Press release:

Hi Bob and Paula

We have just returned from our extended trip through Fiji and, of course, had a ball. We dived on some remote reefs and stepped briefly into the lives of some Fijian people who lived a subsistence existence for the most part but maintained a love of life and sense of humour that was a delight to share even for a short time. 

We took the books that you had generously sent me and visited a primary school on Kadavu Is. that could only be reached by small plane from Nadi and 90 minute longboat ride from the grass strip on the island. It was attached to a small village but took kids from villages all along the coast. They board at the school during the week and go home for the weekend, many making the long trek home along the coastal paths every Friday afternoon and back after lunch on Sunday.

There were three classes for years 1-3, 4,5 and 6,7.  The village elders were also trialling a pre-school which currently isn't supported by the Fiji government but the villagers had voted (very democratic!) to spend their meagre financial resources on training one of the villagers as a preschool teacher. They had very little in the way of educational resouces but had produced posters etc themselves. They were thrilled with the books and orderly, quiet classrooms when we arrived turned into pandemonium when we got the books out for them to see. 

The teachers were absolutely delighted and particularly because the kids have an obvious affinity with the sea and that was the theme of the books but also because the kids were fascinated by some things that were not part of their normal experience like deep sea life and life at the beach in Australia - swim between the flags for instance. Lots of excited questions were asked and I presume the kids got the right answers because most of the communication between themselves and with their teacher was in Fijian. The kids did have a reasonable command of English and understood us quite well when we asked them questions. They were quite eager to try and respond in English.  The enthusiasm for the books was a delight to see. 

The excitement reached a crescendo when the frisbee was discovered. The teacher asked me what it was and was placing it on her desk like a fruit bowl. I said that it was a frisbee and realised by the confusion on her face that this wasn't something that could be made out of a coconut. So I asked if I could take one of the boys outside and show her how it was used. All of the rest of the kids were looking out from the classroom while I threw quite a good floater straight to the waiting hands of the boy outside with me. More pandemonium as the kids poured out of the classroom to try their hand. We had a great time that day and have vowed to return with more books and definitely more frisbees.

Thanks again for your support. The photos I've attached are a couple of the ones I took.  

Regards
Peter and Peta