“The more you know, the more you can do.”
This is the advice Rachel Spackman’s mother instilled in the New Colombo Plan (NCP) Fiji Scholar.
“My mum grew up in the Philippines and during her childhood her family was very poor, which meant that her education experience was limited.”
From a young age Rachel has seen the influence that access to education can have on one’s life.
“Throughout my life I have seen both sides of the spectrum. I have seen how poverty can affect a person’s life, and how privilege can transform a person’s life. I have seen first-hand the outcomes of ‘the more you know the more you can do’.”
The importance Rachel’s mother assigned to education influenced the NCP Scholar to study a Bachelor of Teaching and Bachelor of Arts at the Australian Catholic University, majoring in theology, philosophy and ethics, and minoring in drama. Rachel sees these fields of study as opportunities to lean into human experience and foster students’ ability to engage, empathise, and collaborate for the common good.
“I truly believe that education can be a tool for empowerment and change. It’s not about teaching millions for this philosophy to be true, one student at a time is more than enough for me.”
Rachel’s unwavering passion for teaching compelled her to pursue opportunities, even when they were confronting.
“I dreamt of teaching overseas, especially in a setting closer to my mum’s upbringing, and potentially in a space where I would be providing education to the poorest of poor. The NCP made this dream a reality.”
Fiji felt like a natural choice for Rachel as she perceived there would be similarities to the Philippines.
“People always talk about how welcoming and joyous Fijians are. Participating in the NCP meant that I would be away from the people I love for quite some time, so I thought that being in a country where people treat you with such kindness would help me to excel.”
Upon arriving in Fiji, Rachel was shocked to see how similar the host location was to her mother’s hometown in the Philippines.
“The state of their education and healthcare systems are very similar. The poverty experience is shared between the two countries. I don’t know why I thought it would be any different. I guess that goes to show the true reality of island life.”
Having lived in her host location for three months, Rachel feels like she has been in Fiji for a lifetime and has been able to forge lifechanging bonds by teaching students.
“I think my favourite moment has been building a relationship with one of the children who has autism. He is in grade 1 and doesn’t speak very much, but he has the sweetest soul and loves looking for bugs. Yesterday he came into my office and said ‘Hey, how are you going? I am happy.’ It was honestly the best feeling in the world to see him come out of his shell and engage in that small conversation with me.”
Rachel is currently interning at Child Benefit Fiji, an NGO providing Early Learning Development, Education, Psychosocial Support and Teacher Training to communities in Suva. She has been inspired by their Mobile Kindy initiative.
“Instead of having children travel extreme lengths to get to school, a mobile school is sent to their village. Here children are exposed to education, healthcare, nutrition, and psychosocial support. There is also a program for parents, which provides training workshops and resources to help with finances, healthcare, nutrition, and mental health.”
Mobile Kindy helps the wider community to break unhealthy cycles and encourages parents to be active in their child’s education.
“Through this internship I am gaining experience at both the grassroots and policy levels, where each day I am teaching and then working on things such as the Fiji National Safeguarding Policy and the Fiji National Early Childhood Development Policy. It’s interesting to see how policy is filtered down to the grassroots level.”
Her NCP program has taught Rachel a range of life lessons. She is challenging herself to embrace every opportunity, even if that means moving to a different country for ten months. For future NCP students, Rachel implores people to not feel intimidated by the calibre of Scholars.
“Don’t discount yourself – everyone has something to offer. For some it’s their professionalism, while for others it’s their passion for what they do. Just giving something a go is more valuable than not trying. Sometimes we realise our potential along the way.”
