St Joseph's, Tenaru

St Marcellin's Primary School, Vanga

St Dominic's Rural Training Centre, Vanga point

Student Reflections

 'The whole immersion was very special- an experience that will remain with me forever. It was the enjoyment of the little things and the happiness with what little they had the biggest impact on me'

'Seeing these boys with little or no possessions but still being happy made me realise that money isn't as important as I previously thought'

'On arrival at Vanga I was quite shocked and was feeling homesick. The first weekend consisted of mainly small talk and awkward conversations. If someone had told me that by the end of the trip I would be upset and not wanting to leave I would have tole them they were dreaming. But the friendships did blossom -we taught and learnt from each other and became great mates/'

'Constantly being called 'brother man' always brought a smile to my face.'

'Three things surprised me about myself

-          Becoming close to my dorm buddies

-          My physical endurance

-          My ability to open up and talk to people'

'What surprised me was I realised how much my family meant to me'

'When I was in the canoe with my dorm buddies, the canoe had a whole in it the size of a fist. They patched it up with a t-shirt and just continuously bailed the water out. I said we should turn around before we sank. I was worried about my camera. My buddy said  'just have faith in me" whenever questioned he would say 'keep your faith' It reminded me of our Marist motto'

'My experiences were very different to what I expected. The boys were very shy and it took me a long time to build relationship with them'

'I came her hoping to answer questions about who I am and what values form me. This experience has taught me what life really means to me and from this how much my family means to me. I now understand how lucky we are to be schooled, how important real friendships are and that I doesn't matter what others think.'

'The hospitality shown by the Vanga boys made me believe that humans deep down have good hearts. We were welcomed into their home as complete strangers. This hospitality is something hat I would definitely label as Marist.'

'I learnt for me personally that relationships are the most important thing you have. The friendships I found with the boys at Vanga are ones I will never forget for the rest of my life'