Fiji Times Sunday 26 March 2017 AT the tender age of 15 during her visits as a tourist in 1994 with her family, Janet West-Lotawa fell in love with Fiji completely.
Her overwhelming urge to come back to Fiji and stay longer propelled her to take a great risk of leaving her parents, her home and her privileged life behind in Seattle, Washington, US.
Like any parent witnessing their children leave the nest, Janet said this frightened her parents a lot, more so because she was venturing into a place unfamiliar to them.
They respected her decision nonetheless and allowed her to embark on a journey that would change her life if not completely, forever.
Like any other tourist, Janet too loved our natural environment but she was rather more attracted to the people and the warmth of our island communal culture.
So, in 1995 she returned to Fiji through a service learning program with Global Works and lived in Abaca Village, Ba and later in Yalobi Village, Yasawa working on various volunteer projects. Read more…
