Make your Adventure count #Vinakafiji
Vinaka Fiji Volunteering experiences give you the opportunity to combine your holiday with a way to genuinely 'give back' and lend a hand to Fiji's Yasawa Islanders.
Anyone who can give some time and effort can really make a difference to the lives of Fiji's Yasawa Islanders. Run by the Yasawa Trust Foundation, Vinaka Fiji Voluntourism Packages have been developed to help the people of the Yasawa Islands achieve access to the basic necessities of life. This includes helping them access water, power, education and health care. There is also a focus on marine research and conservation.
Volunteering Experiences
There are three volunteering options available within the Vinaka Fiji Volunteering program:
The Vinaka Fiji Volunteering communities
Despite the natural beauty of the Yasawa Islands, the 27 villages dotted throughout live below world standards of health and poverty. The people that call these islands home live far from the 'paradise' that first meets the eye. They struggle with severe shortages of clean drinking water, little to no health care, poor nutrition, a lack of educational support and supplies, inadequate power and no sustainable way of life for the future.
Who is Vinaka Fiji Volunteering?
The Yasawa Trust Foundation was set up in 2010 to help villages in the Yasawa Islands establish access to basic needs and amenities through fundraising and the Vinaka Fiji Volunteering programmes. The Trust works directly with Yasawa Island communities so villagers are active in determining their own needs and participate in the planning and implementation of projects. All areas of development are designed to have low environmental impact, with sustainability a key to the future.
Awesome Adventures Fiji's involvement
Awesome Adventures Fiji is a major sponsor of Vinaka Fiji Volunteering. The Yasawas were largely isolated from Fiji's tourism industry until we took our maiden voyage into the islands in 2002. The Awesome Adventures Fiji team worked closely with the local village Ratus (chiefs) to ensure the arrival of tourists would be beneficial, not detrimental, to the islanders' way of life.
It soon became clear that something needed to be put in place to assist these villages and help travellers give something back to the islanders who welcome them so warmly. So, we helped to set up Vinaka Fiji Volunteering. The name 'Vinaka Fiji' was chosen to reflect Awesome Adventures Fiji and our tourists saying "thank you (vinaka) for allowing us to enjoy your beautiful islands''.
Since the start of Vinaka Fiji Volunteering, Awesome Adventures Fiji has donated more than FJD$60,000 per year to the cause.
We continue to donate FJ$10 for every booking of 4 nights or more to Vinaka Fiji Volunteering and offer our support in many more ways.
Living in 'Paradise'
In reality villagers live far from 'paradise' than first meets the eye.
How to book
Talk to the Awesome Adventures Fiji team about booking a volunteering experience.
How you can help
Volunteering is a huge help, but also a really big commitment and not something that everyone is able to do. You can also lend a hand through secure online donations.
