Advice for Languaging on Common Challenges

As a leader, you are no doubt going to be asked lots of questions, especially when challenges begin to arise. Challenges in the village are expected for volunteers and encouraging an appropriate mindset to approach, overcome or understand these challenges could be a big part of your role. As we are being welcomed into the community, there are some challenges we cannot alter and ones that volunteers will have to face:

1. Gender Roles in the Village

Within a Fijian village, there are quite obvious divisions in responsibilities between male and female community members. Within the family unit, this may become particularly clear. This is to the extent that men/women may be discouraged from doing certain activities that would fall under the other gender’s role. Eg. Men don’t weave mats, this as seen as a women’s role/skills.

Culturally, reasons for this are mixed. Traditional skills are mixed between genders. Fiji’s pre-Christian culture was heavily patriarchal and not much changed with the introduction of relatively conservative strains of Christianity. This may feel very different from experiences in societies volunteers may have grown up in, but ask that they understand that this is a fundamental feature of current rural Fijian lifestyle and village polity. 

The perspectives of Fijian people may be very different from their own and often where some of our volunteers feel injustice, they may be projecting their own views onto others without providing a chance for the other to respond. 

If someone is concerned by this:

1. Try to communicate that it is not their responsibility to change others’ perspective on the subject and we ask the deepest respect from the volunteers for the perspectives of those who have invited you into their lives.
2. Try to understand this perspective and view it as a valuable cross-cultural learning experience.

2. Food

Food in a Fijian village is one of the most common challenges for volunteers – it’s very different and often carb heavy. It is not uncommon for volunteers to eat less if they are not enjoying the food which families will notice and will affect the volunteer’s health.

Languaging advice:

1. Eating plenty of food is necessary in this environment to stay healthy and have plenty of energy. If the individual is not eating, they will feel much worse for it. If they are not enjoying it – see food as fuel, get it down and feel much better afterwards!
2. Remind volunteers that there is a lot of effort that goes into preparing the food in front of them, from growing it in the farms for months to preparing the food throughout the day. The thought and care from the mother’s in particular around this is something to be incredibly grateful for and appreciative of. 
3. Encourage volunteers not to ask for ‘Western food’ and be careful of not eating too many ‘treats,’ the visual will stick with the families and they will want to cater for whatever the volunteers enjoy, putting more pressure on them financially.
4. When volunteers do eat something traditional that they really enjoy, tell the families, show them that you’re loving it! Don’t be surprised if this is served again very soon.

3. Treatment of Animals

The treatment of animals in a Fijian village may be very different from what volunteers are used to. On a base level, they are in much closer proximity to the livestock reality where animals are reared and farmed locally and then slaughtered for meals, very different to picking your meat up from the supermarket! On another level, animals are rarely kept as pets or at least treated as them – animals owned in a Fijian village serve a purpose and their disciplining and training may be on the firmer side. It is not uncommon for dogs to be hit for example.

If a volunteer is upset by this subject:

1. Validate that their emotional response is understandable.
2. This may be their personal challenge for the remainder of the project as this is unlikely to change in the village. It must be viewed as an insight into an entirely new lifestyle and culture.
3. If they are really affected by it, a conversation may be organised with their family explaining that it is something that makes them feel uncomfortable and politely ask that the family advise them should they know an animal is going to be slaughtered.

NB: Leaders to take over and have these discussions where appropriate, to ensure that these chats are conducted appropriately and acheive the desired outcome. 

4. Fiji Time

‘Fiji time’ is something that volunteers may get frustrated with. South Pacific Islanders take everything at their own unique, mystifying and incredibly slow pace. 

Appropriate mindset:

1. This is a fundamental aspect of village life and culturally very different! It’s also not going to change during their stay.
2. Advise volunteers to lean into it – allow it to happen. See if they can enjoy the laid back mindset
3. They will get used to it very quickly, it’s like learning to relax at the beginning of a holiday… it just gets easier.

5. Open door Policy / Personal Space

Due to the communal nature of a Fijian village, the large families and comparatively small houses, it’s safe to say that personal space does not exist and this is to be expected, this will not change. Because of this, within the households and even in sleeping arrangements volunteers may feel like there are more people around you and closer to you than you would usually be used to. 

Advice:

1. If someone is struggling with personal space, find time in the day to allocate some ‘me time.’ Likely opportunities will be during ‘free time’ in the afternoons. Find a quieter spot in the village to relax.
2. Learn to see it as a cultural insight – this is a beautiful and very different aspect of Fijian culture and lifestyle. This is the privilege of being welcomed into a Fijian household and experiencing a true cultural immersion.

6. Religion 

The vast majority of indigenous Fijians identify as Christians. In rural villages in Fiji, this makes up a fundamental part of lifestyle in the village and is a crucial part of contemporary rural Fijian culture; an amazing thing to experience in their cultural immersion. Sometimes, families may have devotions in the homes or go to additional church services and volunteers may be invited to attend.

There is of course no pressure to join in any situations that volunteers do not feel comfortable joining, although this is sometimes difficult for volunteers to find a way to communicate this without being scared to cause offence.

Advice:

1. When discussing religion, volunteers should feel open about respectfully expressing their beliefs as part of a two-way understanding, but in a way that is not close minded.
2. Make sure they think about how their words will come across and always be open to hearing another perspective.
3. If they are ever really uncomfortable about expressing themselves or turning down an event, have a leader casually join them or conduct the conversation.