Rotary Club of Savusavu in Action

This is a story of inspirational leadership, community revival, and the extraordinary impact of Rotary in action.

Background

Nagigi Seventh Day Adventist Primary School is located approximately 50km from Savusavu on Fiji’s northern island of Vanua Levu. Serving 106 pupils from surrounding rural communities, the school has long been supported by the Rotary Club of Savusavu through projects including educational materials, school uniforms, desks, chairs, and sick bay beds.

In January 2024, newly appointed Head Teacher Mr. Jitendra Sharma reached out to the club with an urgent concern: the school’s water system had failed.

Master Sharma is an inspirational leader with a rare ability to confront major challenges head-on. What he found was confronting. Two 10,000-litre storage tanks had been destroyed during the 2020 cyclone. The water filter was offline. The pump house had no pump. Pipes were broken. The water supply was so unreliable that the school was frequently forced to close — no toilets, no handwashing, and no cooking water for teachers living onsite.

It was a crisis — but also an opportunity for transformation.

Rotary Assistance: Phases 1 and 2

In a stroke of remarkable timing, Rotarian Sue O’Neill from Rotary Club of Brisbane Water was visiting Savusavu when Master Sharma’s request came through. After visiting the school, she immediately pledged generous funding, enabling two critical phases of work:

PHASE 1

• Installation of two large 10,000L water tanks
• Connection of supply to student and staff washrooms

PHASE 2

• Extension of the system to the remaining classroom block, which previously had no water access

The impact was immediate.

Results: A Community Reawakens

Reliable water changed everything.

School morale lifted. The wider community rallied. Engagement expanded and families of all faiths participate. Monthly working bees clean and maintain the compound.

• 110 broken window louvres replaced
• Classrooms painted
• New curtains sewn and installed
• A leaking roof on teacher housing repaired

Perhaps most telling of all: enrolments are rising. Parents who once sent their children into town are now requesting places at Nagigi. That speaks volumes about restored confidence — in the school, the improvements, and in Master Sharma’s leadership.

When District Governor Vidiya Nand visited on October 8 2025, he described the project as a centrepiece of the Rotary Club of Savusavu’s community work. He praised the club’s hands-on involvement at every stage and its deep partnership with the community.