Our Story
As an organisation, TPF was born out of local ideas and ambition within Fiji. Our visionaries included The National Health Advisor for Fiji, Mr Manasa Seniyasi, Chiefs of Fiji’s Lomaiviti Province, including Ratu Komai and Ratu Jolame and Mr Waliki Satakala, former Provincial Officer facilitating the Towards a Healthy Fiji Islands Initiative and also former Trustee of The Think Pacific Foundation.
Our primary experience and operation within Fiji is the delivery of youth-upskilling projects within rural community settings, facilitating discussions at a local level with youth group members and targeted construction projects.
Our aim is to provide the funding, planning and logistical support to enable young people, local communities, provincial councils, government partners and other stakeholders to achieve specific development aims.
The aims are guided by the holistic development concepts of The Fiji National Development Plan and the Towards a Healthy Fiji islands Initiative, which focus upon holistic development across 7 target areas: Physical, Mental, Social, Financial, Spiritual, Environment and Policy.
Through available funding streams, we are able to support and promote the core aims of government partners and other stakeholders on the ground, as well as highlighting key actionables for further partner intervention through monitoring and evaluation efforts with a focus on thematic responses at a community level. These further interventions are then funded as part of our community action model.
Our Development
2009-2012
The Think Pacific Foundation was launched with the mission to raise funds for and implement community construction projects, in partnership with Fiji’s Ministry of Health and Medical Services, focusing primarily on the development of community halls in the Lomaiviti Islands. These projects supported the Healthy Islands Initiative, aiming to foster healthier, more connected communities by providing essential infrastructure that supports social gatherings, health education, and local events. The programme encourages Fijian children and youths to achieve seven core aims of holistic health to improve their life expectancy and future opportunity.
By addressing the need for safe and accessible communal spaces, TPF contributes to the broader goal of enhancing public health and wellbeing whilst empowering local communities through sustainable development.
2012-2019
At the request of Fiji’s Ministry of Education, we began our involvement in youth and sports programmes in 2012. The earliest initiatives aimed to bolster Early Childhood Education and enhancing extra-curricular opportunities for young people across island communities.
Central to this effort was the “Educate the Educators” programme, which engaged teachers from diverse island schools, equipping them with innovative skills and methodologies to better support and inspire their students.
Through this collaborative approach, Think Pacific strived to nurture empowered, globally minded and aspirational young people.
2019-2021
During the COVID pandemic, we swiftly adapted and innovated our channels for support to continue empowering young people and Fijian partners despite significant practical and financial challenges. Recognising the barriers posed by travel restrictions, TPF created the ‘remote internship programme’ that enabled students to engage virtually with Fijian enterprises, maintaining cross-cultural collaboration and skill development.
Crucially, this platform secured funding and provided the avenue to provide scholarships for young Fijians, ensuring they could participate alongside international peers. This approach not only safeguarded engagement during the pandemic but also laid the groundwork for our future vision of enhancing student mobility through expanded industry placements and academic exposure opportunities, fostering a more interconnected and resilient Pacific community.
2021-2025
The Think Pacific Foundation expanded its focus to prioritise youth (18-35) development in rural communities as a priority in 2021, in partnership with The Ministry of Youth and Sports, aligning ourselves to address the gap in access to opportunities often faced by young people in rural communities. By investing in skills development and creating pathways to increased opportunities, we aim to empower youth to drive sustainable progress within their own environments.
This initiative was implemented alongside enhanced construction projects in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, specifically focusing on the building of Community Health Dispensaries.
Additionally, the Foundation maintained its commitment to supporting Fijian students attending universities in Fiji, ensuring holistic development through education and practical experience.
