OUR STORY
In 2018, I first set foot as an english volunteer on Yanuya Island and it is safe to say it changed me forever.
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An untouched paradise, with the clearest aqua blue water and white sand beaches, lush greenery and swaying coconut palms.
The smiling faces and infectious laughter of the sweetest children and kindest locals filled my soul with so much love and happiness.
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However, something was wrong.
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Each morning, I followed as my 7-year-old host brother, Atou, pushed a wheel barrow to a large open bore hole, cautiously stepped down the rock-carved steps and filled plastic buckets with dirty water, then heaved them back up, almost falling over each time. This was the water source for day-to-day use, relied upon by the entire island population.
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I also witnessed a lack of rainfall which had left the concrete, open-roofed, water tanks close to completely empty, which Namamanuca Primary School relies on for their student's drinking water.
As well as this, the school's buildings and interiors are quite dilapidated, the boarding house for students who come from surrounding islands is extremely run down, there is a lack of teaching resources and unsafe playing environments for the children, all of which just lay heavy in my heart. I needed to do more than teach my classes and say goodbye.
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I realised that merely asking people for donations would only get me so far, I had to find another way. And so, Project Loloma was born.
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I chose 'loloma' from the Fijian translation of the word 'love'.
I've strived to utilise the love I have for the beautiful island, the love overflowing from the gorgeous children and the love that foreigners hold for a tropical getaway to Fiji, to positively help the Yanuya community.
As I watched groups of tourists from the luxurious 5-star resorts surrounding Yanuya venture to the island for daily tours, walk through Namamanuca Primary, take some photos and then be boated back to comfort, I saw an opportunity.
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I have set up this initiative so tourists who stroll through Yanuya are able to navigate here, read about the work that is in need of funding, projects that have previously been implemented and future plans for the island. This is a platform to make donating more simple and efficient, in order to contribute more meaningfully and sustainably to the Yanuya Island community.