Fiji

The journalism project is amazing! Your articles really do get published in the newspaper. The home stays are so great and really welcome you into their family. They are the best part of Fiji. Beware of the enormous cockroaches. They are huge. But besides the bugs, everything else is great. And the volunteer coordinator is extremely helpful. I would deff recommend Fiji to all!

I'm currently doing my QTS PE degree and I've learnt more in the last week teaching and sports coaching in Fiji than the last two years put together. The children in Fiji and so enthusiastic to learn and appreciate every moment of their education. It's been an incredible experience and I'm so happy I've still got 3 weeks left. I was drawn to frontier by the friendly helpful staff at the London headquarters which has continued in Fiji. Everything has been done in a relaxed, no pressure environment which has been very reassuring for many people on all different projects. It's great with Frontier that you get to meet and live with the local people who fully welcome you into their family's and home's. You start to learn the culture and pick up the language after just one day and feel fully at home by the end of the first week. It's also reassuring to be living and staying with other volunteers from different projects. You get the chance to make friends with people from all over the world who all have the same interests as you. Overall I have loved my time with Frontier so far and I can't wait for the next 3 weeks.

Bula.I’ve really fallen in love with Fiji. At first I was a bit shocked by the heat, but you soon learn to stick to the shade and keep cool. The kids I’ve been teaching are really friendly and I feel that the teaching I’ve done while I’ve been out here has really had a positive effect on them. Fiji is a unique place - there’s a mix of natural beauty and extreme poverty, but all the Fijians I’ve met have been genuinely friendly, helpful and welcoming. If I had any advice for someone thinking of coming to Fiji with Frontier, it would be to prepare for the heat (sun hat, sun block, money for cold drinks!) and to come with an open mind, but mainly – do it! It’s been an amazing and fulfilling experience.

I always worried that I would struggle with camp life as I’ve never travelled before however I've been impressed with how easy it has been to settle in to camp life. Everybody is welcoming and will always go the extra mile to help you with a problem. The basic food was a worry of mine and again I've been impressed with quality in which the basic food is made tasteful. I am now a expert in beans and rice.

The project itself was the most beneficial for me as I was always keen on the marine environment but was not able to dive, so to find a dive package was great. The day’s schedules are very reasonable and allow you to get the most out of your project, with a lot of free time also where you can do your own thing and relax.

Overall I've been very happy with what I have bought with my money and would highly recommend it.

The two weeks I spent in Fiji was a life-altering, unforgettable experience. Daniel Lund, the country manager was warm from the moment we met him. Thom Turpin-Jelps, the construction project manager had such a great balance of sound training and patient instruction with a great sense of humor and charisma. Our base manager, Tamu Bending was very attentive and observant and always made everyone feel included.

I fondly remember waking up in the morning and preparing for the boat ride to work and afternoons in that grueling sun working on projects. Then there was base life; my wonderful cooking team, leisure time in the common area and play time with the kids (they never seemed to understand when I explained that climbing in trees and atop buildings was outside of the rules!)

I learned how to use a variety of tools, install guttering, mix concrete, build a base, drive a boat (with some help, of course), navigate at night by light of a flashlight, cook with limited foods (world-famous chefs would be envious of our creations with corned beef), adjust to long bouts of quiet, immerse myself into a new group of people, experience homesickness in a new and very unfamiliar environment, and I loved it. I am certain I could fill a series of notebooks with lessons learned and favorite memories from my very brief stint in Fiji, but the experience changed my life and I have the staff, fellow volunteers, and my Fijian family to thank for it.

My time with GVI was fantastic. I had originally planned to do the conservation project for 2 months, but towards the end of this time I wasn’t ready to leave. I asked to extend for another month, and was delighted when the staff informed me that I could stay! When I first arrived I wasn’t able to dive, the instructor at our base took me from complete novice to an advanced open water diver in 5 days! During the first few weeks we would go out diving at least 3 times a day learning what we would be surveying and the surveying methods. We progressed onto surveying the fish, corals and benthic species as well as teaching the new volunteers that came to base what to look out for. Helping to set up marine protected areas and to see how much this meant to the Fijians that we were working with has really inspired me to go back. The staff on base were amazing and welcoming, if you had any problems they would instantly try and help you out. Makiing friends with them, the other volunteers and the Fijians from the local community and nearby resort will be something I will remember forever. I hope to return at some point and do the Dive Master Internship, which a number of my friends are doing at the moment.

I volunteered in Fiji for 2 months this past summer and had the greatest time of my life. I worked for 6 weeks volunteering in local villages and schools building rain harvesting tanks and other projects and spent the last 2 weeks of my trip teaching class 6 at the Ratu Meli boarding school on Nacula island. For starters the Yasawan islands are, in my opinion, the most beautiful place to spend the summer and the local fijians are very cool and extremely hospitable. The most shocking thing to me was how ridiculously friendly all the locals were, they didnt hesitate to invite you into their house to have some tea and cake and we consumed a lot of both while there. While on the construction crew I got to hang out with a lot of people form several different villages across the Yasawas and couldn't get enough of the place. It was mind boggling how each place was more beautiful than the last one. I lived with 25 other volunteers and staff members in very basic dorm accommodations with cold showers and electricity only 3 hours a day. That may sound like it's pretty rough but it was actually pretty nice the cold shower was a great way to cool off after hauling sand, concrete, and gravel to the work site all day. We worked form about 8 in the morning to about 4 in the afternoon which gave us weekends and afternoons off to enjoy the island life and hang out. Without a doubt it was the best trip I have ever taken and hope to do many more with GVI form now on.

I did the Fiji Childcare programme for 6 weeks with GVI. It was honestly the most rewarding, amazing experience i've ever had, and i have completely fallen in love with Fiji, and hope to be going back next year. GVI where amazing while the whole time, which made living in extremely basic conditions bearable, and even fun (although i actually enjoyed how basic our living conditions were, but i think for some people you might need to mentally prepare for that!). The staff members were in control the whole time, yet managed to create a balance between being professional and being extremely lovely and approachable.

As it was my first ever time away from home (and i had chosen the furthest possible place away from home) i was pretty nervous about going on the project, but as soon as we got to the island i would be living on, and met the staff members, i felt safe and happy instantly. When you arrived in fiji, you get to Nadi which is on the mainland, and you have to stay at accommodation that you arrange yourself, and then meet at the arranged meeting point at 6 am on the day your project begins. This was handled very well, and help is available from GVI if you need advice on where to stay and what will happen. We were met promptly by a staff member and introduced to fellow volunteers, and then got on the ferry to take us to the Yasawa Island. Nanuya Lai Lai, the island we lived on, is 5 hours away by ferry from the mainland. Once you get there, you have a base tour and decide which bunk you will sleep in. We live in dorms, there are currently 2 dorms, a 3rd is being built, and there are roughly 12 in each dorm. You have cold showers, as all the running water is pumped by a generator (which also pumps electricity for about 3 hours each day, yep thats right, only 3 hours of electricity a day, and its only available in the common area- no hairstraighteners or electric razors!) We also live among a local village, and you get to know some of the villagers and their children very well. They are lovely, generous people, and it was nice feeling part of their community.

We also cooked in cooking teams, once a week, breakfast and dinner, and sometimes lunch. The food supply is very basic, meat is basically off the menu completely, and we mainly lived on rice and pasta. Vegetables were around but mainly in the form of canned beans, however for at least 3 days of the week we would have lettuce and tomatoes for salad. However their is also a lady called Lowe, who owns a tea house about 10 minutes down the beach from Tovutu Base (the name of where we live) and she sells cake, fizzy drinks, crisps and bear-(alcohol is also available to be bought on base). She also sells sea shells on the sea shore...

We work 5 days a week. We leave base at 8 am (depending on the boat drivers- 'fiji time' is slow and something you will become used to) get to school at about quarter past 8 in time for assembly at half past, and then begin your ay of teaching. You will often have the fijian teacher leading the class, however sometimes they aren't around so you will have to take over. We are expected to plan lessons for music, arts and crafts and sports, which is good fun because the kids absolutely love doing it. You can either be attached to one class the whole time you are there, or you can to one to ones where you have a select number of students that you take out of classes throughout the day to focus on where they are suffering. We finish at 3.30 and go back to base to plan lessons and chill out with other volunteers- (marine conservation and construction live with us!)

The weekends are free to do diving or hiking across the island or going to a resort nearby or just sunbathing. There are always some sort of drinking sesh going on in the evenings- if someone has a birthday there is normally quite a good party. We had an Olympics party while i was there which was great fun.

The only negative things i have to say about my time there is that i did not bring enough money- it is suggested the 100 fiji dollars a week is sufficient. Following this advice, i found myself coming short and had to sacrifice going to some awesome sights in fiji to save money! I would take 200 fiji dollars a week, or more if possible. Its such a beautiful place, you might as well make the most of it and see all you can!

PS- As for the support being a bit lower than the overall- this is only because the people who work in the offices are often un informed about each project, and therefore give unhelpful advice. It is always best in my experience to ask for direct contact on the course. By doing this i was able to speak to someone in fiji about a few problems.

As for the value of the course- if you are complaining that its FOR PROFIT then you only have yourself to blame for misleading yourself into thinking it wasn't. They never say that they are, and you can actually request a transparent PDF breakdown of where all the money goes. It is very reasonable, takes slightly less than other large companies, and uses it more efficiently. It is a for profit organisation that provides sustainable volunteering, unlike many other large organisations.

Fiji construction project

'I have recently returned from the idyllic Yasawa Islands, Fiji. Its volunteer programmes like this that can not only change the lives of others but your very self. In a place of such beauty, necessitys like water and electricity are scarce and that's where GVI stepped in. To be a part of not only a stepping stone but a future vision was as rewarding and exciting as anything else I have ever done. Having been a volunteer with previous organisations it was clear from the start GVI is set apart. Its friendly staff, safety, and simple to learn training make for an unparalleled unique experience.'

'With so much achieved in Fiji already our main role was to produce a report on all the successful water tanks installed and other work achieved. We took photos, mapped the villages, spoke with the locals and as a unforgettable bonus was welcomed in for traditional Fijian lunches. I took pride knowing our report would be directly sent to the government for review. Although much has been completed in the one short year GVI has been in Fiji there is still much to do. With the future bright its an exciting time for others to get involved.'

James McKie

Frontier's Fiji Marine was truly a unique and unforgettable experience. On the first day all the new volunteers and staff went for a final meal in the capital, Suva, a time to bond and eat as much as possible before being whisked off to the remote island that was to be our home for the rest of the trip. We journeyed for 8hours over the pacific ocean and reached our camp which was in a prime location.

The spots where we did our shore dives were just a 20minute walk straight out from camp and there was an incredible wall to dive just 30 minutes away by boat. The coral in Fiji is exquisite, and the marine life abundant; on an average dive we would see masses of species of butterfly fish, groupers, wrasse, puffers and the occasional shark. On one occasion my fellow volunteers and I were lucky enough to see 4 oceanic white tip reef sharks on a single dive- with the largest one coming up to 2 metres! During our time off from the diving we would gather in the classroom to attend lectures about the identification of fish, coral and invertebrates, do some cooking or pop round the corner from camp to sunbathe or play volleyball on the beach.

A highlight from my trip definitely has to be spending time at the Fijian village of Navukailagi which neighboured our camp. As soon as we arrived each volunteer was adopted into one of the families in the village and every Sunday we would attend the church there and then go to our respective families' houses where they would dress us up and feed us freshly caught fish and other Fijian delicacies.

The whole trip was so much fun; the marine life, frontier staff, other volunteers, party nights and Fijian culture. What a great project!