Bus Shelters in Fiji

Bula Dear President Duane and Fellow Rotarians of Edmonton South,

Wow! What an amazing 4 days we had this week doing your build. On average, each day we had 35-40 men working from 4 villages. Remember Vunivesi is the larger village, but smaller ones are behind it and so we had so much help, it was wonderful! Of course not all 'worked' at the same time, they take 'shifts' and they just loved every single minute of it. Even better news is the Fiji Times, the local newspaper truck went by, stopped and reversed! Now we have pictures and a story I expect to see within the next few days in the local newspaper. Once I have a copy of that article I will send it to you, District Governor Kevin and President Alana with the Nisku/Leduc Club. So you now have received local media attention!

These people were so deserving of a shelter, why? I had no idea until I worked there that they are in the district of Wailevu, so "Wai" in Fijian means water and "levu" means big, so we got rained on every day. Sometimes drenched, but they still wanted to work. One day we stopped and said, "let's try tomorrow morning", did and it didn't rain. Their water levels are higher as they are up the mountain, hence more clouds, more rain.

I want you to notice the picture where the ladies fed us. Why? Because that is where the people use to wait for the bus, to get out of the rain and sun, under that mango tree! We changed the site, as we could not build under the mango tree. I can tell you it was nothing but mud under that tree and we put down old sugar sacks to stand on while painting. When those ladies carried their pots from the village down the road to feed us, we suggested they put the pots on our painted wood to use as a table, so they did. So we found a better location instead of under the mango tree. The new site is a hop, skip and jump away from the village road, yet close to the main road so you can actually 'see'' the buses coming and going. It is now built in the most perfect spot.


I went on to tell them 'the rules':

1) They are not to mark the wood or have any graffiti in the shelter (there really isn't much graffiti in Fiji, thank goodness), Fijians are great to smack their cane knifes in trees, etc and so I don't want them marking the wood. So they've all been 'told' and when I said that, they said 'eyo'...which means 'yes', they won't mark the wood)
2) They will receive a rubbish bin that they must use to put their rubbish in, then have a site to burn that rubbish (they have this, which is the ditch)
3) They must keep a sasa broom handy to keep the inside clean (a sasa broom is made from palm fronds)
4) They must plant flowers around the bus shelter and maintain the grounds around it.

We have one more day this upcoming week, to do one last coat of paint. I will send one last photo of that and then your build is totally complete. I am copying DG Kevin on this as he likes to smile! I'm also copying President Alana and other Nisku/Leduc Rotarians & the Calmar Interact President, who were present at the village meeting the chief to advise we would build a bus shelter. I also cannot forget to mention Stephen Lindop, who also believed in me and that we could build bus shelters. I know as he reads this and sees the photos, he'll be smiling.

Duane, if I could be there right now beside you and your club members....I would be giving you all the BIGGEST ROTARIAN HUG EVER. I can only tell you that when my husband, myself and any fellow Rotarians drive away from these builds, we maybe wet & tired, but we are EXTREMELY happy and smiling, because yet again we have created something so wonderful and basic, which is shelter for many. As we pull away, all those villagers are waving, smiling and saying 'vinaka' and so are we, back to them.

So vinaka to all of you! President Duane one last question.....are you smiling? I am and I know your club will be too, when you share this with them.

Moce and Yours In Rotary,

Claire