The Mental Health Project
In Partnership with the Fijian Government
Our 1-month & 16-day Mental Health Project is a challenging and purposeful team adventure jam-packed with culture, new perspectives and self-developing experience.
It’s no secret that employers hugely value ‘soft skills,’ global understanding and practical work experience. Through this programme, you’ll develop all three whilst we facilitate the same self-developing experience to young Fijians in rural communities. This project is for enthusiastic individuals who want to step out of their comfort zone, experience true cultural immersion and develop their skills, whilst exploring and contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The result is one of the most rewarding and extraordinary experiences of your life.
- Meaningful 1-Month or 16-day program in the Fiji Islands.
- In partnership with the Fijian Government, registered Youth Groups & Fijian NGOs.
- Total cultural immersion in a rural village.
- Live with a Fijian family in rural Fiji.
- Advance UN Sustainable Development Goals & Fiji’s National Development Plan.
- Develop ‘soft skills,’ cultural intelligence and leadership skills that employers value.
- Support the development of Fiji’s future leaders.
- Project includes; food, accommodation, 24/7 in-country support, domestic travel, charitable donation. (Flights not included).
- Expedition costs from £1,595 / $2,895 AUD for 16-Days in Fiji. (See costs below)
- University scholarships & bursaries available – Learn More Here.
Join a Discovery Session 💻
Attend a live webinar hosted by a member of our team
Think Pacific Discovery 
Monday’s 5pm [GMT – London] / 12pm [EST – New York] (Register Here)
Monday’s 2pm [FJT – Suva] / 12pm [AEST – Brisbane] (Register Here)
Projects in Fiji 
Biweekly on a Wednesday’s 4pm [GMT] / [11am EST] (Register Here)
Biweekly on Thursday’s 2pm [FJT ] / 12pm [AEST] (Register Here)
👇Whether you’re looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience or to enhance your studies, on a Think Pacific project you can;
- Experience; Gain hands-on service learning or work placement experience.
- Contribution; Have a tangible impact on sustainable development goals.
- Challenge; Expand your comfort zone and throw yourself into village life.
- Learn; Learn about a new culture by living ‘vakavanua‘ (in the way of the land)
- Skills; Develop ‘soft skills’ such as teamwork, communication & leadership.
Challenge + Cultural Immersion + Contribution = Huge Personal Growth
Say goodbye to everyday life and arrive into the tropical Fiji islands. You will land at Nadi Airport, meet your team and your leaders and begin preparing for your project ahead.
Every expedition starts with a 2-day briefing at a resort. This is the time for you to get to know your team mates, acclimatise, prepare for life in the village and potentially meet our Fijian partners.
Leaving your briefing, you will travel to a remote traditional Fijian community. Depending on your village, this could be a truck to the jungle highlands or an overnight 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, warmth and genuine excitement of the local people is profound. This is where you will meet your host family for the first time.
‘Vakavanua‘ translates to ‘in the way of the land.’ After village orientation, some of your greatest experiences will be the simple activities of daily rural Fijian life, learning from your host family and surrounding community through true and unaltered immersion.
Contribute towards project aims and initiatives: the ‘Morning Workshops’ in the mornings, collaborating with Fijian youth and undertaking the ‘Culture Course’ in the afternoons.
Live at the heart of some of the most rural communities and immerse yourself in local village life where every day is an adventure filled with new unique memories and moments. Weekends provide an opportunity to explore the surrounding area and have fun with your team and the community.
Leaving your Fijian village is an emotional experience due to the precious bonds that are formed between our project participants and the local community. You’ll be saying farewell to your newfound friends and family.
We finish the project by enjoying a final 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.
Locally led aims and initiatives.
Go where only we can take you.
Teams of up to 28 participants.
Targeted sustainable development.
Facilitating Fijian Government objectives
Working at a community level means real conversations with real people.
Work in partnership with Fijian youth groups (aged 18-30), women’s groups and rural communities as we help facilitate the aims of leading Pacific mental health NGOs. Through your project, we aim to increase awareness and understanding of mental health in the rural areas, whilst you live at the heart of a Fijian community and learn about traditional skills, culture and customs.
Take part in activities and work alongside Fijians aged 18-35 enrolled in local youth groups. These sessions are active, fun and engaging and crucially open up a cross-cultural discussion on incredibly important and often misunderstood subjects, on behalf of our local partners.
As the name suggests, these sessions take place in the mornings of your project weekdays and are facilitated by qualified project leaders who are representatives of our partner organisations in the mental health space.
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 Morning Workshops on a Mental Health Project aim to stimulate conversation on the subject at a grassroots level. The discussions and 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. Through fun and engaging collaboration with young Fijians of a similar age to yourself, we explore new perspectives, ideas and activities to promote positive mental health. In line with the Fiji National Development Plan, and organisations such as Youth Champs 4 Mental Health, the long term aim is to equip Fiji’s youth with the tools to be ambassadors for mental health awareness, understanding and support in their communities.
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 aspects of positive mental health.
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 to link physical health benefits to mental health promotion by distributing government information.
Assist in implementing strategies from Pacific charities, we create enabling spaces where young people feel able to talk about problems, open up and discuss their mental well being 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.
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.
The benefits of sport and physical activity on our mental health are endless: improved mood, decreased chance of depression and anxiety, and a better and more balanced lifestyle. Any kind of physical activity can boost mental wellbeing – unleash your passion and help Fijian youths develop basic sports skills so they can run community, youth and children’s sports clubs long term.
Misconceptions and misinformation can promote fear and shame associated with mental illness. This stigma can cause young people to lack help in seeking the support they need, or lead to negative coping mechanisms when dealing with stress. The age old saying “prevention is better than cure” is especially true when resources & training for ill-mental health are low on the ground. In Fiji today there remains just one psychiatric facility and just 3 doctors with postgraduate mental health training. Meanwhile, suicide rates in Fiji are concerning and continuing to rise.
Mental health is much more than the absence of illness, and anyone can experience challenges to their mental wellbeing. However, 42% of Fijians said they would be put off seeking any help due to embarrassment (Aghanwa 2004). If local mental health ambassadors can influence attitudes and understanding, then they can break the stigma surrounding discussing mental health.
The purpose of these morning sessions is to stimulate grassroots discussions on a topic that is relevant and important to all young people today, often not regularly openly discussed in community settings and currently regarded as a taboo subject. The workshops are a fantastic chance 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 and honest 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.
Who are the ‘Youth?’
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.
The Fiji National Development Plan – ‘Transforming Fiji’
The 20-Year Development Plan provides the forward-looking vision for “Transforming Fiji” towards an even more progressive, vibrant and inclusive society. It outlines a framework that encompasses strategic policy manoeuvres, new approaches to development and the aspirations of all Fijians – all of our projects are designed to support this strategic plan.
Click here to learn more about the Fiji’s National Development Plan
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.
Crucial to the whole project is investing in Fiji’s youth to create sustainable solutions, capacity building and achieve mental health promotion long term. Your project is the first introduction, conversation and activity surrounding mental health in rural areas. What follows is 7 steps to achieve the training of local Fijian ambassadors, and implementation of sustainable local mental health support in rural villages.
Empowering Fiji’s Youth = Sustainability & Long Term Change
The long term aim is to help build communities that are knowledgeable and resilient in addressing issues surrounding mental health, providing support to community members facing mental health difficulties and establishing an enabling environment where local people are able to interact with others, contribute effectively to community decision making processes and be included in mental health activities.
Training of local youth ambassadors is delivered by leading mental health NGO’s and the Fijian Ministry of Health and funded by Think Pacific Foundation. 30% of your project fee funds the work of our Fijian charity.
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.
“Culture is how we act, think, and behave based on the shared values of our society. It is everywhere, and we continually develop and define our culture on a daily basis.”
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.
- Learn skills that are unique to Fiji, regions/provinces or even villages
- See Fijian culture in a light that no tourist can ever see
- Learn about history and identity that defines rural Fijian culture
- Learn skills that have existed in Fiji for around 3000 years
- Engage in a cultural exchange that examines what culture really means, what makes us what we are?
- Support in the empowerment of local community youth as they develop soft skills
- Be at the receiving end of a key initiative in our engagement with the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs
- Present what has been learnt in a final showcase event to the community
The course is set up to encourage an appropriate mindset from participants during the project, facilitate a meaningful experience for them but also works towards wider goals.
Fijian culture can be identified firmly as having an oral tradition – cultural knowledge is not written down and is transferred from generation to generation! A fear for many in Fiji’s current cultural climate that young people are not engaging with integral aspects of local custom and culture and knowledge is being lost. In line with requests from the Ministry of iTaukei affairs, this initiative aims to stimulate engagement with and revitalise local customs and traditions amongst rural youth. It aims to harness a pride in one’s culture and upbringing as well as practicing skills and communicating knowledge that defines the region and Fiji more broadly.
It ensures that all involved are learning cross-cultural skills through experience which they can not only support the rest of the aims during the project, but they can also utilise moving forward.
In addition, it is a clear opportunity to provide those youth leading the course a leadership opportunity, giving them a further platform to develop their soft-skills and boost personal and professional development.
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.
Course Delivery
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
Fijian life is incredibly communal and friendly. The entire village live and work together. Fijians farm together, maintaining crop plantations which feed the whole village. They fish together, later dividing their catch, and families will all come together in the evenings to play cards, strum the guitar, chat and dance the night away as they drink Kava.
The villages are all relatively small and close knit communities with usually around 20-50 or so families. During the project, you will stay with your own Fijian family in the village. The Fijian families will treat you as one of their own. If you are lucky, you may also live with a family who has children and your little Fijian brothers and sisters are always so intrigued and incredibly excited by the arrival of visitors from afar! Conditions are basic; expect cold bucket showers, pit toilets and limited electricity.
You will eat with your Fijian family, who provide all of your meals in the community. Think Pacific fund any costs of this food so our teams pose absolutely no burden on the local resources. You may often find many different people at your home for lunch and dinner – in Fiji it is custom to invite anyone who is passing into the home to eat. Food is very carbohydrate heavy, so expect lots of root crops such as dalo and cassava, and also lots of fish, as this makes up the bulk of a typical Fijian diet.
Trust us when we say that there really is nothing like a Fijian village! However, the comparatively basic standard of living, the communal nature, the strong religious beliefs and the traditional customs and values in the village, may take time to adjust to. It is completely normal to feel a little out of your depth in the first few days. With the support of your Fijian family, your team and our leaders, we find it doesn’t take long to adjust to life in the South Pacific.
The majority of Fijians speak both Fijian and English. There may be some language barriers with pronunciation, but as long as you talk slowly and clearly in English there is little difficulty in understanding each other. Young children and some elderly members of the community may not speak any English at all and it’s great to learn a few Fijian words as early as you can.
‘Fiji time’ is something you will soon be accustomed to – and it has the ability to change everything. South Pacific Islanders take everything at their own unique, mystifying and incredibly slow pace. This can sometimes seem frustrating, but don’t let it get to you; its better to smile and take any changes in your stride and welcome this beautiful, relaxed and refreshing way of life!
Hear our Fijian staff talk about life in a Fijian village and follow the village headman (Turaga ni Koro), as he gives you a guided tour of Buliya, Kadavu.
Hear about Fijian culture from one of our Fijian Project Managers.
Hear from community members talking about their experience with Think Pacific…
We pride ourselves on the delivery of a safe, structured and personally supported experience.
Your expedition fee includes your food, accommodation, in-country travel, resort briefings, R&R, weekend activities, emergency support and your expedition leader team living alongside you 24/7. Expeditions also fund the work of the Think Pacific Foundation (Fijian charity FJ 989) enabling us to support thousands of youths annually to ensure sustainability of the aims.
£195 GBP / $345 AUD
This secures your place in the team and gives you access to our Global Skills Programme, an online course to give you the foundations of success before departing for Fiji. It also provides personal support from your project co-ordinator, full access to our pre-departure resources, live online preparation webinars and your expedition t-shirt. Your registration fee is additional to your project fees.
Students can apply for scholarships and bursaries to join our projects in Fiji.
To find out if there’s funding available at your university or in your area, download our funding guide. Click here to learn more.
16 Day = £1400 GBP / $2550 AUD
1 Month = £1950 GBP / $3500 AUD
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. Click ‘What’s Included’ below to learn more.
Your travel costs are not included in the project fees. We support you every step of the way to book return flights, personal travel insurance and we process your visa when in Fiji. Please see the approximate costs below within ‘ What’s Not Included’.
Think Pacific works in partnership with many universities across the world to support student mobility and employability. There are scholarships and grants available for students from individual university departments and/or governments in several countries.
Students can apply for scholarships and bursaries to join our projects in Fiji. To find out if there’s funding available at your university or in your areas, click here to access our grants and funding guide.
If you have any questions about funding prior to our funding guide being launched, please email info@thinkpacific.com.
Our philosophy is to provide a high quality and exceptionally well structured international project. Our expeditions are packed full of adventure and cultural insight, whilst having safety and support at their core. We also ensure that through our charity, the communities you support receive long-term financial and physical assistance year-round. 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 project-related travel.
- All project accommodation.
- Briefing and orientation at a resort.
- All meals during your briefing, 3 and a half weeks staying with your Fijian village family and during your final day of R&R.
- Guided weekend activities such as a short trek or attending community events.
- Organised evening Fijian activities including kava ceremonies, lovo feasts, mat weaving,
- Think Pacific Leaders and Fijian 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 project planning.
- 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).
What’s Not Included?
- International flights – £800 – £1200
- Personal travel insurance £60-£100
- Spending money for extra food and snacks, Fijian clothes and items of a personal nature (we advise bringing £200 – £300 spending money).
Apply for university funding to cover flights and insurance.
- Access to the Pre-departure Portal.
This portal provides the step-by-step process to prepare for Fiji, including fundraising information, flight information, kit list, visa, cultural preparation. Student can watch videos with our team in Fiji and download document.
- Contact our team.
You can contact our team anytime between office hours, either give us a call on 0113 335 9919 or email; info@thinkpacific.com.
- Online community/network.
You can communicate with fellow volunteers, alumni and our team through our online community, hosted on the Might Network app. Within 3 months of you departing to Fiji, you shall be entered into a private group with your volunteer team.
- Live Pre Departure webinars
Our team host live sessions in the months leading up to your project. These are a great way for you to ask questions and delve deeper into planning for your project. They also add to the excitement!
- Global Skills Programme
We have created an online course to give you the set you up for success before departing for Fiji! Complete short-courses in: Fijian Culture, Sustainable Development & Global Leadership.
1-Month Project
- Briefing (3 nights) = Resort Accommodation
- Project aims (24 nights) = Traditional village homestay
- Rest & reflection = (1 nights) = Accommodation in Nadi
16-Day Project
- Briefing (2 nights) = Resort Accommodation
- Project aims (13 nights) = Traditional village homestay
- Rest & reflection = (1 nights) = Accommodation in Nadi
1-Month Project Dates 
5 June – 2 July 2024
1 July – 28 July 2024
11 July – 7 Aug 2024
