Before there was a charity, there was a community.
For six years before Branches 4 Change was formally registered, volunteers, parishes and Catholic sisters worked together to respond to practical needs across communities in Fiji.
There was no grand plan. Just people asking for help, and others finding a way to give it.
These are some of the projects that brought us here.
OUR PAST PROJECTS
Small beginnings.
Big difference.
OUR FIRST PROJECT
More than 1,000 pairs. Thousands of steps forward.
It began with a simple request: school shoes for children in rural Fiji.
Through parish networks in Australia, more than 1,000 pairs were collected and delivered to children who needed them.
It was the first project our partners asked us to help with. And it opened the door to everything that followed.
Step up school shoes
"The shoes changed everything. The children could walk to school without worrying, and they were proud. You could see it in how they carried themselves."
— Sister Maria Tabua
School Lunches
Learning is harder on an empty stomach.
At St Peter's Chanel Parish on Fiji's Coral Coast, daily meals were provided for children arriving at school hungry.
A practical response to a need identified by the people who saw it every day.
Making room for a little joy.
Christmas hampers were coordinated for families who might otherwise have gone without.
The parcels offered practical support and a reminder that their community was thinking of them.
Christmas Hampers
"It puts a smile on their faces. That is what we hope for every time."
— Sister Maria Tabua
Reaching families, one box at a time.
For families in remote villages, access to everyday essentials can be difficult.
Bread, flour, root vegetables and other necessities were delivered through local networks, with the sisters carrying supplies directly to those who needed them.
Emergency Food
Giving teachers the tools they asked for.
Books, stationery and classroom resources were collected and provided in response to requests from local teachers.
Rather than deciding what schools should receive, the project focused on the materials teachers identified as missing from their classrooms.
School Supplies
