New Kindergarten for Nananu Village

Young children from the village of Nananu now have a reason to smile after the opening of a brand-new Kindergarten thanks to the Fiji Water Foundation and the New Zealand High Commission.

Nananu Village in Tailevu which is located between RKS and Natovi Landing, saw the opening of the village’s “Gaunavou” Kindergarten, which cost around $35,000 dollars.

A kindergarten was first established in the village community hall in 2005, but classes were often cancelled as they competed for space with other events and meetings.

The school was also unable to officially register with the Ministry of Education, thereby could not gain access to grants, teacher salary, and teacher education programmes that would make the kindergarten more sustainable.

The Kindergarten became a reality when U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer Ashley Kramer was based in the village and assisted the villagers in establishing a kindergarten committee.

The devaluation of the Fiji Dollar in 2009, saw a halt in construction but the New Zealand High Commission came on board to provide an additional $7,000 funding to complete the school toilet block and septic tank as well as other necessities, including fencing and a footpath.

Village chief Jone Bulewagaga said that the project has been a great success because of villagers’ willingness to work hard without pay adding that since the project began, the class size has doubled from 16 to 32 children, and regular school attendance has improved by more than 30 percent.

The committee is now working on registering the school.