Books and Glasses to the South Pacific

The children of the Rara District school show their pleasure at getting their

books

Glenys with the children at Vunicicibi School

The ladies at Save the Children, Suva, Fiji, try out some of the glasses

In 1989, Bob McCaw resigned from the Club to work in the South Pacific, based in Suva, Fiji. However he continued to use his links with the Taradale Club to assist in the organisation of books in the South Pacific countries.

In 1991 Form Seven text books, donated by Hawke's Bay schools, were gathered Bob (while on home leave) and other Rotarians members of the International committee. Books were organised into Tonga by Tony Trent (past member and a past-President), who was in the transport business. The books were invaluable in assisting Tonga Form Seven students prepare for the New Zealand Bursary examination in their first few years of taking this qualification for the first time.

In 1994, Bob's wife, Glenys, with the help of the Club members such as Ross Ross-Taylor, organised the distribution of primary readers into Fiji, using Save the Children is Suva as the local distributor. She enjoyed the pleasure of traveling around the Fiji hinterland, distributing the books to grateful teachers and students at various primary schools.

The late Jim Dobbie continued the tradition of sending books in 2002 with the help of NZMFAT, who assist with such projects.

Bob returned to New Zealand in 1996 and rejoined the Club. His work continued to take him back to Fiji, and with the help of Peter Sugden, and other club members, disused glasses were gathered from the Taradale and Napier public, packed and sent to Fiji, where they were again distributed by Save the Children organisation. Bob carried these with him on two of his trips. This has proved to be a very simple project yet very affective and greatly appreciated.

More recently, Bob linked the Club with the Project Heaven group in Fiji, and there have been a number of deliveries of glasses. For more go to International Projects Summary

A report in the Napier Courier Dec 11th 1990

Hawke's Bay secondary schools and the Taradale Rotary Club have come to the rescue of the Tongan Ministry of Education which is setting up seventh form education for the first time next year.

Mr McCaw's role in the South Pacific Board is to provide computer expertise to member countries to run their national examinations. His work takes him all around the South Pacific including the Solomon Islands, Western Samoa, the Cook Islands and Tonga.

The South Pacific board is funded mainly by New Zealand and Australian foreign aid and United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisaton (Unesco) with member countries also contributing.

The former Hawke's Bay man says he was "very surprised" at the good standard of equipment he found in the South Pacific schools and although the standard of education was not as high as New Zealand's "it's surprisingly good. They are putting a lot of work into it, particularly in Fiji".

Mr McCaw would like to see New Zealand schools have more contact with the students he deals with. He says there are a lot of exchange students here from "the rim of the Pacific —Japan and America. I'd like to see a few more here from the Pacific Islands." he says.