Local teen travels to the South Pacific for community service project

People to People Student Ambassador alumni, Kaitlyn Andolena of Byram joined delegates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York exploring Fiji, New Zealand and Australia this summer. One of the key components of the People to People Student Ambassador program experience is performing community service abroad.

And while this summer’s community service included a day spent baking for and visiting with senior citizens in New Zealand as well as planting seedlings during a reforestation project in a Fijian rain forest, it was visiting students and bringing supplies to Fijian elementary and high schools that made the biggest and most profound impression on Kaitlyn.

She is 14-years-old and is a freshman at Lenape Valley High School.

“Knowing that Fiji was the first leg of my trip, I had so many expectations of what we’d see. I had heard and read and seen pictures of Fiji in all of its beauty, the brilliant blue skies, the magnificent blue-green hues of the water and all of the things that you’d expect to see in a tropical paradise. But when we ventured up river in longboats, and saw villages that were nothing more than clusters of huts (shacks), many of them dilapidated, with livestock running around loose, roaming in and out of the very river we were navigating, I was shocked”, said Kaitlyn, “I was completely awed by the level of poverty”. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. “When we got to the schools, I was so overwhelmed to see that the schools were shacks as well. Classrooms had broken windows and broken chalkboards, desks were made from rotten wood; but the students, the kids, they were amazing! They literally have nothing, and I mean nothing, and they are so very grateful for every single thing that they do have and especially for the supplies we brought them!” Eye opening to say the least, she continued “Students in Fiji wear uniforms to school; elementary school students wear a polo style shirt with a sarong (an ankle length wrap that is worn by the boys as well as the girls) and students go barefoot, walking to school in the heat, the rain and the mud – it’s almost primitive”, remarked Kaitlyn. High school students sport white button down polos shirts with khaki skirts for the girls and shorts for the boys; books are worn, must be shared and they really only have the barest of essentials.

As part of the Fijian educational cultural experience, Kaitlyn and her fellow travelers had the opportunity to sit in on classes for their respective grades, so Kaitlyn sat in on a freshman high school class. While it didn’t take long to see that their new found fellow Fiji high school friends fell short academically and technologically, socially, they were right on par. “It was so cool that we were literally on the other side of the world, on the other side of the equator, experiencing a completely different culture, and yet we all bonded and got along so well! The Fiji students were all so friendly and welcoming and willing to share themselves and things about their culture with us, it was an incredible experience.”

Humbling to say the least, Kaitlyn said this experience was life changing. “The irony between the beauty of Fiji with its spectacular views, picturesque landscapes and gorgeous resorts and the immense poverty of the country itself, the lack of educational opportunities and need for supplies, on top of the absence of the technology that I take for granted every day was just so moving and impactful. It is one thing to read or hear about conditions like this, but it is a whole other thing to see it for yourself, right there in front of you . . . it is almost indescribable. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to actually observe all of this first hand and to interact with Fiji students and, most importantly, to bring them much needed supplies” said Andolena, “I definitely came home with a greater appreciation not only for everything I have personally, but for all of the opportunities I have as a student. There are no cell phones, no laptops, no calculators . . . it is such a simple life and yet the kids are all so happy. This was the most extraordinary and motivational cultural experience you could imagine, and it gave me a newfound for every single thing that they do have and especially for the supplies we brought them!” Eye opening to say the least, she continued “Students in Fiji wear uniforms to school; elementary school students wear a polo style shirt with a sarong (an ankle length wrap that is worn by the boys as well as the girls) and students go barefoot, walking to school in the heat, the rain and the mud – it’s almost primitive”, remarked Kaitlyn. High school students sport white button down polos shirts with khaki skirts for the girls and shorts for the boys; books are worn, must be shared and they really only have the barest of essentials.

As part of the Fijian educational cultural experience, Kaitlyn and her fellow travelers had the opportunity to sit in on classes for their respective grades, so Kaitlyn sat in on a freshman high school class. While it didn’t take long to see that their new found fellow Fiji high school friends fell short academically and technologically, socially, they were right on par. “It was so cool that we were literally on the other side of the world, on the other side of the equator, experiencing a completely different culture, and yet we all bonded and got along so well! The Fiji students were all so friendly and welcoming and willing to share themselves and things about their culture with us, it was an incredible experience.”

Humbling to say the least, Kaitlyn said this experience was life changing. “The irony between the beauty of Fiji with its spectacular views, picturesque landscapes and gorgeous resorts and the immense poverty of the country itself, the lack of educational opportunities and need for supplies, on top of the absence of the technology that I take for granted every day was just so moving and impactful. It is one thing to read or hear about conditions like this, but it is a whole other thing to see it for yourself, right there in front of you . . . it is almost indescribable. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to actually observe all of this first hand and to interact with Fiji students and, most importantly, to bring them much needed supplies” said Andolena, “I definitely came home with a greater appreciation not only for everything I have personally, but for all of the opportunities I have as a student. There are no cell phones, no laptops, no calculators . . . it is such a simple life and yet the kids are all so happy. This was the most extraordinary and motivational cultural experience you could imagine, and it gave me a newfound perspective on life and the desire to make a difference both locally and globally.”