Health
Project Heaven Trust
Project HEAVEN (Hearing And Vision Enhancement) is a local NGO which has worked since 1998 to screen the eyes and ears of school children throughout Fiji. By identifying and remedying vision and hearing problems in children, the program has a huge impact on their achievements in school and helps to improve their lives. Project HEAVEN screening programs cycle through the Fiji schools every 5 years, and are staffed by trained teams. A 1998 test screening in Suva identified that about 10% of school student populations required some kind of visual or hearing aid. FIJI Water Foundation supported their work in Kadavu in 2008 and in Naitasiri in 2009.Friends of Fiji Heart Foundation
One of the Pacific’s most well-known cardiothoracic surgeons, Dr. Parma Nand, calls Fiji his childhood home. Though he now resides in New Zealand, Dr. Nand has teamed up with other former Fiji-residents to organize a team of volunteer surgeons and specialists who annually perform corrective heart surgeries not currently available in Fiji. The cost of one such surgery overseas would be upwards of $60,000 FJD, but in Fiji they are performed free of charge to the patients. Friends of Fiji Heart Foundation have successfully performed 100 surgeries in Fiji to date.
Savusavu Community Foundation
Composed of concerned citizens from the Cakaudrove province in Vanua Levu, Savusavu Community Foundation concentrates its aid in the core areas of Health, Education, and Cultural support. This year with FIJI Water Foundation’s aid, they have organized free dermatology, pulmonary health, and eye clinics given by visiting experts for the citizens of Northern communities. Thanks to the SCF, over 1700 citizens received glasses and eye exams, 175 were provided cataract and corneal procedures, and 200 were treated for tuberculosis, asthma, and other pulmonary diseases. In November, they will host a school-based dental health program, and they continue collecting and distributing books to schools, food hampers to the needy, and working on the construction of Savusavu’s first fitness and sports facility.Cure Kids Fiji
We support the work of Cure Kids Fiji and the Fiji Rheumatic Heart Disease Control Program (RHDCP). Recent data from Tonga and Fiji suggest that the prevalence of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) in school-aged children is the highest recorded prevalence in the world and translates to 40,000 children affected in the Pacific. RHD begins as a simple streptococcus bacterial infection which, if untreated, can develop into rheumatic fever and eat away at heart valves. RHD is most prevalent where people live in close proximity and with poor sanitation. While treatment is readily available in Fiji, detection is inadequate and many sick children are flying under the radar. To help RHDCP, FIJI Water Foundation has teamed up with Cure Kids Fiji and purchased two portable echocardiography machines that are being used to screen children. Last November, 575 school children were screened around the FIJI Water factory and thirty were detected with early signs of RHD. These children are now receiving the ongoing treatment they need to live long, healthy lives.The machines are easily transportable and if necessary can be powered by a car battery- just what is needed to reach out to Fiji’s rural areas. FIJI Water Foundation is very proud to be a part of this pilot project, which is instrumental in establishing a robust, long term, affordable on-going local program which is set to become the gold standard for RHD Control and Prevention in the world’s developing countries.
Fiji Red Cross Society
Alarmingly, the Fiji rainy season is increasingly accompanied by the deaths of those trying to swim in or to cross flooded rivers. In addition, basic fire and first aid safety measures are not readily available to rural people. In response to this, the Fiji Red Cross Society’s ‘Safer Communities’ project is part of a pilot program to deliver to rural communities the programs such as Community-based First Aid, “Mind that Child” and Fiji Swim water safety that have been serving urban groups in Fiji for over 20 years. These programs aim to promote safer lifestyles and assist in the reduction of accident-related injuries and deaths among targeted communities through capacity building, community education, and classroom demonstration. The program reached 636 students in 22 primary schools and 1,370 residents of 13 villages and settlements in rural Rakiraki, Tavua, and Lautoka.FIJI Water Walkathon
FIJI Water’s Walkathon covered 10km from the Yaqara Factory along the scenic Kings Highway to the nearby village of Drauniivi and back to the plant. Employees, family members, and supporters showed up in large numbers, with an estimated 150 participants, not including volunteer stampers, drivers, first aid, and refreshment teams. Participants solicited local businesses and partners. All funds raised by employees were matched by FIJI Water Foundation and went towards much needed equipment and medical supplies at Rakiraki and Tavua Hospitals, and to support a capital fund to construct multipurpose courts and improve drainage at the Drauniivi School sports ground.
