Vunaniu Village

Bula my names Emma Tokailagi. I’m a Fijian women born and raised in Australia. I first went to Vunaniu Village when I was 11 years old when my mum got married there. Vunaniu is a village along the Coral Coast of Fiji. It is Paradise. We have built our very own home in the village and since first going there we have gone back multiple times a year, every year to see our family, staying for extended periods of time without fail. It is our home away from Australia. The father of my children is also from Vunaniu Village so all of our family is there in Fiji.

Unfortunately on Tuesday night extremely heavy rain started which continued into Wednesday morning. This rain caused the 2nd worst flooding they have ever seen (1st one being 29 years ago). This heavy rain and flooding has destroyed many homes in the village. Leaving many people and children with nothing and so many of them have had to move into the village community hall.

It will also take time for the water supply to be fixed so the village has clean running water again as it is the people of Vunaniu Village who go up into the mountains to fix the damage that’s been cause to their water lines. This means everyone, including the children have to go bath and wash their clothes in the river which is currently dirty because of all the rain and flood. This also means they do not have clean drinking water.

We are very fortunate this flood has not claimed any lives, unlike previous years. But it has set many families aback. A lot of people earn as much as $250 FJD per week as an income which converts to roughly $170 AUD. So you can only imagine the financial strain the damage from this flood has caused for our families in Vunaniu who need to rebuild their homes, who have lost their belongings and the overall damage this has caused to the Village.

So I’m creating this gofundme for the people of the village, the place I call my home and the people that I love very much. I please ask that you would consider donating any money. Any amount goes a long way. This money would go towards food, clean drinking water, clothes, household supplies and helping to rebuild people’s homes and to the village as a whole.

I will also be accepting clothing donations for both adults and children. I will organise getting them sent over via freight shipping, through a company that we frequently use in the Minto area.

A big vinaka vakalevu in advance for any donations made We appreciate it!