Habitat News

ELIM CHRISTIAN COLLEGE- THE VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

We arrived on time in Nadi and were greeted by the friendly habitat Fiji staff at the airport. We then all got aboard a people mover/truck and headed to the other side of the island where we would be staying for a week. Our habitat host for the week was Sikele. He was with us all of the time making sure that we had everything we needed and dealt with the locals regarding our home stay and the arrangement of getting food and water for our team. We arrived in Wailevu where we stayed for the week. We stayed in the parent’s house of the daughter whose home we were building for. They graciously gave up their house for a week for it to be invaded by all of these people.

From there we drove 35 minutes every morning up to the build site which was a small village far up into the hill country. The accommodations were simple but effective. We all slept on the floor on foam mats and all shared one toilet and shower. Girls and guys had their own changing room and meals were prepared by the family members. The food was excellent. We were very well looked after. All water that we drank was bottled or boiled. One of the nights they arranged for us to stay up in the village where we were building the house. It was a very good experience. During the evening they had a festive ceremony of singing and dancing. A true cultural experience. We had a good deal of time to interact with the local village community. Many of the students found this to be a very valuable experience. It was good to have other things to do besides just working on the house. The build is truly only a small part of the experience it is the people and community that make the biggest impact.

On Sunday we were able to go to a Fijian church and then we dedicated the house to the family which was a very emotional and moving experience. The build went pretty well. The prep work that was done before we got there was minimal so we were basically starting from literally the ground up. We managed to get three walls up and much of the painting done as well as a couple of big holes dug for the sewage system.

We were able to visit the school one afternoon which was another impacting experience. We were able to give them workbooks, pencils and some sports equipment that we brought along with us. We performed a few songs for them and they performed a few songs for us. Later that afternoon we all played volleyball with the local villagers. It was quite a spectacle.

The final leg of our trip took us to a hotel just north of Nadi where we were able to unwind and process all that had gone on for the last week. We basically had been living altogether along with the family for 24hrs straight for 7 days. We had some good group meetings and discussions about what impacted them during their time on the build and talked about what they might feel upon returning home. One of the days was spent out on an island snorkelling and just spending time on the beach together as a team. The students really enjoyed getting to know each other better and just having some time to themselves.

One of the things that stood out to many was the simpleness of village life and how the importance of family, community and spirituality really stood out. Western culture is so cluttered with stuff and business that it takes us away from these simple qualities that are essential to life. Food is grown to live and survive on not casually picked over in a supermarket culture. Health and safety was quite good during the trip. There was the occasional scratched knee that required a plaster and some ointment. The only medical issue was one student came down with an allergic reaction after swimming in the river. She was taken to the local medical clinic and given stronger antihistamines free of charge. Overall it was an amazing trip and awesome to see Gods hand of providence and protection over the whole thing. I look forward to providing and organizing more opportunities like these for students to be a part of in the future.

Jason Webb
Elim Christian College