Helping hand for Fiji

By Casey Neill
The Spirit of Sharing founder and Baird Ward councillor will for the first time deliver two shipping containers packed with sporting and education equipment to disadvantaged children on Fiji’s second largest island, Vanua Levu.
“This is a lot more rural than where we’ve been on the main island (Viti Levu),” Cr Cole said.
He said Vanua Levu was as much as 30 years behind central Fiji.
“Some of this equipment they would have never seen before,” he said.
Cr Cole’s brother John, friend Karl Houben and new Spirit of Sharing secretary Darren Mayer will join him on the 9 June to 12 July trip.
Mr Mayer expects the trip to be ‘pretty touching’.
“I’ve just said all along I just can’t wait to go to the first place and see the look on the kids’ faces,” he said.
“I’ve never been to Fiji before so it’ll be a big eye-opener for me – to see the real sort of Fiji, not ‘tourist town’ Fiji.”
The men will deliver identical packs to each of the 100-plus schools they visit.
They include soccer, rugby, net, volley and tennis balls, frisbees, bike pumps, a stopwatch, relay batons, a volleyball net, a whistle and a sporting manual.
“Every school will get those basics,” he said.
“The four main sports are soccer, volleyball, rugby and netball, so we wanted to make sure we supplied them with the equipment for those sports in particular.”
Cr Cole said they would distribute the remaining equipment ‘ad hoc’.
“When we go around to the schools we might say ‘we’ll set up a hockey team here’ or a tennis team here,” he said.
The team will also teach kids some sport basics.
Cr Cole said people often asked him what he was “getting out of it”.
“The only thing I’m getting out of it is the smiles on the kids’ faces and the opportunity to go out to the schools and make a difference to their lives,” he said. Cr Cole established Spirit of Sharing nine years ago.
“I’m still just as excited now, if not more excited,” he said.
He took 300 frisbees with him on his last trip – a fact-finding mission to streamline the customs and delivery processes.
“The kids have never seen a frisbee before. To me that’s a very powerful exercise,” he said. Cr Cole also receives impact statements from the schools sharing how the sports goods had changed their village and school life six months after his visit.
“It really does change the dynamic of the village,” he said.
“And every time you receive one of those you read over it and you keep thinking ‘what I’m doing is very much worthwhile’.”
Anyone who would like to help with cash or equipment donations can call Cr Cole on 0439 997 583 or visit www.spiritofsharing.com.au