Fiji Islands: Sunny Service & Island Immersion 2025
June 29 & 30, 2025
Z – Zoomed to Fiji on an 11 hour flight from LAX
A – Arrived and exchanged currency
E – Enjoyed the many activities at the beach (spike ball, volleyball, soccer with local kids)
V – “Vinaka na kana” Thank you for the food after our long walk on the beach
A – Also had a nice dip in the pool with a team chat
A – All dressed up and ready for sunset pics and dinner
N – Native Fijian fire show
D – Done for the night and off to bed for more fun tomorrow
S – Suns up and we’re up and ready for breakfast
A – Along our journey we survived a bumpy bus ride to the zip lines
R – Ready to go and harnessed up for our walk to the zip line
A – Arrived back and left stuffed with pizza!
H – Hiked up the long trek to the waterfall
I – In to town we go to purchase our sulus
N – No way some of us would leave without souvenirs.
F- Fill volleyball up with words of team contract
I – In hotel again for a much needed dinner.
J – Jumped into village and home stay overview.
I – Inspired for the next day we are off to pack and get some rest!!
By Zaeva and Sarah
July 1, 2025
Bula! Today we began our journey to the village Nativi. We loaded up the bus and began our 5 hour trip. The bus was filled with a perfectly curated playlist and halfway we stopped for lunch in Raki Raki, with options from fried rice to chicken curry. We headed to the local market where we purchased Kava for the Sevu Sevu ceremony, which is a welcome ceremony. Hopped back into the bus and finished our drive through the mountains. We finally arrived in the village with a bus of smiling and excited kids behind us. We unloaded from the bus and made preparations for the Sevu Sevu. After the traditional welcoming ceremony, we met with our families and received flower necklaces. After dropping our bags off at our new houses, the kids showed us our way back to the community center for a wonderful tea and then dinner. Finally we ended the night with lots of laughs and smiles as we played with the kids. We headed off to bed excited for the next day, our first day of service work.
By Isabella and Maya
July 2, 2025
Global Works News, July 2
Miller here reporting live from Nativi village alongside anchorman Hamish. In todays segment we will unpack the events of July 2nd to discover the magic behind what makes Nativi village so special… Over to you Hamish…
Blankets off and sulus on, the team began their first full day in Nativi village. After a well needed restful night with their new homestay families, everyone was ready to get to work on our new project, the objective: construct a new outdoor kitchen and oven area. We started at the base, laying and shoveling dirt, making sure our measurements were precise and the area was level. Next, we created our concrete which would be poured on top of the base to make the floor. We finished working with our clothes and shoes plastered in mud and concrete, but smiles on our faces. Back to Miller with more about the action packed day…
Thank you Hamish, once our work was complete, the team headed down to the river to wash away the concrete, but with a large crowd of village children following, it was impossible to wash away our smiles. After drying off we headed to the rugby pitch to test our rugby skills with the local pros. The game started atop the scenic rugby pitch, sun blazing and within a blink of an eye the sun had set and it was time for dinner. A dance with all the children made us just tired enough to have a full night sleep.
Thanks, that’s all from us today,
Fiji news, out. 🇫🇯
-Miller and Hamish
July 3, 2025
BULA from Fiji!!!
We started off our day with a big breakfast before setting off on our journey to the kindergarten and primary school. There we introduced ourselves and played games with all of the kids. They were all dressed up in green for Drug Awareness week. We finished up our games to make the beautiful trek homes we sat down for lunch and had rice, French fries, fried pumpkin, cucumber, carrots and leaf fritters. Then we got back to our construction work where we mixed and placed cement, followed by a relaxing afternoon tea. After we headed down to the village river to swim with the kids. After the refreshing dip, we ended our fun with some volleyball. Finishing the day off strong with a nice dinner and a good nights rest.
By Makayla and Hayley
July 4, 2025
Our group awoke to the sweet sounds of rooster crowing and birds chirping, ready for our fourth day in Nativi village. At 8am we were met with a breakfast of fresh papaya, homemade pancakes and more. Following the passing of morning showers, we got to work on our third and final day of service projects, the goal being completion of a foot path between the outdoor kitchen and community center. The group worked in different areas of the village, gathering rocks to fill in the path, with the work occasionally interrupted by the village children’s requests for wheelbarrow rides. Following hours of difficult but joyful work in the Fijian sun, we take a break for some much needed midday fuel— a lunch of fish, chicken, egg salad, vegetables, and rice. With full bellies, we began the second phase of our days work— cement pouring. With help from the village men, our group mixes, pours and smooths out the final portion of cement needed to complete the foot path. We were rewarded for a good days work with lemongrass tea and fresh picked oranges. We then made our way downward into the valley for a golden hour dip in the river. We said goodbye to our fourth day in Nativi overlooking a stunning sunset, playing volleyball with local men until the sun was replaced by stars.
By Georgia and Lydia
July 5, 2025
Bula! We began our morning with a special breakfast, the village surprised us with a cake to celebrate the 4th of July! After celebrating, we began preparing for our evening celebration called lovu. Lovu is a type of feast that is saved for special occasions, and it takes a whole day to prepare. We all split into 3 groups: one for collecting cassava, one for collecting taro leaves, and one for collecting coconuts and lemons. These were adventurous trips including walking in deep mud, rivers, cows and a lot of kids leading the way. As soon as we returned from these journeys, we began prepping ingredients. Following all of this hard work we played a long game of volleyball with the community. Dinner was a large celebration and afterwards we participated in a goodbye ceremony where we drank kava. Finally we finished the evening with a big dance party with the whole community before heading to bed.
By Ellie and Mirabelle
July 6, 2025
Bula Vinaka!!! Today is July 6. Day number 6 in the Nativiti Village. Today was Sunday which means a rest day for the community. We started off our day with church service, dressed in our best Fijian outfits given by our homestay families. The girls were given dresses and sulus and the guys were given sulus. There was lots of singing at church and high energy. After church, we enjoyed a filling lunch of leftover food from the lovo. We rested and relaxed afterwards, playing games with each other and some of the village children. We then took a bunch of group photos with everyone from the village, as we were celebrating our last evening together. We exchanged homestay gifts with our host families, and had a delicious dinner of pumpkin, potatoes and roti. We ended the evening with the community gathered looking at photos taken during the week, and reflecting on our time here in Nativi. There were so many good memories, it’s crazy to believe we will be saying goodbye tomorrow! Okay, that’s all for now!!
By Makayla and Hayley
