Caption: Irene far right with Naduruniu sharks Management. Photo:SUPPLIED.
By Tagimeucia Koroivuki
International Volunteer Organization Projects Abroad Fiji organized an event to cater for the general public and children, who attended the Nawaka Sevens Rugby Tournament in Nadi last Saturday.
Projects Abroad event organizer Ms Irene Lily believes that the “response from the public was very impressive. We only hope to involve Projects Abroad in more events like this to expose our volunteers and the work that we do in Fiji to the general public,” she shared.
There were four corners for the public to enjoy such as the Health & Wellness Corner, Kids Corner, Environmental Awareness and Animals Fiji Corner.
Volunteer taking sugar level checks
Project Manager Ms Sophie Birtwistle explains more about the Health & Wellness Project Corner.
“We offered free health check-ups for blood pressure & blood sugar level and we also took waist and hip measurements to determine the risk of Non-communicable Diseases such as diabetes and heart disease,” she enthused.
“We served over 45 people on Saturday and we gave out educational hand-outs to help educate the public on healthy living which was a great achievement for us,” she added.
Shark Conservation Project Manager Mr Andy Hill said for the kids’ corner they had the “Shark Stanley puppet show,information boards relating to all our work – Tagging, BRUV’s (Baited Remote underwater video system), Surveys, Mangroves, Recycling and face painting which was enjoyed by the children,” he shared.
“We are all very happy with the progress of this project and excited about the future,” he added.
The Deputy Director Mr. Prashneel Goundar was satisfied with the outcome of the community outreach.
“This is our 5th year of operations in Fiji and it was the first time for Projects Abroad Fiji to participate in an event such as this. The response from the public was overwhelming and very encouraging,” he shared.
“We had a total of 70 volunteers and staff who took part in the full day event. We also sponsored a team from Nadi, the Naduruniu Sharks who expressed their deepest appreciation of our support,” he added