About Friends4Fiji
…a grassroots international aid partnership between students at Monash University and the rural, under-resourced University of Fiji (UoF) Medical School in Saweni, Fiji Islands…
The Initiative was started in July 2009 by a group of enthusiastic first year medical students at Monash University, Melbourne, after attending a global health conference that invited them to “Challenge Your World”. Through personal networks, they’ve established connections with fellow medical students at the exciting, new but rural and under-resourced University of Fiji Medical School in Saweni, Fiji Islands.
Why Fiji? Because, in the shadow of the 5 star hotels and waterfront resorts, a crisis is looming.…
Fiji is in desperate need of more doctors. The ratio of doctors to citizens is already 5 times lower than that of Australia and New Zealand, and that workforce shortage is only worsening as more graduates leave Fiji for larger Western lifestyles and salaries. Couple this with a booming poverty rate (conservative estimates suggest 46% of the population) and a highly unstable political state, we see an untenable situation. The opening of University of Fiji’s School of Medicine provides a great opportunity to better the status quo for Fiji’s people.
We in the first world are so very privileged to have access to an exceptional, affordable education. By partnering with fellow medical students in less fortunate countries, we have the opportunity to support and enrich their learning, and in turn the health of the long-suffering people of Fiji, with the bounty of resources and talents we have at our disposal.
The goal of the “Friends4Fiji” Initiative is, at this stage, to provide medical equipment and other learning resources to the University of Fiji School of Medicine. We’re looking to obtain standard diagnostic tools (stethoscopes, otoscopes, sphygmomanometers, percussion hammers, tuning forks etc.) plus surgical scrubs, xrays, textbooks and videos, and anything else anyone would be willing to contribute to Fiji’s future medical force.
We are currently assessing how to approach this mammoth but inviting task. ALL offers of assistance and volunteers are more than welcome. In addition, we’ll soon be looking to engage corporate sponsors for some massive upcoming events. Any interested parties are invited to email us at friends4fiji@gmail.com
Please stay tuned as this exciting campaign is only just getting underway…. Vinaka Vakalevu!
