TWENTY-SIX senior students from St Stanisalus’ College are set to fly to Fiji to take part in a 10-day rugby and community outreach tour.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The group of young men will fly out of Australia on Friday and the trip will see the group travel the east coast of Fiji to participate in rugby union matches against schools in Nasouri, Natovi and Lodoni.
This will be Stannies’ second trip in three years, with the college hoping to rekindle relationships with Fijian communities which started over a decade ago.
St Stanislaus’ teacher and tour leader Jack English said the college has a particular relationship with St Vincent's College Natovi.
“We will spend a few days there supporting the repairs and maintenance program that has been ongoing since the extreme damage caused through Cyclone Winston,” he said.
"Work on the ground was to initially be working on ongoing repairs following the devastation of Cyclone Winston in 201, with a focus on helping the St Vincent's School in Natovi.
“It is now likely that we will be assisting in clean up and repairs encountered thanks to the two cyclone systems that have impacted the nation in the past 10 days.
We will be helping as best we can and assessing the ways in which we can best help on arrival as we have limited contact following the weather event, so are not yet sure of the damage caused.
- Stannies teacher Jack English
“We will be helping as best we can and assessing the ways in which we can best help on arrival as we have limited contact following the weather event, so are not yet sure of the damage caused.”
In the lead up to the trip, VERTO partnered with Stannies to donate $2000 to help support the students’ community outreach tour.
The donation will go towards a number of items including tools and manufacturing equipment for the students and staff to purchase and use while engaging in community work.
VERTO chief executive officer Ron Maxwell said the donation was the beginning of an ongoing partnership with St Stanislaus’ College in an effort to build a firm relationship with the school.
He said VERTO was committed to helping communities, especially those in regional NSW.
“This a great initiative by St Stanislaus’ College to help communities in need in our Pacific neighbours and we're proud to support their efforts,” he said.
Mr English said the donation would go a long way to assisting the students during their trip.
“This will allow our boys to really sink their teeth into some projects in schools and villages across Fiji that are really struggling,” he said.