Iza

Iza, Piccolo Bar, Kings Cross, Sydney.

35mm Kodak Tri-X film, black and white, Nikon F2AS.

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The Heart of the Dragon

Ken and Farha, Dragon Music, Suva, Fiji.

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Claire

Portrait of Claire, Piccolo Bar, Kings Cross, Sydney.

35mm Kodak Tri-X film, black and white, Nikon F2AS.

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A Young Girl - Soa School Book Drive

A young school girl peers out from a class room, Soa Village, Viti Levu, Fiji.

Soa was decimated by Cyclone Winston in 2016, Fiji’s biggest ever cyclonic event. Since then, the remote village of 500 has been gradually recovering.

Today, the local school accommodates Years 1 to 8. Although the school has several computers, they often lie idle as the village’s diesel generator is unreliable and prone to power fluctuations which threaten the computer hardware.

The school library is also under-resourced and is need of reading material for its students.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting several photographs from Soa village and asking people with used children’s books (suitable for Years 1 to 8) to donate them to the school.

Please contact me here if you have any unwanted books for donation. Shipping has been generously arranged.

Imagine, a school with no Internet and only books!

*click on image for full screen view.

Cagi and Roko

Last year, Cagi moved from Soa village in north eastern Viti Levu, Fiji, to the bustling capital of Suva to assist and help care for her ageing aunt, Roko, and to find work. In the wake of Cyclone Winston, she left behind her daughter, grandson, mother and blind father. Happy to care for her aunt, she also feels homesick for the rest of her family and for village life.

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The Godfather of Fijian Rock and Roll

A photo shoot with ‘The Godfather of Fijian Rock and Roll’, Ken Janson Ho, at his nightclub, the famed Golden Dragon, Suva, Fiji.

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Tom Mawi

A photo shoot with legendary Fijian guitarist, Tom Mawi, upstairs, at the Golden Dragon, where he started his career, Suva.

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Most Wanted - School Library Book Drive

Two boys play with a wheel barrow, Soa village, Viti Levu, Fiji.

Soa was decimated by Cyclone Winston in 2016, Fiji’s biggest ever cyclonic event. Since then, the remote village of 500 has been gradually recovering.

Today, the local school accommodates Years 1 to 8. Although the school has several computers, they often lie idle as the village’s diesel generator is unreliable and prone to power fluctuations which threaten the computer hardware.

The school library is also under-resourced and is need of reading material for its students.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting several photographs from Soa village and asking people with used children’s books (suitable for Years 1 to 8) to donate them to the school.

Please contact me if you have any unwanted books for donation. Shipping has been generously arranged.

Imagine, a school with no Internet and only books!

*click on image for full screen view.

Boy At Desk

Boy at Desk, Soa Village, Viti Levu, Fiji.

Soa was decimated by Cyclone Winston in 2016, Fiji’s biggest ever cyclonic event. Since then, the remote village of 500 has been gradually recovering. Today, the local school accommodates Years 1 to 8. Although the school has several computers, they often lie idle as the village’s diesel generator is unreliable and prone to power fluctuations which threaten the computer hardware.

The school library is also under-resourced and is need of reading material for its students.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting several photographs from Soa village and asking people with used children’s books (suitable for Years 1 to 8) to donate them to the school.

Please contact me if you have any unwanted books for donation. Shipping has been generously arranged.

Imagine, a school with no Internet and only books!

*click on image for full screen view.

Cagi

Cangi, at the family home, Suva, Fiji.

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Soa Village

Images from a recent trip to Soa village, Viti Levu, Fiji

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School Girl Through Louvred Window

A school girl peers through a louvred window of her classroom in Soa village, Fiji.

Soa was decimated by Cyclone Winston in 2016, Fiji’s biggest ever cyclonic event. Since then, the remote village of 500 has been gradually recovering. Today, the local school accommodates Years 1 to 8. Although the school has several computers, they often lie idle as the village’s diesel generator is unreliable and prone to power fluctuations which threaten the computer hardware.

The school library is also under-resourced and is need of reading material for its students.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting several photographs from Soa village and asking people with used children’s books (suitable for Years 1 to 8) to donate them to the school.

Please contact me if you have any unwanted books for donation. Shipping has been generously arranged.

Imagine, a school with no Internet and only books!

*click on image for full screen view.

Irinieta

Irinieta, Soa Village, Viti Levu, Fiji.

Soa, a small village of around 500 people in eastern Viti Levu, is still recovering from the devastating effects of Cyclone Winston in 2016, which virtually flattened much of the island nation and destroyed many houses in its path. It was the most powerful cyclone ever to hit Fiji. Three years later, village life in Soa is slowly returning to some sense of normality, in part due to the burgeoning trade in locally produced yaqona (kava), a plant that takes three years to grow and harvest.

Irinieta shares a small, recently renovated house with her mother, blind father and one-year old son, Kusitino.

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Day Old Leis

Still life of day old salusalus (leis), Soa village, Fiji.

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