Tribewanted: Vorovoro

On Saturday the 9th August (a very special day, as it was my Mum’s 94th Birthday!) about 7 Tribe members set off to daub the litter bins with paint. We were led by Benjamin the Sustainability Manager & met by The lady representing HOPE; ‘Helping our polluted Environment.’ There are already about 40 litter bright red bins lining Lambassa’s main street & by the end of the morning more than two thirds had been brilliantly painted.

Children from the local Schools had already started the project by the time we arrived & had produced amazing designs of Aslan, Mickey Mouse, various animals/flowers & slogans. The group spread out & used their own creative skills to adorn those bins which were left. Apart from the fun & therapy of splashing the paint on the smooth metal, it created quite a stir among the passer- bys, which was one of the aims! Various people stopped & commented & went out of their way to throw their rubbish in the bins.

Savnaca (Savé; for short.) ; a member of the Fijian tribe (Meke & language teacher) was commandeered to add his comments and artistic talents to one of our bins, which was adorned with the turtle. This symbol was very much on the fore-front of our minds; the turtle being a Fijian delicacy & yet an endangered species! We had been lucky enough to be invited to a Fijian wedding, on the previous Thursday & to our horror this was on the menu! Apart from adding comments to encourage people to tidy up Lambassa, we were able to advertise ‘Tribe Wanted’ & ‘Vorovoro’ on the bins which in it’s turn would promote the message of looking after the environment! This was a very rewarding day, which resulted in talking to the locals & yet being therapeutic @ the same time! For our efforts, we were fed biscuits & lemonade! A fantastic, memorable occasion, which will continue to spread the message of conserving our planet!