Our Partners
We aim to be the epitome of purposeful, responsible and impactful projects and experiential learning programs. Central to this is the depth of our association with local communities, government departments and organisations within Fiji, which is unique and unrivalled.
Every Think Pacific program is planned in collaboration and at the request of rural communities and directed and monitored by Fijian Government Ministries and local NGOs to ensure our projects have real purpose and long term sustainability. Through our structured projects, we guide hundreds of students annually who develop leadership, transferable skills and expand their cultural understanding, whilst contributing to the aims and initiatives of our Fijian partners. We are respected for working within the framework of the government, adding benefit to long term strategies and the advancement of education, access and opportunity for youths and children living in rural areas. This includes driving forward the aims of Fiji’s National Development Plan and being a key facilitator of the Ministry of Health’s ‘Towards a Healthy Fiji Islands Initiative’.
Your Project
The Study Internship is slightly different however… although all our programs work on behalf of our partners, you will be working directly for them!
The Study Internship is unique in that you are not necessarily working hands-on on the ground towards our partners’ objectives, you are seeing behind the scenes in their operations and working on requested action projects to boost their capacity and sustainable growth.
We have MOUs with 4 government ministries and work closely with over 70 Fijian NGOs, so there is plenty of choice for support! You will find out which partners you are working for in Fiji closer to the time of your project, but here are some teasers to get you excited for what lies ahead…
The Partners
Below are some of the major partners we work with, you may not necessarily work for the ones listed but it gives you a flavour of the type of work you will be supporting.
Hear from the British High Commissioner, Government Secretaries and NGO Directors in Fiji:
Some of our Major Partners
Ministry of Health – Many of our projects are guided by the action plans of the National Centre for Health Promotion and the government directive, ‘Towards a Healthy Fiji Programme’ (TAHF). This is a holistic development approach being implemented in rural areas, which supports combined initiatives to achieve whole solutions to poverty issues by developing knowledge and education, facilitating vital infrastructure and empowering Fijian people to live healthy, sustainable lives.
Ministry of Youth and Sports – Think Pacific signed an MOU with the Ministry of Youth & Sports on the 12th June 2014. Think Pacific support and implement on the Ministry’s concepts and initiatives for expanding opportunities for young Fijians to develop themselves, including nurturing sports teams and youth groups, providing mobile skills training, supporting youth mentoring and growing extra-curricular activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme in Fijian schools.
National Employment Centre – Think Pacific hold a memorandum of understanding with the National Employment Centre of Fiji. Through this agreement we work closely to maximise the transfer of skills and to strengthen Fijian expertise and capacity. We promote village based businesses, facilitate training for Fijian youths and invest in local skills. We engage unemployed Fijian youths in employment and placements annually. We proud to provide the first opportunities of work based learning, career experience and often long term job opportunities for young Fijians registered through the NEC.
Fiji National Sports Commission – Think Pacific signed an MOU with the Fiji National Sports Commission on the 21st May 2014. The key areas of co-operation between Think Pacific and the Fiji National Sports Commission include the facilitation of key sporting concepts and initiatives such as the Sports Outreach Scheme, the Educate the Educators training programme as well as supporting National events and developing grass roots Youth & Sports clubs in rural settings.
Some Non-Governmental Organisation Partners in Fiji
Child Benefit Fiji / Little Ones – Think Pacific partners the Little One’s in delivering ‘The Mobile Kindi’ which aims to provide early years education to rural areas of Fiji which have no access to education otherwise. Furthermore, the Little One’s founder, Anelesi is an early years education consultant for Think Pacific.
Fiji Rugby Union – Think Pacific partner with the Fiji Rugby Union in delivering the World Rugby “Get Into Rugby” program to primary school students across our project settings. The ‘Get Into Rugby’ programme aims to deliver new coaches and referees by encouraging participants of all ages and abilities to “Try, Play and Stay” in Rugby in a safe and fun environment.
UNICEF Pacific – Think Pacific are working with UNICEF to deliver their Sport 2 Life programme, which aims to enrich youths through social development, using sport as the tool of engagement. Think Pacific staff undertook training by UNICEF Pacific in 2016 to expand our reach and deliver Sport 2 Life in new provinces and regions of Fiji.
Precious Plastics Fiji – Precious Plastic Fiji is a completely youth led social enterprise that adopted the principles of a global movement that provides a solution to solve plastic pollution. The youth involved are committed to providing awareness of the environmental impact of plastic pollution with the objective to introduce a sustainable solution to address plastic waste for Fijian communities, a solution that has a holistic impact: educate, reduce waste and empower communities.
Youth Champs 4 Mental Health – An assembly of young people who are dynamic, passionate, diverse in ethnicity, gender, culture, religious beliefs, education and socio economic status, who are committed to advocating for mental health – the reduction of the stigma associated with it and suicide prevention in Fiji.
Why is this important?
Partnerships are the most effective means of working in a unified and genuinely effective way towards shared goals: They are
the reason Think Pacific is structured in the way we are and ultimately why the project you are joining exists in the way it
does!
Not only is this important for the practical elements of the development sector, it is an important ethical point too. For
international support to be genuinely effective, there must be an understanding that due to cultural and societal differences,
the direction of ‘development’ must be locally-led and any resource distribution to be directed to where it is most useful,
particularly in a country such as Fiji with a history of Western imposition.
On a global level, within the partnership dynamic, there is an exchange, and we believe there is a huge amount of value that can be come from open discussion, when nuanced perspectives are listened to and engaged with and particularly when those perspectives are valued on a global level. Here’s a video we’ve created communicating just that:
When do you Find out Which Partner you will be Working with?
On the Study Internship, every student learns about the partners for that specific project during in-country briefing. Here, you will learn in detail about their background and the particular work they would like you to be taking on.