for live enquiries, chat and student networking, available to download as an App.
- Live seminars on cultural awareness, cross-cultural and Fiji preparation
- Global Skills – Our online portal with courses in Fijian Culture, Global Awareness, Sustainability, Leadership and Global Career Skills.
