Volunteers in Macuata

from Peceli
I read this piece this evening in one of the Fiji on-line news items - Fiji Times. I was talking to Joy Baxter yesterday on the phone from Labasa. Joy and her team go to Fiji nearly every year as volunteers to help the villagers in Dreketi area. Vina'a va'alevu. Meanwhile two of our containers full of hospital beds, books, computers, etc. from Geelong have been parked in Lautoka - since February - because somehow the customs procedures are just not working like they used to. Money is now being asked for seonnd-hand goods which are ready to be distributed to schools and hospitals.

Aussies return for fourth year

Serafina Silaitoga
Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Three members of the Rotary Club of Geelong from Australia with two villagers of Nabavatu take a break during the building of a new home at Nabavatu. The group has been coming to Vanua Levu for the past four years. Picture: SERAFINA SILAITOGA+ Enlarge this image

Three members of the Rotary Club of Geelong from Australia with two villagers of Nabavatu take a break during the building of a new home at Nabavatu. The group has been coming to Vanua Levu for the past four years. Picture: SERAFINA SILAITOGA

VOLUNTEERS of the Rotary Club of Geelong have returned to help improve living standards of families in Macuata.

The Australian group who have focussed their help on the village of Nabavatu in Dreketi arrived last week to repair two family houses and survey their water project done two years ago.

Group member Joyce Baxter said the team consisted of carpenters, plumbers, retired nurses and health workers who have also helped the Dreketi Health Centre staff with screening diabetic patients.

"This is our fourth visit to the village and we have helped the people of Nabavatu improve their water supply and building a new reservoir for them.

"So we have returned to also inspect the reservoir we built two years ago and see whether it is working fine and so far all is well," Mrs Baxter said.

Since arriving, the group has built one house and is almost done with the second.

"These houses are in need of desperate repairs so we have rebuilt the homes with new timber and framework.

"We have also brought medical material for the Dreketi Health cCntre which we used to screen patients and we will leave it behind for the staff to use," Mrs Baxter said.

The Rotary Club has worked closely with the people in Vanua Levu over the past four years.

Mrs Baxter and her team have brought clothes and food for poor families and helped improve living standards in the villages.