kerekere

I am finally working on a project with the microfinance bank I came here to work with (SPBD). Even though I only have two weeks left, I'm hoping that I can contribute something good to the company so they can better serve the women in Fiji. Their model is a group borrowing model where 8-20 women make groups (called centres), borrow however much they need for their business (this is a tedious process for them - they don't just ask for money and SPBD gives it), then pay back their loans. If a lady can not pay it is up to her centre to come up with the money to cover for her. This doesn't happen too often but when it does the woman must pay double the next week. 

Anyway, there are centre managers who are employees of SPBD who spend M-Th traveling to each centre and collecting the money for the week. I have been able to travel around with them for the past two days and meet some of the women and see how the collections work. This also gave me a chance to interview women for a project I am completing for SPBD. 

One question that I have been asking (for my own interest really) is "What are some issues you have in your business?" I keep getting the same answer and I have a feeling it is a them among developing countries. In Fijian it can be explained solely by the term "kerekere." "Kere" in English means "please". Now put on your best puppy dog face and say, "please please" or "kerekere." That is exactly what is causing so many of these womens' businesses to fail. Their families or friends are also struggling to make ends meet so they will kerekere a business woman for her money, chickens she raised, roti she made, etc., and the business woman slowly loses inventory without making any money. 

It is sad to see such bright and capable women flounder in their businesses because of a cultural norm that seems nearly impossible to break. We have been trying to teach them about cash flow and margins in business but another major topic has been the ability to say no and explain why to their family and friends. 

I hope that something I'm doing here is making a difference. The fascinating thing about development work is that most of the women are quite bright and should be able save money from their business yet cultural issues (kerekere and also the lack of saving mentality) are what keep women from success. How do you change an entire country to understand the value of earning (and keeping) your own money? No wonder there are so many theories and model to alleviating poverty in the developing world. 

This was one centre of women I got to talk to. They were all so great and motivated to expand and improve their businesses. 

World Health Organization training

I'm guessing at this point you are all wondering what good I'm doing in Fiji. Trust me, I was wondering the same thing as of Wednesday morning. Luckily the rest of this week has been jam packed with information on the projects we are able to work on.

On Wednesday I went to a World Health Orginization training. They are working here in Fiji doing their Health Promoting Schools (HPS) Campaign. Each week WHO hosts a training in a different city of the island and invites head masters and principals to learn about the campaign and begin setting goals to make their school an HPS. Similar to the US, one of the major health issues in Fiji are Non Communicable Diseases (i.e. diseases that can not be passed from one person to another, e.g. heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.). The five major areas of improvement for educating children are tobacco, alcohol, sexual activity, physical activity, and nutrition. Sound familiar? Wednesdays training was the introduction to the campaign along with brainstorming for solutions to these five problems. After the trainings are completed in the next few weeks schools are expected to set and implement goals to make their school an HPS.

A girl here is working closely with WHO and I am helping her make an evaluation form to evaluate the schools once the proper implementation has taken place. While it's not exactly what I came here for, I'm finding that so many of the projects that are available to me can use my business knowledge and will teach me more about development and growth that I would be able to learn in the US.

I'm heading into town (it's Saturday here) for lunch and shopping but I'll update you on the other project I was able to learn about this week later.

Moce from Fiji.

Natadola Beach

Monday was the Queen's Birthday (a public holiday here in Fiji) and our ward organized a picnic to celebrate our day off. We decided to go to Natadola beach (pronounce Natandola) which is about 1.5 hours away from Lautoka. It's known as one of Fiji's best beaches on the main island and it is on the Coral Coast in the south of Viti Levu (near Sigatoka on this map).

I played in the ocean, watched volleyball, read a book, found sea shells, and ate tuna fish sandwiches. 

New home & movie night

 View from the entrance

 My room

 Living room

Movie night! Holly, me, Nikki, Tacy

Church in Fiji

Church was great today. The people are so welcoming and I can tell that they are really happy we are here. It runs a little long- making 3 hours of church 3.5 to 4 but we just chalk it up to Fiji time.

Walking to and from church, however, is a pain. It was fairly cool this morning so we made it without sweating too much but on the way home it felt like I was walking through a waterfall. Luckily the only temperature of water is cold so I've been having a few showers per day in order to cool off (our new flat doesn't have fans as of yet).

In other news, I am ALWAYS hungry here. The first morning I was here I had eggs and toast and we've been eating at a lot of restaurants (because of the homelessness) but besides that I've been living on peanut butter and breakfast crackers (thicker than saltines), oreos, and tim tams(another form of cookie). I just need some protein, you know? Luckily, I brought a few protein bars.

Fiji Time

There's a little thing here in Fiji called "Fiji Time". And I hate it.While we are learning about being punctual and on time to everything in the states, Fijians take more of a come and leave as you please position. Thus, "Fiji Time" means I'm not coming when I say but I'll be there when I feel like it. This is how the bus' run, how taxis run, just about how everything runs. Even my team has adapted to the Fiji time. We were supposed to leave for town at 11:00am and it's currently 11:30 and some aren't even showered. 

Here's to getting use to Fiji time!

Moving pains

We are very lucky to be in a good ward here. The bishop and his wife have been helping us everyday (we're not quite sure what they do for a living). Yesterday we were homeless still when we came home from the resort so they offered to let us stay at the church in the primary room. 

 Home for the night

 LDS Church in Lautoka, Fiji

Packing some of our stuff up in the van

Catching Up

Day One: Continued

Guess what I got to do my first day in Fiji? Move an entire house. Haha, well actually we had a LOT of help from the Bishop and his wife along with some members. We became homeless the first night I was in Fiji. Luckily we lived very close to town and were able to find a fairly cheap hotel to stay. The room was even air conditioned! (Apparently a luxury here). We went out to the BBQ Chicken restaurant, which I hear is about as American as you can get here and the jet lag hit me HARD. We wandered back to the hotel and I crashed.

Day Two

Guess what I found finally? A Diet Coke! They usually drink Coke Zero (which I would have settled for) but I found a delicious DC at the store around the corner. 

Go figure the first photo I post is of me and a Diet Coke

We found out that one of the volunteers (Annie) fell out of a tree in one of the villages after watching the sunrise and after all the commotion of moving and tree trauma Kat decided that we should get out of Lautoka (where we are staying) and go to Roki Roki to a resort. Day two and I'm already heading to the beach! I will post pictures and continue the story very soon!

p.s.- I won't be recounting every day like this for very long. I just happened to keep a little journal for the first days and wanted to update you all :)

xoxo

Contact Info

I was seriously mistaken when I told you friends that I would have WiFi. I must have misunderstood the directors here. I was finally able to go into town and buy an internet stick though so I have plenty of access to the internet but not on my phone (i.e. no iMessage or FaceTime).

The different ways you can reach me:
email- karliwoolley@gmail.com
skype- karli.woolley
facebook (obviously)
gchat- same as e-mail

I'd love to hear from all of you even though I can't reach out to all of you right now. I'll be posting pictures soon- I just need to steal them from some of my new friends.

xoxo

Day One

Post date: 6/5/12

My first international flight went well. My uncle Geoff brought me to LAX and while I did have to ask a few questions along the way I made it to my gate and on the plane without incident. I sat next to a lovely Samonan woman from Salt Lake (there was no one in between us – BONUS). My TV didn’t work and I had a bit of trouble getting sleep but luckily I had a few good books on my iPhone and they made the 5 hours I was awake fly by.  

The plane landed and we all went through customs and that’s when I learned my first major international travel lesson: pack light carry-ons. I brought a backpack with the basics for flight entertainment – laptop, magazine, books, etc., a small bag for my wallet and cell, and a duffle bag. It wouldn’t be too bad if the duffle wasn’t filled with children’s books to give to the Fijian children we meet on the way. It really is a great idea because books are so hard to find in country but it was just a major burden before getting on and after getting off the plane. Oh, I also brought a pillow (the ones here are less than comfortable).

I got a taxi and he took me from the Nadi airport to Lautoka, where our house is. (Well, we actually just moved out of that house but I’ll save that story for my next post.)

 I am here and safe and really like the people. I’m looking forward to the next two months and I’m really hoping I’ll be able to find a Coke Zero somewhere tomorrow.

First stop: California

Everything is packed and I'm ready to head out to California tomorrow. Only one blissful week in Oceanside until I leave for Fiji!

I was a bit nervous this weekend about Fiji. It all stems from not knowing what to expect but I really hope that I don't get sick or hurt. I just bought the most expensive travelers insurance so even if I do need to be medically evacuated, at least I won't have to worry about the financial aspect of it.

First world problem alert: I'm also having issues packing. How do I fit everything I'll need for two months in a suitcase (that must weigh less than 50 lbs)? Solution: bring a duffle bag just in case.

Official passport holder

I am offically two steps closer to Fiji. I received both my participant handbook and my passport this week! The handbook was informative including information like what to expect from the program, past projects, and country specific information. I've also been buying wayyy too much and therefore taking extra trips to return things I thought I needed. 

Next steps: Pay program fees, figure out flight, write out a realistic packing list, watch training movies

The Beginning

My MBA program "strongly advises" a summer internship between year one and two. After a lot of networking and applying for positions I had a few prospects but nothing that grabbed my attention. One night, on a late night Sonic run, my friend mentioned that she was going to Fiji for the summer to work with a program called HELP International. She asked me what my plans were and after I basically said "nothing" she told me about a microcredit project that needed some attention. My interest was immediately piqued and I decided then and there that I wanted to work with HELP to improve the lives of the people in Fiji.

The purpose of this blog is to record my summer experience in Fiji. I want to be able to remember both the good times and challenges I have throughout the summer. I also want to share the experience with my friends and family who I wish could all come with me. I haven't exactly decided how to format the blog but I will try to include a little bit of everything: photos, project details, cultural tid bits, etc. 

Warning: This is not an academic blog and my grammar will NOT be up to Kate's (biz writing professor) standards. Sorry if my poor writing distracts you.