Imagine sharing a pit toilet with eight of your neighbours like this one never having seen a flush toilet in your life! And, it is 100 meters away day or night, fine or stormy. This was the situation faced by nine families in Fiji until Suva North Rotary stepped in. In Waidradra Village, Fiji, extreme poverty meant that 55 people from nine families shared a single pit toilet for decades. The picture shows this communal “facility” but there were problems. The location had needed to be moved because its stench was creating complaints from other villagers. Also, the new location was some distance from the family’s homes creating access difficulties, especially for women and children at night. Not only that but the wider community had started using the same toilet, even breaking the lock to access, causing capacity issues.
On 13 November DG Gary Langford had the privilege to attend a presentation of 280 Usborne illustrated English dictionaries to students at Finlayson Park Primary School in Manurewa, the largest decile 1 school in the country. He witnessed joy and smiles all around and was made aware again of the great effort the Bill and Lorna Boyd Charitable Trust, the Pakuranga Rotary Club and its auxiliary, are making to improve literacy standards. Also assisting the purchase in this instance was the June Gray Charitable Trust, administered by the Newmarket Rotary Club.
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