Whenever I have walked into the classrooms of Kindergarten or Primary School, there is not a day that my heart was not touched by the big black eyes and smiling faces of children who at the first sight of our participants, shout in unison, “Bulaaaa”. Our participants respond to them in an instant, “Bulaaaa”. This exchange of greeting every morning makes them forget how hot it was in the morning, how slow was our wifi network back at the Centre, or even, how badly their roommate had snored last night.

Yes, the glowing eyes and happy faces of these children transcends small nitty-gritty of life in Fiji as a foreigner. These children have more than 4 or 5 siblings, raised sometimes by a single mother, living together with grandparents in small rooms, sharing one bed, one toilet, few clothes and little food with each other.

Yet, their love for their classmates and outsiders do not cease. Each time our participants gift something or donate books and stationary to the class, these kids, surprisingly do not pounce on them nor rush to grab first. They demonstrate true brotherhood and wait in turn to receive the same. Our participants are amazed how some children give away the bigger piece to make his friend happy.

At the end of the day these little busy bodies, with super curly hair, enormous eyelashes, bright white teeth, and a giggly voice, come running to give a hug to all their “teachers” and shout, “Vinaka, Miss. Moce mataka. (Thank you, Miss. See you tomorrow)

As days go by, we see faces of our participants transformed with similar broad smiles. They seem so motivated, so eager to make charts, draw pictures, create games etc. in their free time and take them to class the next day. They love to be involved with each child and take pride in the small steps of progress that their pupils are making.

This is the true essence of happiness!!

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