Santa Claus is coming to Fiji

The last night at Fiji Beach House comes to a quiet end. The house is empty, the good mates have moved on. I was greeted by strong winds in the afternoon. Fittingly at low tide, 20cm of water over the reef. Unkitebar. My curse continues.

A few Australians drive to Suva. I check in. Had no idea who I was travelling with. Suddenly we stop at a school. The boot of the van is full of balls. Children are streaming in. The white-and-blue-striped Father Christmas Peter Cole and his red-faced colleague Bubbles make children’s hearts light up.

Peter Cole is 24 and has been organising used sports equipment for Fiji for seven years. He spends a year collecting equipment from hundreds of schools in Australia, with private donors joining in. He then organises the transport to Fiji in large shipping containers.

Another one will arrive tomorrow. What I hear makes me incredibly angry: the military government in Fiji wants an import duty of the equivalent of €17,000 for old material that he distributes free of charge to schools throughout Fiji. Perhaps with the help of the local Rotary Club he can avoid a large part of the junta’s support. I will continue to report on this.

Father Christmas travels from school to school to put a smile on children’s faces. We stop at a total of three schools and several villages on the way to Suva. The children jump, play, laugh, dance and sing for us. The tears of joy are endless. For me too.

An average resident in Fiji goes home with €40 a week. Just as much as a good rugby ball costs. Nobody can afford that. The schools live from hand to mouth. In view of this, it is all the more remarkable that Fiji, with a population of 800,000, is an absolute rugby superpower.

When we arrive in Suva, we drive into the duty-free zone. The container will arrive tomorrow at an Australian factory. After that, Father Christmas will spend three weeks touring the whole of Fiji and distributing the material with a few helpers. Once again, the government is causing problems. Peter could store everything in a school. If the inspection takes place outside the duty-free zone, there would definitely be problems with the next containers, says the Australian factory director. A slogan hangs on the wall in his office: “We do the same as China, but in smaller quantities and faster.”

I give Father Christmas the money I can spare. Offer to create a website for him for free when the time comes. Take some photos, maybe some readers will realise how much happiness you can give with very little money. I’ve seen it and realised it. If he needs my help, I’ll be there.