Work. Scuba. and more Work. hurray!

Today I can finally say, after almost a year in country, that I have some sort of direction and am actually doing some work with my counterparts. In this post I have included some photos, compliments of Maya, from our scuba adventures...which have been awesome breaks from really busy weeks.

At FRIEND, I've been working on getting awareness campaigns, and youth development events off the ground. By May we hope to hold the first Lautoka Poetry Slam--there is one in Suva monthly at USP, and we're hoping to provide the same opportunity for people in the west. The staff here brainstormed a great idea to motivate youth and provide them an opportunity to gain leadership skills and experience. I'm currently working on a proposal for a youth leadership retreat over December holiday that would focus on youth leadership in the community. This proposal should be finished mid-April, and hopefully posted to start raising funds by May.

Other than that I've been doing things like working on upgrading our website, designing awareness factsheets on health and environment issues, and doing staff capacity building during our daily morning trainings.

Now that work has picked up, the time here is flying by...I can barely believe it's been almost a year...and I foresee the next one going by even faster.

fan coral.

Shark dive. They may look scary, but they are beautiful creatures.