MAKING HISTORY

Fiji LDS Church College opened dormitories last week. Many of the church schools in the other countries in the South Pacific have dormitories.  Fiji never has until this year. They have been building them for the past year or so and now the dormitories are complete. Well at least, mostly complete.  The landscape is not in and there are a few other little details that need attention, but for the most part, they are finished.  The students that will be living in them arrived on Wednesday.  These students are year 11, 12 or 13.  They are from the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and a few from the other islands of Fiji.  There are 20 boys and 32 girls.  We toured the dormitory before they came.  The first scheduled group arrived just before 3:00 last Wednesday.  But, unfortunately, we got there too late and missed seeing their excited faces and the welcoming singing by the teachers and principal.  I was sad to have missed it.  But there were 2 groups coming in and the second group came in at 9:00.  We made it in time to see them drive in, unload their suitcases and walk into the lobby where all of our welcoming faces were quietly embracing this new group of students and tenants.

After the 3:00 group arrived, they fed them and performed a couple of songs and dances for them.  Then they took them off to see their rooms and maybe do some unpacking.  The kids were excited but seemed to be in a bit of a daze.   When the remaining students came at 9:00, they walked in looking a little bit dazed as well.  The 3:00 students were all lined up before them to welcome them in.  Again, they were fed.  Introduced to the dorm parents and administration.  They were sung to and then split boys & girls and taken to find their dorms.  We left around 11:00 and were told that the administration that was there didn’t get home until almost 1:00.  What a long day for them but what an awarding and fulfilling day that they have been looking forward to for months!

There are two sets of dorm parents.  I have been so impressed by them. They are organized and enthusiastic and have strong testimonies of the gospel and a positive attitude about their positions and the students they are working with.  The rules are pretty strict but I guess that is to be expected.  The husband of the first couple is over the boys.  His wife is not allowed to enter the boy's dorm area.  The wife of the other couple is over the girls.  Also, her husband is not allowed to enter the girl's dorm area.  Which totally makes sense.  I found out this week that both women help the girls and both men help the boys but only the head dorm mother or father is paid.  They are both relatively young with only small children in their families. They each have a 2 bedroom apartment fully furnished just off the dining area at the entrances of the girl's or boy's dorm depending which one they are over.  They both have educational experiences but neither have been dorm parents before.   

Many of these new students come from very poor circumstances where they’re happy to get one meal a day and their own corner to sleep in at night.  Here, they have their own bed, a closet, shower and private toilet, a washing machine to clean their clothes and three full meals a day.  I really can’t imagine how they are feeling.  Some of the students were at a church school in Samoa.  Unfortunately. they weren’t always accepted there and may have had a bad experience.  I definitely hope the Fijian students will welcome them with open arms.  For sure these first few days, they have been treated like long last cousins.

 There are about 10 students from the LDS College that volunteered to be mentors for the new dorm students.  They were there to welcome them, sing to them, show them their rooms and be their friends.  These first few days, the mentors have gone with them on field trips to see the city and to go shopping.  They have shown them around the campus and played games with them.  What great charitable service we have seen coming from these students at FLDS Church College.  It has made me proud to be here. 

This is a study area.  I think this is the boy's side but either way they look identical.

Four students to a room.  All bedding is provided.

3 washing machines for 32 girls could prove to be tricky!  😳

Dining Area.  Kitchen to the right and serving area.  All meals are brought in by a catering company.

The first group being fed.

One of the mentors performing a dance.  You can see construction workers in the back still working on things.

 

Singing a song.

The evening group arrives!

Some of our wonderful mentors. 

Shopping Adventures.

I have pictures of the construction and the outside of the dorms but my photo app is being really weird and I can't seem to get them on my blog.  Oh how technology and I have a LOVE - HATE relationship!