DONATE TO VINAKA FIJI
WHAT IS VINAKA FIJI
The Yasawa Islands, located in the west of Fiji are home to 27 villages living below the world standards of health and poverty but are also an area where the main income is generated through their involvement in tourism.
South Sea Cruises Ltd, Fiji’s largest marine tourism operator has a number of subsidiary brands and tourism products that operate within the Yasawa Islands including Blue Lagoon Cruises, Awesome Adventures Fiji, and Vuata Bay Resort. South Sea Cruises also operates the popular Malamala Beach Club and South Sea Sailing in the nearby Mamanuca Islands as well as an array of daily vessel services connecting both international visitors and locals from Fiji’s mainland to these islands. Founded in 2010 by South Sea Cruises, Vinaka Fiji is a charitable organisation that gives back to the remote villages and communities of the Yasawa Islands and is how South Sea Cruises says ‘vinaka’ (thank you in Fijian) for creating and maintaining one of the world's truly special destinations.
BACKGROUND
Remote, idyllic, and majestically beautiful, the Yasawa Islands were largely isolated until South Sea Cruises took its maiden voyage into the island group in 2002 and created a budget traveller product: Awesome Adventures Fiji. The daily ferry service gave travellers from around the globe access to these islands, an area of Fiji that is – at first glance – ‘paradise’.
These Yasawa Island villagers live far from the ‘paradise’ that first meets the eye. In fact, the Yasawan people struggle from day to day with shortages of clean drinking water, limited access to health services or, a limited diet, a lack of educational support and supplies, little or no electricity, and no foresight into how to best ensure their surrounds remained sustainable for generations to come.
With the establishment of the Vinaka Fiji, the South Sea Cruises team was able to work directly with the villagers and communities of the Yasawa Islands so that the Yasawan people themselves are involved in determining their needs, participate in the planning and implementation and share responsibility for completion of the projects embarked upon.
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO
Create solutions to support self-sufficient, sustainable communities
Achieve and maintain access to clean, reliable sources of water
Develop ‘micro-enterprises’ based around nutrition, including food crops and education
Support local schools with educational supplies and teaching aids
Assist with ideas, information and solutions for power sources
Research and educate on the management and value of the surrounding environment
Vinaka Fiji is incorporated as the Yasawa Trust Foundation, a wholly managed entity of South Sea Cruises Pte Ltd.
DONATING TO
VINAKA FIJI
Although voluntourism is a large part of what Vinaka Fiji does, having funds to make these projects viable is just as important so you can still make a difference by making a donation to Vinaka Fiji. Vinaka Fiji receives funding through its voluntourism programs and its major sponsors but we are also heavily reliant on monetary donations from kind-hearted individuals, organisations and groups. The donations are used to facilitate the Vinaka Fiji mission and purchase some of the many materials and resources required to make our projects possible.
Vinaka Fiji runs three different workstreams, you can choose to donate to Vinaka Fiji in general or to one of the specific work streams that we run. To find out more about these workstreams click here otherwise click the links below to donate:
