We arrived at the office the next day to find it busy but struggling to operate 100% due to the power being out for a significant amount of time, the Wifi/Internet straining to cope with demand, and not able to network with the printers. In the end, we relocated to the Holiday Inn for a few hours to cool down in their air-conditioned lounge, rehydrate, recharge the laptops and cellphones and access their internet in order to get some work done.
It was decided that I would go into the field with some Save the Children Fiji staff and Ministry of Education officials. As we drove through the villages I was astounded at the teachers’ willingness to leave their village and family to attend Child Friendly Space training in the closest town. They immediately saw the benefit of having safe places with safe people to engage the children and allow parents time to rebuild their home and livelihoods. They were also excited about the Child Friendly Space kits which would go some way to replacing the toys and art materials that were destroyed by Cyclone Winston.