Sometimes a journey changes you. Not because of the destination, but because of the people who welcome you into their world. At the start of the month, I spent three days in Sote Village in Fiji and I returned with a perspective I hope never to lose.
For almost 15 years, CISaustralia students have travelled to Sote Village as part of the education and community engagement programs (WIL) working alongside local teachers to support English language development, allied health, mathematics, social sciences and other learning opportunities. Thousands of kilometres separate Australia and Fiji, but over the years a remarkable connection has grown between a small village community and CISaustralia, Australian Universities and Australia.
My visit coincided with Sote Village Donation Day, an annual fundraising celebration where families from the village and surrounding communities come together for a day of music, food, dancing and generosity.
The purpose of the day was simple but deeply important. The village was raising funds for a new kindergarten building, a bridge that was destroyed by floods last year, a printer for the school and village and other practical projects that will improve daily life for everyone.
What struck me was not what the village lacked. It was what they had.
Life in Sote is incredibly basic. Most families rely on farming and a subsistence lifestyle. Some villagers travel to Australia for seasonal farm work, sending money home to support not just their own families, but the wider community. Village homes have no hot water. People bathe in the river. Modern conveniences that many of us rarely think about simply do not exist e.g. TV, microwaves, etc. And yet they were among the happiest, most generous and most grateful people I have ever met.
The visit was arranged by Shelia Houston and Lavenia Warman (Aunty La), who have been supporting the village and helping coordinate university programs for many years. Lavenia is originally from Sote Village. Through their kindness and trust, I was invited to attend the celebration and was deeply humbled to be welcomed as a guest of honour.
The village had spent days preparing.
Hundreds of people gathered on the football field, where wonderfully crooked goalposts stood as a reminder that perfection has very little to do with happiness. Two large marquees were filled with families, visitors and community groups. We sat for over 12 hours enjoying each other’s company. Local food was prepared in extraordinary quantities. A group of 13 musicians travelled four hours across the island to perform for most of the day. Dancing continued well into the evening. Laughter was everywhere.
Alongside the celebrations, the village raised more than FJD$15,000 in donations from local families and former villagers now living across Fiji, Australia and the Pacific.
One of the most meaningful moments came from something many organisations would consider routine. Following CEA-CAPA’s acquisition of CISaustralia, our technology systems were upgraded and older laptops became surplus. Rather than allowing them to sit unused, an opportunity emerged to give them a second life in Sote Village. With the generous support and approval of Marian Fagbemiro and senior leadership at CEA-CAPA, those laptops were donated to the village and school. Watching that donation being received was unforgettable.
It was a powerful reminder that the value of technology is not measured by its age, but by the opportunities it creates.
During the day, I also had the privilege of spending time with the Honourable Sakiasi Ditoka, Fiji’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. Our conversations ranged from education and village life to regional geopolitics, trade, environmental challenges and the future of Pacific communities. What interested him most was the long-standing relationship between CISaustralia, Australian universities and Sote Village.
For nearly 15 years, groups of Australian education students have travelled to the village to work alongside local educators. Those relationships are producing results. Last year, for the first time in the school’s history, six students from Sote Village were accepted into a high school in Suva, largely due to significant improvements in their English language outcomes. The village Head Master also spoke about the ongoing support provided by the University of Newcastle, whose staff have been delivering online English lessons free of charge each week. That commitment, particularly through the leadership of Heather Sharp and the University of Newcastle, has become an important part of the village’s educational journey.
Education changes lives.
But this experience reminded me that the people doing the teaching are often the ones being taught. I arrived in Fiji thinking about what we could contribute. I left thinking about everything we have to learn.
We often measure success through income, technology, infrastructure and convenience. Sote Village measures success through community, generosity, resilience and hope.
How lucky we are. How easy it is to forget that.
And how extraordinary it is that a village with so little in material terms can give so much to everyone who visits. I will be forever grateful for the warmth, humility and generosity of the people of Sote Village.
A heartfelt thank you to Marian Fagbemiro for approving the laptop donation on behalf of CEA-CAPA and to Shelia Houston and Lavenia Warman (Aunty La) for nearly 15 years of joint dedication to the village and its school community.
Some experiences stay with you. This will be one of them.
Brad Dorahy is the Founder and CEO of CISaustralia. The Koala thanks Brad Dorahy for permission to republish this article, which was originally posted on CISaustralia’s website here.
The Koala Thanks CISaustralia for permission to publish this piece. It was first published here.
