St Mary's Hostel, Labasa

from w

I was interested to read about fund-raising for the girls' hostel in Labasa town. This was built on land given to the Anglican Church by Peceli's father - way back in the 1940s. The hostel was severely damaged during the floods earlier this year and the local council were trying to close it down, but it serves an important fucntion to provide accommodation for students from other parts of Vanua Levu. The picture is of Father Api, the Anglican Archbishop in Labasa. The journalist made one mistake - it was not built in 1940 but more likely 1945.

from the Fiji Times today:

Boarders raise repair fundsFriday, June 08, 2007

BOARDERS at an Anglican Church-run hostel in Labasa have organised a fundraising drive this weekend to finance renovation work to the hostel.The Anglican Church's divisional head, Archbishop Apimeleki Qiliho said the mini-bazaar and soli would be held tomorrow and was being organised by the 40 female boarders.

"The church and its members are assisting the girls and their parents but everything is being organised by the girls," Archbishop Qiliho said."The members will bring in handicraft work to sell, to assist the girls with the fundraising." Archbishop Qiliho said although no target had been set for the soli, the renovation was expected to cost $100,000. "The whole building needs renovation and that is why we will need such an amount to completely cover the hostel that has an accommodation capacity of 120 people," he said.

"But at the moment there are 40 students and once renovation work is completed, we can increase the number of boarders."

Archbishop Qiliho appealed to former hostel residents to lend a helping hand in renovating the building that has stood in the heart of Labasa Town since 1940.