Brazilian Couple’s Love For Nature, Environment, Health Extends To Fiji
A Brazilian couple, strong on nature, environment and health have fallen in love with Fiji.
The title LoveandAction perfectly describes the couple. Love in its vast meaning, for each other and nature, while action outlines their active lifestyle, as well as the actions they take towards a better future.
Barbara Sampaio and Rodrigo Kaczysnki started their journey when they left Brazil in 2015 and created an Instagram account @loveandaction to share their experiences and insights with family and friends.
In a joint statement the couple said: “Slowly we have been getting more and more visibility from people all over the world who share similar values, so we have been using this communication channel to encourage people to show their love and take actions.”
The couple moved to Fiji in June 2018 after they were hired to manage the surf operations and implement a wellness strategy at a resort in Viti Levu.
Although they have been in Fiji previously for tourism, they both fell in love with the people and the land.
“We also witnessed how basic waste management and health is in most villages, so it was an easy decision to come on a work visa and contribute to the sustainable development of the country with our qualifications,” they said.
Ms Sampaio is a Physical Educator and Health Coach and Mr Kaczysnki has a Masters in Civil Environmental Engineering.
Their approach was Beyond the Waves Educational Project, which was created to provide awareness to children and their families about environmental impacts and basic health practices, so the communities could develop sustainably and healthily.
They said the project consisted of an organised visit to a village where they would gather the children to show them a short video about plastic pollution, followed by the demonstration of toys made with recycled materials, explanation about how pollution could affect them and others.
“Plastic tooth brushes are mentioned as one common type of trash found in the oceans, so we can demonstrate that other options are available (such as Eco Fiji Bamboo Tooth Brushes),” they said.
“While linking it to the next topic to be discussed, healthy practices, mostly by explaining the effects that sugar cause on our bodies and teeth.”
The couple said every visit they’ve taken, they were shocked by seeing the amount of trash, as well as the lack of personal hygiene.
“Using our social media, we’ve managed to obtain $222.70 to donate to this village,” they said.
“We wanted to use this money the best possible way, so we purchased school materials and Eco Conscious Fiji Biodegradable Tooth Brushes.”
Ms Sampaio and Mr Kaczysnki are both passionate about health and the environment.
They said if they had the time and funds to educate the young generations on these subjects, then they we would do so.
“As surfers, it is part of our responsibility to give something back every time we board into a surf holiday,” they said.
“We hope this project can inspire other surfers and travellers to use some of their skills and knowledge to contribute somehow to their destination and not only just use what the destination has to offer.”
So far, LoveandAction has been sponsored by friends and followers, but they need more people and brands to join them.
Edited by Percy Kean
