Breaking the poverty cycle through education
Fiji Kids was registered as a charity in Fiji and Australia in 2010. We are a volunteer run, grass roots organisation, operating from our kitchen tables.
Our team are regular visitors and returning residents who are passionate about supporting disadvantaged children in Fiji to participate fully in education.
While Fiji’s schools are fee-free with transport and textbooks provided, we asked why so many young people are roaming the streets or staying at home. Why are they not in school?
We saw the circumstances that many children were born into – the poverty, family illiteracy and the pressure for kids to help out on the farm rather than attend school.
Living in poverty is tough for Fiji parents.
“I am the only bread winner. I go diving for mussels and am selling them in the market. I can’t afford to buy uniforms or shoes or underwear. My child doesn’t want to go to school with nothing. They feel bad so they stay home.”
Without support, another generation will be trapped in the same cycle of poverty.
Our small team developed a primary and secondary school sponsorship program to relieve parents of the costs of educating their child which can amount to several hundred of dollars a year.
For a small monthly donation, sponsors provide the funds for uniforms, shoes, bags, stationery, underwear and sports gear.
The families we focus on are in the Sigatoka valley district on Fiji’s Coral Coast. We select them on the basis of need and they are often affected by illness, incapacity or loss of one or both parents.
Supporting kids into further education.
In 2015, we introduced a Tertiary Scholarship program to encourage secondary school graduates to continue with their education and attain vocational or university qualifications. Fiji Kids’ Tertiary Sponsors contribute to a fund that pays all tuition costs, removing barriers to entry and the prospect of onerous student loans.
Fiji Kids is also there when young people and families hit hard times such as during the Covid-19 pandemic or emergency aid following natural disasters like cyclones. We have also airlifted several children overseas for emergency medical treatment that was unavailable in Fiji.
We believe that all Fiji’s young people deserve the opportunity to realise their potential, pursue their dreams and live their very best lives.
We believe that education makes a lifetime of difference.
Our mission is to break the poverty cycle through education.
Our Trustees
Our Trustees are volunteers based in Fiji and Australia who were instrumental in the establishment of our organisation, and continue to devote themselves to the young people and families we support.
