Projects Abroad High School Summer Volunteer in Fiji

This was my first experience with Projects Abroad, and I decided to go to Fiji for a care and community project for teenagers. I can honestly say this trip was one of the best experiences of my life. There were so many things that made it as enjoyable and memorable as it was. Some of these things include; the amazing support staff during and prior to the trip, the placement and what I did at the placement, the host family and the other wonderful volunteers I was able to share this experience with.

Prior to the trip, you have a correspondence who helps you with all the necessary documents and forms that you need to fill out before you leave. My correspondent for my trip was absolutely so amazing and helpful. She was able to email me everything I needed to know from the technical documents to what my average day to day during my placement would look like. She answered all my questions and queries that I had and we sent regular emails and also phone calls once a week around 2 weeks before I left. She was so kind and willing to help which made things so much easier.

What I did during my placement was so much fun and such a great experience.
A typical day was spent with the children at a local village in Nadi, Fiji, teaching them basic english and numeracy. Bonding with these children was definitely the highlight of the trip. Then we typically spent around 2hrs redecorating the local kindergarten, repainting and drawing murals all throughout the classroom. Finally, we would either go on a fun day trip to one of the activities Projects Abroad had planned or went to our host home to chill out and rest for the rest of the night.
This was the main chunk of your day and was definitely the most fun and rewarding. Although as much fun participating in all the touristy things was, playing and teaching with the kids was 100% the best part. They are so high energy and just love life which is really so inspiring. Not only the kids but their parents and community, in general, were all so welcoming and lovely to us.

My host family made the experience so much better and it was nice as I was able to be placed with my friend. The accommodation was up to a great standard and the food they packed us for lunch and dinner was really tasty. My particular host family had 2 children whom I loved playing and spending time with. As they were on school holiday, they had a lot of energy that they needed to burn off which gave me the opportunity to play with them all afternoon which was definitely so much fun.

Being able to spend the trip with a bunch of other volunteers was really fun. There were girls from all around the world literally, Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, Canda. And interacting with people who were also invested and interested in volunteer work was such an awesome feeling.

Being given the opportunity to travel overseas to give back to a less fortunate community was so incredible and I truly couldn't recommend this trip enough. It is a jam-packed adventure which is really eye opening and gives a greater perspective on life.
Thank you to all the people who made this trip possible and a special thanks to Projects Abroad for having such incredible opportunities available to people.