Fiji Community Party for Youth and Children

Taveuni Corps, Fiji Division, hosted an exciting party for youth and children in the community, which was funded by The Salvation Army New Zealand sponsorship donors.

The party had a good turnout with 31 children and 12 youth in attendance. There were also six parents who volunteered to help the four teachers with coordination.

This was a great turnout as Tavenui Island has many children, and they were all excited to gather and have fun together.

Lieutenant Eleni Daucakacaka, corps officer at Taveuni Corps, said ‘with the island still in the process of development, running small events where the invitation is for everybody, we find people flock in … since there are no public parks or cinemas or other things to entertain our children’.

They do not have a church building as yet so the party was held in the corps officers’ backyard, overlooking the ocean. The children sat on a blanket under a gazebo with balloons hanging off it, with tables and chairs set up for lunch.

The celebrations started with a devotion, followed by activities—games, singing, dancing—then a tasty lunch of pizza, fried chicken and potato salad with chicken in tomato sauce. This is different from the usual food they eat on Taveuni Island, and Eleni is grateful donor funds made this possible.

In the afternoon, the children went for a swim in the ocean for a few hours, then had ice cream before being transported back home.

Tavenui Corps would like to thank their divisional headquarters, Captain Beth Campkin and all the sponsors who made this event possible.

‘The turn outs always exceed our expectations,’ said Eleni. ‘We thank God for the funding we get as we are able to bless children and just put a smile on their faces. It blesses our hearts as a team.’