Projects
Waqa Digital Services:
Nemai and Joeli Waqa are indigenous Fijians. They come from faraway rural villages. With a very deep faith they have bravely struggled out of severe poverty to a place in life where they are successful business people who run a small shop with lots of customers. They have a large and loving family that can now afford telephone, electricity, new school uniforms, and the other things that can make life more comfortable. Nemai spent many hours learning computer basics and then spent even more hours learning to use Photoshop, MS Word, and other programs. Watching Joeli take pictures and Nemai using Photoshop to work with them is truly inspiring. Their shop has been making a profit for nearly several years now! With the income from their photo/typing business they have expanded what used to be labour-intensive subsistence fishing into a wholesale/retail fish marketing business. Although there are some people who say that indigenous Fijians make poor business people, Joeli and Nemai have shown that it only takes a little bit of training and financial assistance to turn people with faith and persistence into a success story.
Savusavu Computers:
Steven Dickson started Savusavu Computers in August of 2005. Steven recognized that more and more people in Savusavu were using computers but that there was no one locally who could repair them. There also were no places to buy parts and supplies. So Steven opened a small repair shop. Before long the business had increased and Steven hired his niece, Rosie Dickson to handle sales while he tended to the repairs.
After nine years of serving Savusavu, Steve sold the shop to the Snodgrass family. (George Snodgrass Jr. is the primary tech and was trained by us several years ago.)
Computers for Savusavu Schools:
In collaboration with the Rotary Club of Savusavu and with the generous support
of numerous contributors, we have helped put dozens of computers in the area
schools. NextStep Recycling of Eugene Oregon has been particularly helpful,
providing us with 50 computer systems, all assembled and tested by volunteer labor. (Special thanks to Don Steely!!) Savusavu Secondary School and St. Bede's
Academy, the two large high schools in Savusavu) have been the major recipients of
these computers. Steven and Henry Dickson of Savusavu Computers have donated
countless hours of their time to keeping all of the donated computers running.
