Soldier's charity walk driven by hope for Fiji's youth

For British Army soldier Sergeant Autiko Domonakibau, protecting Fiji's future generation from the growing threat of drugs was reason enough to spend his holiday walking from Lautoka to Verata.

The 19-year veteran of the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards, joined three fellow soldiers on the charity walk to raise awareness about drug abuse, particularly among young people, while raising funds to support future efforts to address the issue.

His motivation, he said, came from years of working with young people in England.

"I normally work with youth back in England, all kids and communities," Sergeant Domonakibau said.

"The most important thing that motivated me here in Fiji was our future generation. We wanted to protect our culture, and that's why I was here. That's what motivated me to do this charity work."

The four soldiers arrived in Fiji on July 11 and travelled across Viti Levu as part of the awareness campaign.

Sergeant Domonakibau said the team paid their own way home to support the initiative.

"In terms of getting all the documentation and permits, that was done by another team. For us, we paid our own fares to come home and spend our holiday with our families," he said.

The campaign has also attracted donations from supporters in Fiji and overseas through an online fundraising platform and M-PAiSA.

While the long-term goal includes supporting efforts to address drug abuse, Sergeant Domonakibau said the funds would remain untouched until there was certainty about how they would be used.

"There's no solid information at the moment, so we will keep the file for now," he said.

"Whatever we donate, we will keep until we have solid confirmation with Social Welfare to deal with it."

He said the group was not yet in a position to confirm how the money would eventually be allocated.

"Right now, we cannot confirm anything, but we will keep every donation coming in until the next plans come up with Social Welfare. That's when we can confirm," Sergeant Domonakibau said.

The group has raised £1,297 (about FJ$3,875.76) towards its target of £2,260 (about FJ$6,750.64).