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Funding a rural Kindy Children from a rural community in Tailevu have also been on the receiving end of the Foundation funding with assistance given towards the construction of a new Kindergarten facility for them last year. Prior to the construction of the new building, children from the Deepwater Farming community in Tailevu used an old condemned structure for their early learning activities but thanks to a funding application put together by Headteacher Ms Bindra Devi and the approval of the Board, the new facility is now up and running. “The Foundation has been making an extra effort to identify projects in the rural areas that need assistance and this was one such project where we were glad to assist, Foundation Manager , Lenora Qereqeretabua said. “I think the Management of the School were only too pleased to demolish the old structure which had been standing for decades in order to make way for the new building,” she added. The Deepwater community is made up of farmers with the kindergarten facility providing much needed early learning exposure for their children. The facility is expected to be officially handed over by the Vodafone ATH Foundation to the Management of the school shortly. The Foundation assistance was to the amount of $8000. Other kindergarten projects are expected to be completed soon at Tamavua Village and Namarai, Ra. Books for needy children More than 3000 school students from around the Lautoka area received much needed assistance in the form of exercise books and educational supplies at the beginning of the 2007 school year through a grant of $25,000 presented to the Sugar Festival Committee The Sugar Festival committee had requested assistance from the Foundation last June and their application was approved by the Foundation Board in July. The funds were be used to manufacture, print and distribute 32,000 exercise books to needy children in and around the Lautoka area. Committee President, Mr Bijesh Chand said the festival organisers were extremely grateful to the Vodafone Foundation for their contribution towards the project. “The Festival Committee has been working hard over the last few years to assist families in need by providing education for their children and last year we were able to help 1700 students with 16,000 books,” Mr Chand said. “This year we wanted to increase the number of books because we have been inundated with requests from families who need assistance,” he added. The Sugar Festival committee has been working with school Head teachers and other prominent members of the community to identify families who need assistance. The committee also intends to purchase pencils, rubbers and other stationery items for needy children.Books for 2www.vodafone.com.fj/foundation Young Jope’s new glasses 12-year-old Jope Ralulu Nuku is no different from your average young boy. He enjoys playing rugby, hanging out with his friends and likes going to school. Originally from Vutia in Rewa, Jope attends Vishnu Deo Memorial School and lives with his family in Raiwaqa. A few years ago, when he was in Class 5, Jope started to have difficulty seeing what the teacher was writing on the blackboard and would often rub his eyes because of blurred vision. It was at this time that a team from Project H.E.A.V.E.N. which tests for hearing and vision impairment for Primary School children in Fiji visited the school, tested his eyes and issued him with a pair of glasses. “The glasses they gave me really helped me with my school work because I was able to see the board well and I was able to understand what the teacher was talking about,” Jope told Jeevan. “I was a bit surprised when they told me I had problems with my eyes, but I am glad that I know now.” Since being issued glasses, Jope has broken one pair and is hoping that the Project HEAVEN staff will visit him with new glasses soon. Project Manager, Mrs. Fani Volatabu said the project was now embarking on the second phase which includes trying to reach isolated schools and a revisit to all the schools to screen Classes 1 – 5. “We covered all the primary schools in the first 5-6 years of operation and we're going around now to screen the primary schools again, as well as nearby secondary schools for the first time,” Mrs Volatabu said. “At the close of school last year, we had completed the Viti Levu schools, and we have now started on the schools in Vanua Levu.” Since commencing operations the project has found that 10% of the children screened have some degree of hearing or vision impairment. Project HEAVEN assists with eyeglasses at a reduced cost, or free to those who cannot provide for themselves, hearing aids, medication and consultation and even free transportation from the islands or interior of Viti Levu, if parents do not have the means. The Foundation has granted $150,000 to the project from 2006-2008. 12-year-old Jope Ralulu Nuku is no different from your average young boy. He enjoys playing rugby, hanging out with his friends and likes going to school.
Educating deaf children Equipping the Blind Executive Director of the Fiji School for the Blind, Mrs Barbara Farook will be the first to tell you that special children have special needs and meeting those needs is not easy with the number of children attending the Blind School increasing each year. Therefore, the School Management was relieved to receive assistance from the Foundation last year which allowed them to purchase 15 sets of low vision tables, 15 sets of Braille tables, 10 sets of teachers tables, 40 steel chairs and two group tables. Speaking to Jeevan, Mrs Farook said the enormous support received from their various donors allows the School to provide the best facilities to meet the growing needs of the blind and visually impaired in Fiji. “Our children receive Braille education and computer training which gradually equips them for tertiary education and all this is made possible through support from our various donors,” Mrs Farook said. “They have to work twice as hard as normal children because they learn through Braille and it’s only right that we give them as much support as possible.” Students at the school are classified as totally or partially blind. Mrs Farook says one of their totally blind students scored the highest mark in 3rd form maths at DAV Boys School last year. “Krishneel’s achievement is something that we are all so very proud of, and it just shows that there are no limits. If he can top all normal students at a normal mainstream school in a subject such as Maths, then anything is possible for our visually impaired students,” Mrs Farook added. Most of the students who attend the school live in the school hostel premises and are given full time assistance with homework. Other services offered at the School include Orientation and Mobility for new students, an Early Intervention Program for infants and pre-school children, Braille and Transcription services for students of all ages and Integrated Education in the form of special tuition and visits to respective schools. The School, in Nanuku Street Vatuwaqa, has also been actively involved in providing assistance to visually impaired children in the community through its Community Based Rehabilitation Program. When the Gospel School for the deaf was established in 1999, the School Management Committee was adamant that no deaf child who came to their door seeking education assistance would be turned away. The pledge was made despite what the Management knew were the enormous costs involved in providing a specialised education service which often involved the provision of hostel accommodation for those who came from rural parts of Fiji and around the Pacific. Eight years later, Gospel School for the Deaf has a roll of 48 students from as far away as Savusavu and Rabi with a few students from Kiribati and Tuvalu. Much of the assistance to the students comes from local and international donors, so when the School Management learnt of the Vodafone ATH Foundation through an advert in the paper they seized the opportunity to seek assistance. The Foundation Board approved funding for 10 students to attend the boarding school for one year as well as for the refurbishment of the school kitchen. Vodafone Foundation Manager, Lenora Qereqeretabua said they also funded four sign language interpreters last year through the Fiji Association of the Deaf. Two of those interpreters worked at Gospel High School with the other two at Marist Brothers High School. www.vodafone.com.fj/foundation 3
Page 1: Jeevan official newsletter of the V
Page 5 and 6: Reaching Rotuma A grant of $30,000
Page 7 and 8: The Bare Necessities Foundation Boa

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