May News

We have had a few enquiring as to what the situation is in Suva, so here is a quick update.
School holidays were extended for a further two weeks after the first two weeks were finished, and eventually a decision was made by the Fijian government that no schools would resume again until 15 June. TV education, online school and written work was made available to all school children, but the first two are not so suitable for our children.
Our teachers have been back at school this week, putting together some work for our children to do at home with their families. This will either be picked up by their parents or sent to them electronically.
Tiare and Lario, two of our cooking students, have work to complete at home in their hostel, and Toni and Tema are helping them with this. Unfortunately, Vitalina is at home on her island, and we have been unable to make contact with her.
Some children are wanting to come back to the hostels and school, and our hostel staff are also keen to be returning to Suva. However, there are still another six weeks to go and for some they may be a long six weeks.
Edikiel has remained at Harland Hostel right through, with her daughter and the four boys from Vanuatu. She has been their hostel mum, their teacher and their cook, and has done an outstanding job of all three. Thank you Edikiel. In this photograph, the children are signing “Vanuatu”. From left to right are Jones, Jimmy, Michael, Dephne and Lorenzo.
There has been no flight to Vanuatu provided by their government, and after Cyclone Harold, they may well have other things to spend any surplus cash on. When lock down was lifted, Mere returned to the hostel to support Edikiel.
Our buildings all survived “Harold” and there is no major damage which needs to be repaired. Pesa, (right) our maintenance man, will take the opportunity to do some painting at school while there are no children around.

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Let me introduce Elena who recently turned eight and first came to us when she was
just three. Elena was born hearing, but when she was about 18 months, she suffered
from an illness which left her deaf and lame in one foot. She is a brave little girl and loves to join the boys in a bit of rough and tumble. However, her lameness slows her down and at times makes life quite difficult for her. Recently, we made some enquiries as to whether anything could be done for her foot and ankle, and she is seen here with her x-rays taken this week, which will reveal whether surgery will help. Please pray for the best possible outcome for Elena and her parents, as they consult with doctors, and decisions are made.
You may be interested to take a look at ”A-Z in Fijian Sign” put together by Tuliana and Krishneer. If you are still in lock down, you will have plenty of time to practice your alphabet!!
The other link is to Fiji TV Hope Channel, where Tomasi (one of our teachers and also hostel staff) does a weekly slot, teaching basic Fijian Sign. This link is to lesson one and there are another four available, which you can find on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/2434706366759449/videos/492950494720022/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AvG3_1gmWs