Youth empowerment in Fiji for Think Pacific

Being part of a Youth Empowerment program with Think Pacific, I had the privilege of getting to stay with a Fijian family in a rural village for a month, mimicking their way of life by living in their house, eating their food and being a part of their family. Whilst on project, our days would be split into two main parts. Workshops, in which we would collaborate in groups with youth from the village to discuss differing topics such as climate change, mental health, and leadership. By prioritising teamwork to find issues and solutions to whatever challenges we were tasked with, I learnt more about the topics we were discussing as well as several skills relating to group work. On certain days we also ran our own workshops which greatly improved my confidence, both in public speaking and being able to create and run a session. In the afternoons we would do an extremely insightful culture course, in which we got to understand different aspects of Fijian culture. From how they cook their traditional dish, Lovo, to how they weave beautiful Fijian carpets and bracelets out of grass. However, my favourite days were Saturdays when we would have trips outside our village. My highlight being the Nabalasere waterfall, at 230ft it's the tallest in Fiji so I had to include a picture of me sitting in front of it! Even though I got to see so many amazing things, my favourite part of the whole experience was meeting friends for life, both other volunteers and villagers. So if you're considering doing a Summer school then get out of your comfort zone and do it! If it's anything like my experience you'll have the time of your life!