Mike Lloyd of the Devonport Rotary Club reports on some of the good works the club has been performing in our neighbourhood; the Pacific islands.

For the last 5 years some of Devonport’s Rotarians have taken holidays with a difference. They have travelled at their own cost to help refurbish classrooms, libraries and kindergartens on Taveuni Island and Vanua Levu in Fiji.

Some of the local Rotarians who assisted with the build.

These projects are made possible by Geoffrey Amos, ex-Devonport resident and  member of the Rotary Club of Taveuni and his team of local youths who work together and socialise with the volunteers.   Rotary funds  are raised to pay for materials and local labour.

The latest project saw a scruffy building transformed into a vibrant spacious kindergarten complete with a monster whale mural designed and painted by Emma who is the daughter of Libby Boyd (currently President of Devonport Rotary).  Libby originally joined Rotary because of the opportunity to be involved in such projects.

Paddy and Brian Stafford-Bush, Julie Cohen, Phil Le Gros, Erica Gilchrist and Athol Berry were also part of the team and turned their hands to scrubbing moldy walls, sanding, painting, repairing chairs and desks, fitting new louvre windows and setting up the kindergarten with books, paints, scissors, glue sticks etc donated by Auckland businesses and Rotarians.

Prior to refurbishment there were 18 preschool children enrolled but numbers doubled when the villagers saw the good work being done.

The finished product

If you’re interested in membership,  visit http://www.rotary.org.nz/club.cfm?ID=63

- Mike Lloyd