In Fiji, the public school curriculum is quite limited with socio-economic issues and geographical distribution of ethnic groups providing very limited variety of other cultures and experiences. Most locals on Fiji can’t afford to travel, and in the villages there is little chance of contact with the outside world. The young population are in much need of assistance to broaden their awareness.
Volunteers experience life in both rural and urban areas, which is quite different from the average journey followed by a tourist. Volunteer teachers enable students to form relationships with someone from another culture, and the teachers can learn different teaching methods and techniques.
Mainly, volunteers assist the regular school teacher. So volunteers do not need to have any teaching background. However qualified teachers are very much in need and encouraged to apply. The volunteer will teach and educate to different age groups of children in different levels. The participants are free to be creative.
Teaching volunteers may choose to focus on Music, and Arts and Crafts or expertise of volunteer. You will teach primary school students. As a teaching assistant, you will follow a customized timetable. If you have artistic skills, you have the opportunity to teach music or arts and crafts. You will be spending part of your day in a formal teaching setting and, therefore, you will have to follow the Fijian Ministry of Education’s formal dress code.
Kids Club
During the school holidays, we organise a kids’ club to provide a fun and educational experience for children during their breaks. The kids club takes place in community halls and is open to children aged 5 to 16 years old. Each week, the children are taught a specific theme, which is then further divided into subtopics to make learning easier for them. The club’s activities typically run from Monday to Friday, starting at 9 am and ending at 2:30 pm. In the afternoons, you, with the assistance of local coordinators, plan the lessons for the following day.
Furthermore, on Fridays, the kids’ club focuses on Sports Education, offering an exciting and active way for the children to engage and learn.
Location
Coral Coast is noted as the ‘adventure capital of Fiji’ and is located about 1 hour from Suva and 1 hour from Nadi. It is known for it’s incredibly beautiful coast line, tourist beaches and resorts and heaps of activities from 4 wheel drive tours, shark feeding, surfing, rivers & waterfalls, golf etc and is home to the famous Bega lagoon and bega fire walkers. Sigatoka is the gateway to the Coral coast and home to several of our projects.
Project Tasks
Volunteers will help teach and educate primary school children of different ages at different academic and physical levels. Tasks may include but are not limited to;
- Planning lessons
- Doing crafts
- Computer class
- Conversational skils
- English language teaching
- Level exams
We’d like to inform you
that Fijian Immigration has recently updated its guidelines for volunteers.
It’s important that we follow these new procedures closely to ensure a smooth
arrival process and avoid any issues at immigration.
Here’s what our participants need to know:
1. Arrival Card
All volunteers should write “volunteering” as their purpose of visit on
the arrival card they fill out at the airport.
2. Short-Term Volunteers (up to 10 weeks)
Volunteers will be granted a 14-day business visa on arrival.
After that, they'll need to extend their stay for an additional 2 months.
Fee for extension: FJD 95.10 (around USD 43)
3. Long-Term Volunteers (more than 10 weeks)
Those staying for more than 10 weeks must apply for a short-term work
permit online before arrival.
Permit cost: FJD 664.50 (around USD 290)
According to the updated explanation, this applies not only to individual
volunteers but also to groups and teams supporting local communities.
Activities such as volunteering are officially considered “work” and therefore
do not fall under standard tourism. Only travelers visiting purely for holidays
and staying in hotels are eligible to enter on a visitor visa.
With a new enforcement team now in place, immigration officers are strictly
applying these rules.
