Enjoying the Polynesian Spa hospitality is (from left) Pauliasi Qura, 18, Taikiko Verebukui, 18 and Apaitia Vugona, 17. Photo / Stephen Parker
Enjoying the Polynesian Spa hospitality is (from left) Pauliasi Qura, 18, Taikiko Verebukui, 18 and Apaitia Vugona, 17. Photo / Stephen Parker
It's been two years in the planning, but now 30 students aged 14 to 18 have scraped together enough money to make a dream trip to Rotorua and Hamilton. Journalist Kelly Makiha caught up with them when Rotorua showed its hospitality.
For many of the Fijian students coming to Rotorua this week on a cultural exchange, they'd never been to Suva in Fiji, let alone get on a plane to New Zealand.
But after a couple of years of fundraising, donations from their local villagers and a timely price increase in kava, which their parents farm, 30 students were able to pull together enough funds for the trip.
The group is being hosted by the Fiji Society in Hamilton and came to Rotorua this week.
The 14 to 18-year-olds are from remote Kadavu, an island to the south of Fiji's mainland.
The trip comes after nearly two years of planning and co-ordination on behalf of the group's rural Richmond Methodist High School, in conjunction with the Waikato Fijian associations and local churches.
The lead organiser, Dr Apo Aporosa, a board member of the Fiji Society in Hamilton and University of Waikato research fellow, said the trip was especially significant for the students who came from a very remote and traditionally influenced environment.
"This trip is an opportunity to broaden the horizons for these kids and their families and introduce them to new possibilities," Aporosa said.
"These are hardworking students from families that mostly rely on income from kava farming and subsistence agriculture to get by," he said.
"Things have been challenging for the Islanders in recent years, particularly following Cyclone Winston in 2016, when a lot of the crops on Kadavu were destroyed. Like many in Fiji, these students and their families are constantly negotiating threats related to an increase in tropical storms due to climate change."
A marae trip was a highlight. Photo / Supplied
They are staying at Te Kohinga Mārama Marae on the University of Waikato campus but came to Rotorua on Tuesday to visit the Whakarewarewa Village and Polynesia Spa.
Aporosa, who used to teach at the students' school on and off for 10 years, said he organised the trip because he knew it would be a thrill for them.
"I haven't seen some of them since they were born so it's as much of a buzz for them as it is for me.
"Going to the Whakarewarewa Village was particularly special because they see a lot of themselves in there with it being a living village."
Richmond Methodist High School principal Solo Ratuloaloa said they were grateful for the Whakarewarewa Village and Polynesian Spa donating their visits to keep the costs down.
"These kids don't get out. It's been a real eye-opener for them."
School head boy Pauliasi Tamani Qura said they were having a great time.
"We come from a remote area and this is really different than Fiji."
He said he particularly loved the people and the food - especially hāngī.
Polynesian Spa chief executive Gert Taljaard said hosting the group was an honour and it was great to be able to contribute.
Enjoying their time in Hamilton. Photo / Supplied
"When Dr Aporosa told us about the upcoming visit, we immediately said we'd love to have the group come to Polynesian Spa to add value to their trip," Taljaard said.
Meanwhile, Aporosa said there was a deeply personal element of the trip with some of them meeting family here for the first time.
The group arrived in Hamilton on November 6 and are returning home to Kadavu Island today.
